By Tanya Faulkner
From slam dunking on courts, to kicking goals and blowing whistles, the journey for one Endeavour Hills local has had a lot of twists and turns.
Endeavour Hills Rugby Union Football Club women’s coach Presley Naea has come out on top at the Victorian Sports Awards (VSAs), being officially named as the 2022 Community Coach of the year.
Originally from New Zealand, Mr Naea didn’t get involved in rugby until he crossed the ditch and made it to Victoria in 2002, which he said was just for exercise.
Once he had kids and they started getting older, he took his son down to the rugby fields for a run around.
His sons also found an interest in the sport, however the team didn’t have a coach at the time, which is where Mr Naea’s coaching career began.
He said the club president gave him a bag of cones and balls for him to take over the coaching role and he grew to love the sport more over the years, being able to both play for his own team and coach his son’s teams at Endeavour Hills.
Once the injuries and old age came in, Mr Naea hung up his own boots, focusing on coaching the Under 18 team.
Mr Naea said his son was probably the biggest influence in his coaching career, being able to watch him grow and develop as a player, as well as learning a few things for himself along the way.
“Coaching teaches you a lot of things,” he said.
“Patience is the biggest thing in coaching, and being able to watch your players grow, develop and progress further.”
Last year, instead of taking the break from coaching he’d originally planned, he found himself being “that guy” to fill in for the Endeavour Hills Club women’s rugby team, with the intention of only filling the role until they’d found someone else.
However, things changed after he discovered this new side to rugby, and after pre-season he fully committed to coaching the women.
He said they had an amazing season, and it was exciting to see a different side of rugby with the women’s team, which he said is getting much bigger around the world.
“It’s actually blowing up, even with sports in general, women’s sports are growing overall,” he said.
“Even last night at the awards, there were a lot of awards going to women, it’s like they’re putting their hands up for everything.”
He said seeing everyone at the VSAs and the calibre of finalists he was up against shows the domino effect that is happening around the world across all sports, particularly for women.
Mr Naea said his recognition as coach of the year was shocking, but humbling.
“It means a lot to me, the club I represent, my people (pacific island people) that I represent, even rugby Victoria,” he said.
“My award was the first Rugby Union Victorian Coach of the Year, and I am very happy with that.
“Just reflecting afterwards on the way home, I had my wife, son and daughter here, and I didn’t realise how much time that I’ve put into this.
“Been a very long and enjoyable time, with its own struggles along the way.”
Moving forward, Mr Naea is hoping to look into the representative space to challenge himself in his career even further.
“I wouldn’t mind putting myself out there and gaining more experience and knowledge around the representative side of rugby.”
Mr Naea said he owed a big thank you to the Endeavour Hills women’s team and everybody down at the club, and said they’ve played a big part in this award.
“There’s a lot of people that support behind the scenes, and without them I probably wouldn’t be recognised for this award.
“Thank you to the volunteers, and to my family too.”
The full list of winners can be found at https://vicsport.com.au/22-vsa-winners
