As Gungahlin United Football Club’s registrar, points registrar, age group coordinator for U5s and U8s and the uniform manager, Sharon Brennan is one busy volunteer.

“On Saturdays I get here at about 8 in the morning usually, every second Saturday I stay until the end of the day so 5pm and the other days I leave at about 2.”

With a small break in between, Sharon has been volunteering for an incredible 16 years.

“I started volunteering when my oldest daughter decided she wanted to play soccer and I thought the right thing to do was see what I could do to help out, so I stepped in,” she said.

“I was club secretary for a while, then took on a couple of other roles. Had to give that up for a bit but got back into it about four or five years ago, started off with seniors looking after the State League teams and the Masters, and that was up until this year when I decided to drop back and just focus on the kids.”

Every volunteer is a vital cog in a very large operational wheel and without their hard work, clubs could not run.

“Volunteers are a huge part of our day, absolutely, and as with most clubs probably, we do struggle with finding volunteers sometimes.”

But as this essential volunteer could tell you, the pros far outweigh the cons.

“I talk to some people about it by just saying I started volunteering years ago and I love it, I still enjoy it, my kids don’t play anymore, I don’t have a reason to really continue but I just enjoy it.

“It’s great coming here and seeing all the kids running around and having a great time.

“I think it’s about feeling part of a team, which is what soccer is all about.”