The books will be closed, the iPad switched off before walking out of the classroom.

That's when Littlejohn will seamlessly slip back towards football mode to rejoin the Brisbane Lions in reshaping futures in a team on the rise.

It's a timely reminder that the focus for the rest of the year is his passion that turned into a job rather than a job he was passionate about.

"Even at the school I am at now, there's not a footy around," Littlejohn said.

"There is no AFL sort of really spoken about.

"You mention I'm a coach at Brisbane Lions and hear, 'who, where at?' type of thing.

"When I was teaching at Brooks High School and I was coaching on a Saturday, I'd see the kids I taught through the week at the game with their North Launnie tops on or playing in a junior club, which is just fantastic.

"That's what I miss about Tassie is the community."

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

The return to the Gabba somehow worked out alright for an optimistic Littlejohn.

While some club staffers were heard to find casual work packing shelves in supermarkets that teens after school hours frequented a lot more for pocket money than paying to see an AFL side, Littlejohn instead scored a five-week teaching contract.

It will end perfectly before the next weekday the Lions coaches are due at training.

The 33-year-old physical education teacher akin to his planning on a State League matchday stayed one step ahead by keeping his registration going once heading up to Queensland in 2016.

"I was also lucky enough that the school is literally two minutes around the corner from where I live," he said.

"I first contacted them and then they contacted me the day before school went back on a Sunday to ask me could I do a day relief and what not.

"But straight after that day they offered me the contract, which tied in really well with the footy going back as well.

"Been very lucky in that space and it just goes to show that having something outside footy is always a bonus."

Littlejohn faces challenges like testing out the footy IQ of rookies new to the Lions.

But taking control of an unfamiliar chemistry class is another element of his skills.

"It's not my expertise by any means, but that teacher has been away and hasn't been able to teach so I have been doing my best in that classroom there," he said.

"I have also spend some time in maths classes, which has been great, as well as PE, which is my strength."

The classroom rather than the oval could could have been the dual Bombers TSL premiership coach's calling for the rest of the season.

It was not a given that the humble Littlejohn automatically would be just welcomed straight into the Lions' den.

Brisbane was one club that had to assess the worthiness of each of its coaching roles that coronavirus put under a financial microscope.

"I was sort of in that mindset, if it doesn't go my way, I have got my teaching that I can keep doing and I have gotten there before," he said.

"I believe in my ability and what I got to offer football clubs in the football environment that I will be able to offer something in the future.

"But they have been great for my family and I since we moved up here."