Loving the game

They say a week is a long time in football.

So spare a thought for the two new coaches of the Melbourne University Blacks and University Blues football clubs, who have had to wait more than six months since their appointment to get their teams on the park for a competitive match.

Not that it seems to have fazed Fergus Watts (Blues) and Matthew Kempton (Blacks) that much, in the lead-up to the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA) regular season kick-off on 21 April. If anything, it has given them a bit more time to prepare.

“With how amateur footy plays, one of the big challenges is getting everyone brought in on the same level. If we have a common belief, it’s that we should have a good football product on the field,” says Watts.

“We all start the year wanting to win a flag, but to be honest, I want to get our group loving to play football for the Blues. If we can have a team of players who love playing here, who really care about the place and put it a few notches higher on the priority list, it’ll be a good place to be and we can build from there.”

For Watts, a former AFL, SANFL and VFL player, amateur football is all about loving the game. “The VAFA rekindled my love for footy. When I came out of the AFL system, I hated playing, and I didn’t enjoy the game much any more. But in amateur football, you’ve got 22 blokes running out on the park who want to be there.

“You get a good contest, good team football and in reality, there are some very talented players running around. It’s a good spectacle.”

Matthew Kempton’s turn as head coach is a return of sorts to the club in an official capacity, after ending his playing career with the Blacks in 2009.

“I had a great experience at the Blacks. I love the club and it’s an opportunity to go back and try to assist blokes to have as great a time as I did.

“And I want to still be part of it, I still have a huge burning desire for collective achievement, and there are few better ways of achieving that than at the Blacks, a club that celebrates success very well.”

The former premiership player and league best-and-fairest winner agrees with Watts that environment is everything.

“We are big on developing the individual in a whole of person sense, rather than just developing ‘footballers’. We want them to have a good experience at the club, for us to build a welcoming and happy environment, and hopefully that translates to on-field success.

“University football is a unique footy environment, and it generally has players from backgrounds that are broad and varied. It’s a great place to meet people, and the collective mix of people provides for an environment that is very stimulating.”

And as for the on-field product, both coaches have warned the league teams they’ll be facing strong, well-prepared squads.

“When they come up against the Blacks, I hope they feel like they’ve faced a very spirited side,” says Kempton, “and that the opposition will always feel like they’re playing against a unified outfit.

“It’s not an exact science, you can get too carried away too often with match-ups, strategies and the like,” says Watts, “but more often than not if you care more, you can win, and that’s what I’m trying to instill in the players.”

www.sport.unimelb.edu.au