Fountain Gate Junior Football Club vice-president Steve Piper, first year coaches Scott Gowans and Aaron Abela, and president Tony Duncan. Gowans capped off a successful season named the AFCA Outer Southern Region/Peninsula Region Coach of the Year. 88455 Picture: JARROD POTTER
By JARROD POTTER
FOR a pair of first year coaches, Fountain Gate Junior Football Club’s Scott Gowans and Aaron Abela are already making an impact on and off the field.
Gowans, coach of Fountain Gate’s under-15 boys, was recently named Outer Southern Region/Peninsula Region Coach of the Year by the Australian Football Coaches Association, after receiving the South East Juniors’ Youth Coach of the Year last month.
Gowans is also nominated for State Coach of the Year to cap off an impressive first season at the helm of a football club since his senior coaching days at Kiama Football Club, near Wollongong in New South Wales.
“Haven’t coached for about 10 years then my son, Tom, was involved here, these guys (Fountain Gate) heard I had coached before and roped me in,” Gowans said.
“It’s a huge honour, means that we can attract a few players down to the club as it’s a great club.
“Development is my number one, the role of the youth coach is to develop players to become senior footballers and it’s really a matter of teaching them how it happens from a fitness point of view and the playing perspective.”
Abela was named AFCA Region Coach of the Month for September and also received the league’s top honour, awarded the Junior Coach of the Year by the South East Juniors.
“Just over the pre-season last year and was thinking about it so I decided I’d give it a crack and here I am now,” Abela said.
“It’s not just myself that won the award, it’s the committee, the players, parents and everyone that’s helping me – it’s fantastic.”
Fountain Gate JFC president Tony Duncan said it’s an outstanding effort for both coaches to be honoured and makes the club stand out as a fantastic place for junior development.
“I think it’s fantastic, just gives us a little bit of edge over the other clubs going around the league,” Duncan said.
“To have one would be great, but to have two win the SEJ was fantastic and Scott going on to the Southern Region and now onto state titles is a plus for the footy club and a plus for Scott as well.
“Makes everyone see that we care a lot here at the football club and these coaches go out of their way to do as much as they can over the year to help out the players.”
