It’s always pleasing to see the kids you’ve seen grow up, go on to better things. It is extremely pleasing to see them aspire to be leaders in their community and to work hard to progress towards those aspirations.
Nipper and I remember Sam Schaller being born. We grew up – in as much as any of us actually grew up – with his parents. We played footy and cricket with his father, netball with his mother and father, and his grandparents – all 4 of them – were a constant presence in our community when we were younger. We saw him play his first cricket and footy - and we have seen him rise to prominence on the playing fields of the village.
He’s the gentle giant with the unusual kicking style, the left armer who can spin it either way and swing it both. He’s been a coach since he was in school and he has worked on his craft to the point where, when an opportunity rose, the departing incumbent Dan Donati recommended his services to the club as senior coach.
Sam has a wonderful perspective on the football club, having grown up surrounded by the two blues. He is filled with gratitude for the little things that the non-combatants do for the players and the club and is rightly humbled by their dedication.
And he is also fiercely driven to success and has already proven that he has what it takes to coach and lead teams to high levels of achievement.
He realizes the size of the task he has taken on and the size of the shoes he is filling and he is looking forwards to the future and knows the hard work that goes into having a successful football program.
We hope you enjoy our chat with Sam Schaller.
