ADAM Donohue won’t miss out on coaching in 2020, with the Inverleigh mentor to lead the club’s under-15 team for their shortened season.
President David Haste revealed Donohue, who re-signed as senior coach for 2021 earlier this month, approached the club about taking on the role after Jake Alford stepped down due to work commitments.
“We had a bit of a chat about in our online groups,” Haste said. “Adam’s slept on it, and he’s rung me the next day and said, “I’d like to do it.”
“He was already thinking about helping out Jack Sellars with the under-19s.
“He’s switched his focus to the 15s, which is unreal.”
Haste said Donohue’s appointment will strengthen the connection between the senior and junior sections of the club.
“It’s not just families bring their juniors down and they play a game and go home,” he said. “We hope it’s an incentive to hang around and support the senior club – both football and netball.
“The kids can come down after they’ve had a game of footy and hopefully next year, when it all gets going, they can have more of a buy-in with the heroes in the senior club.
“It connects everything a bit better, and it’s a real testament to Adam’s commitment to us as a club.
“It just reinforces that decision (to re-appoint him).”
Meanwhile, Haste confirmed Inverleigh will bypass AFL Barwon’s planned modified season.
“We did a player survey and we fell about 10 short of being able to jump into that,” he said.
“There were a few guys who had doubts when it came to playing footy vs. work.
“We nearly got there.”
Donohue is one of a number of local coaches to take on junior roles at their clubs, with Steve Clark to lead Queenscliff’s under-17s and Ocean Grove’s Pete Davey taking on the Grubbers’ under-19s.
Twitter: @tom_king79
