Beaudesert Kingfishers U14 Division 1 boys have become first-time minor premiers after remaining top of the ladder, undefeated, throughout their whole season.
Coach Geoff Burr has moved on from Mustangs Brothers to coach his first season for Beaudesert Kingfishers and has since helped bring the U14s to the major finals.
“They’re excited about it, but they’re a very humble group of boys,” he said.
Geoff found that an important part to winning a game of football is to be able to truly connect with your teammates.
“I realised that there wasn’t a real bond with the team – my job was to get a bond going,” he said.
“I can teach any kid skills and techniques on how to play rugby league, but bonding is something they’ve got to earn themselves between each other – and they’ve got that now.”
His expertise not only helped bring the group of boys to the top of the ladder, but he has also taught them life skills that they can learn from.
“What I find is, you’re lucky to be a coach. You should be grateful to be a coach because you’ve got 20 kids in your world for a whole year that you can influence,” Geoff said.
“It’s not just about football, it’s how do we make them better kids, how do we make them better mannered – you get the opportunity as a coach to bring that all in as part of your rugby league.”
“All of these little things add up to get a great person – if you can get a great person, you’ll get a great footballer,” he added.
Although there were some stand-out players throughout the year, Geoff believes that their talent is found throughout the whole team.
“We’ve got some really talented players, but it would be a miss of me to pick anyone, because if they don’t play like a team, then they don’t win,” Geoff said.
“You can have a couple of superstars in your team, but that’s not going to win your games – you’ve really got to come together on the field.”
Geoff has enjoyed his first season coaching for the Beaudesert Kingfishers and hopes to be able to take the boys to the grand finals and come home with a win.
Photos by Emily Livingston
