In his 350-game footballing career, there's not many roles that Gary Shipton hasn't fulfilled.
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And in 2020, the former Blue, Redleg and now-Parrot is set to add Bridgenorth senior coach to his extensive resume.
Taking the reins from Brady Demeijer after the midfielder's two-year stint at the helm, 37-year-old Shipton said the idea slowly evolved throughout the season.
"I played at Bracknell for the last couple of years and coached them and made the switch at the start of the year to play with some mates," he said.
"I obviously came on as an assistant coach with the interest of coaching again."
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Shipton, who lists his three Launceston premierships as his career highlight is certainly enjoying life as a Parrot despite a fourth consecutive grand final loss.
"Obviously it was disappointing to lose another grand final for myself but it was good that the club made it to the grand final.
"In the third quarter, we didn't kick enough goals and put the pressure on the Sharks and they had the wind in the last quarter and played exceptional footy."
Identifying key areas of improvement for his side as he takes over the role, Shipton credited the mateship that Bridgenorth has provided for the continuation of his footballing career.
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Staying on at the Parrots as solely a player, Demeijer thanked Shipton for his work this season before looking forward to stepping out from behind the magnet board.
"Shippy's experience coming over from Bracknell, coaching them and obviously having a lot of success in grand finals has been huge," Demeijer said.
"Having that extra leadership out on the field as well has been a key part of our success this year.
"I'm excited for where the club is, coaching or playing didn't really bother me.
"I love being a part of Bridgenorth and I'm excited for the future and especially next year."
As Demeijer concentrates his efforts back into his own game, club football operations manager Bobby Beams thanked the midfielder for his time at the helm.
"We have built this list up to come to the stage where we've made three grand finals, winning the under-18s and reserves premierships," he said.
"At the end of 2015, we had over 35 players leave the club through retirement or seeking opportunities elsewhere and then Patrick Mackrell came in and put two hard years in, giving games to younger players.
"Brady has done the same last year and then this year, with some experience in Shippy and Nick Milbourne, we've been able to come up and play in grand finals.
"It's been a bit of a build, the club is in a very fortunate position in that we had record numbers in our men's program this year so the board and everyone is very proud of what Brady has done and confident in what Shippy will do moving forward and we are very happy where we are at in this moment."
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