Led by one of the youngest coaches in the Football Canterbury district, Hurlstone Park Wanderers are rocketing up the Grace Martin Trophy ladder.
Words by Liam Cook
In his second season with the club, Coach Nicholas has steered his similarly inexperienced team to an impressive seven-win, two loss campaign.
His initiative in taking the reins has paid off to this point, proving success as a football team doesn’t necessarily require old heads.
“I was looking for a team to coach while completing my university degree and I saw Hurlstone put an advertisement up so I thought I’d get involved,” Nicholas told Football Canterbury.
While the Wanderers are still relatively new to the head coach, Nicholas has long been involved in community football.
Unlike many at the local level, an aspiration to coach has usurped Nicholas’s desire to play.
“I started coaching quite young, through under 10s and under nines and the older I got the higher team I took on.
A commitment to emboldening the women’s game is reflected in Nicholas’s coaching.
Hurlstone seemed like the perfect fit for a young coach determined to build an inclusive team environment.
“It’s amazing to see how much growth Hurlstone have had in a short period of time, whether that be focusing on women in football or giving other kids a go through the disability programs they run, which our team’s been lucky enough to have a look at recently.
“I’ve always been within women’s football; I feel it should be promoted more so I try and give back to it by coaching more women in the game.”
Giving back to the game has been ingrained in the coach’s attitude since childhood.
Always eager to direct and help others, Nicholas finds ways of growing community football even when he is not coaching the Hurlstone women.
“I’m also refereeing at the NPL and Canterbury level.
“Family’s always been a big thing backing me in football, my dad grew up in the NSL and coming from an Italian background football’s always been a big part of my life.”
Despite his rawness, there is an evident maturity to Nicholas’s coaching.
Observing the growth in individual players is what motivates the young coach, even in the infancy of his career.
“Being able to see them improve week by week, game by game, I like to see where they started the year and how they progress by the end of the year.
“Seeing my players improve is definitely a reward in itself.”
