Michael Sutton
Michael Sutton has been a part of the Brindabella Blues Football Club for 12 years as a proud parent, volunteer and coach. Michael leads a team of coaches in Brindabella’s All-Girl Miniroo program and coordinates all of the girls' teams from Miniroos to U18s, in addition to his role as a member of the Junior Standing Advisor Committee (JSAC).
Under his guidance, Brindabella also launched their first All-Girl MiniRoo program, with over fifty U6 to U9 girls training together and playing against each other every Saturday morning.
“Seeing the joy but more importantly the confidence and self-belief this has built in the girls has been a reward in itself,” Michael said. “The response from the girls and their parents alike has been overwhelming.
“To see girls who might not have had the opportunity to even kick a ball, after a few weeks, start to kick and chase, tackle and pass and score goals or stop goals has been brilliant.”
Michael said volunteering is what makes the community a community.
“I’ve never really thought about not volunteering,” he said. “I hope I’ve been able to help the kids I’ve coached, not just with football skills but more broadly with their development and I know they’ve given me a lot of joy and great memories.
“Clubs like ours can only thrive because of a cohort of hardy volunteers: committee members, coaches, assistant coaches, managers, field setters, canteen and BBQ volunteers and referees. It only takes, at most, an hour or two a week to help out and you really do get more back than you give.”
