By ADEM SARICAOGLU
AARON Symons was fresh off the plane from his assistant coaching stint with India’s Pailan Arrows when Green Gully parted ways with coach Dean Hennessy.
Not great news for Hennessy, but perfect timing for Symons.
The 28-year-old Maribyrnong College football program technical coach didn’t hesitate taking up the resultant Green Gully offer, despite the lack of a head coaching role within the given package.
That role fell to current Cavalier’s skipper Jeffrey Fleming, who is now assisted by Symons from the sidelines.
“He’s got an excellent presence, and I know that from watching him as a player that he’d be a good guy to work for,” Symons said of Fleming.
“That’s the first thing, and I also knew that because he’d be a player coach there’d be a lot of coaching involved for me, too.
“You can be an assistant coach and just be a cone boy and just do whatever, or you can actually take some drills and actually be very well-engaged with the group, and that’s something I’m determined to do.”
There’s no doubt Green Gully’s high-standing within the Victorian Premier League also contributes to Symons’ enthusiasm, along with the role’s compatibility with his day job at Maribyrnong College.
However, his past 10 months as an assistant to Maribyrnong colleague Arthur Papas in a country that worships another round ball code will undoubtedly drive Symons to greater heights come the right time and place.
It was in Kolkata, east of the Bangladesh border, where Symons, a self-proclaimed country boy from Lakes Entrance, took up residence.
And it was there, nestled within cricketing heartland, where he cut his teeth as very few of his footballing contemporaries have, and where many more have failed trying.
“To last 10-and-a-half months in India was pretty crazy, because at times it was challenging,” Symons explained.
“Not so much on the field but also off the pitch, because it’s 44 degrees for most sessions as well as the lack of facilities.
“After being privileged to work here in a place like Maribyrnong, where you have your synthetic fields, ice baths, nutritionists and all the sports science things are covered, to go over there where you have such a lack of resources, it was difficult to have to handle a lot of areas.”
Having dealt with the expected language barriers, long road trips in non-air conditioned buses and the unexpected educational element his role with the Arrows (an I-League club established to develop the country’s best young talent) required, Symons believes he is well-poised to take the next step.
“As a professional, it’s made me a lot more resilient as a person,” he said.
“I think it’s made me a better coach here – just because you had to always adjust and be very flexible with what you do.”
