By ADEM SARICAOGLU
SHANE Rayment thought his days as a senior coach were over.
After finishing his tenure as coach of Glen Orden in the Western Region Football League three years ago, Rayment enjoyed spending his Saturday afternoons watching son Nathan run around for Hillside.
But when the unique opportunity to become the inaugural senior coach of Burnside Heights came up earlier this month, Rayment jumped at it.
“After Glen Orden, I had certainly come to the stage where I was just happy not to coach again, to be honest,” Rayment said.
“I’ve probably still wanted to get involved somewhere just to help out and that sort of thing, but other than that, coaching senior footy again was something that really wasn’t on my radar.
“But this popped up, and for me personally it was just a challenge and after talking to the boys and having a chat to them, it was obvious it was going to be a really exciting time ahead for the club.”
Burnside Heights has not yet been approved to join the Essendon District Football League’s senior ranks in 2014, but Rayment is keen to get on the front foot and attract as much senior talent as possible throughout the off-season.
“Our first priority really is just to try and get as many players to the club as we can – that’s got to be our first starting point,” Rayment said.
Should the EDFL approve Burnside Heights’ bid for senior football, the Bears will join East Sunbury – who recently ended their first year of senior footy with no wins – in Division Two.
However, both the league and Rayment himself are not too worried about immediate on-field success.
Instead, Rayment’s focus will be developing a player-friendly culture, and he is in it for the long haul.
“The expectations of what we’re going to achieve and that sort of stuff – that’s not really relevant for us at this point in time,” Rayment said.
“You’ve got to crawl before you walk, and that’s just the way it is.
“The whole club’s very much excited, and I’m certainly very excited to be back in the seat again because that’s what I love doing and being part of – just helping young guys develop.
“And not just in a football sense, but young guys need a bit of a helping hand in other areas of their life, and I’ll certainly put myself in that position to help them on the way through with that, too.”
