The generosity of the George Town Football Club has turned Caleb Coghill's fortunes around over the past month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
After having his motorbike stolen in South Launceston, the 17-year-old was driving to Longford for a game before he was involved in an accident, writing off his car.
"When I crashed the car, a couple of players and their parents stopped and said hi to see how I was going and it was great to know that they were there to see if I was ok," he said.
"[Club president] Lynette [Burt] helped me out to pay for a tow truck, so that was really good that I could get back into town and not have to worry about the car."
But Burt's assistance wasn't where it ended as a week later, the club's players rallied around him by donating their match payments to get Coghill back on his feet.
"I had absolutely no idea they were going to do that and I'm so happy they did," he said.
"They didn't have to do it at all, it's just amazing stuff by the club and I thanked them so much for it.
"They stood me up in front of everyone at the footy club and I was lost for words, I couldn't say anything.
"I thanked them later, just on Facebook but I thought I was going to tear up if I said anything in the clubrooms - I was very emotional."
Playing for the club since under-12s, taking a season's break last year due to COVID, the Launceston College student debuted for the club's senior side in round seven against Deloraine.
The following week he was chucked into the deep end, playing on South Launceston forward Bart McCulloch who sits second in the league's goalkicking.
"It's much different to junior footy, everyone plays so much better and it's really hard stuff but the experience you get from senior footy is so much better - you learn so much from the older boys," Coghill said.
"He [Bart] also gave me tips and tricks just in the game as well.
"I was trying my best to play on him, obviously he knows what he's doing more than I do, but it was great to play on him and learning from him and what he does."
Burt said the player-driven initiative didn't surprise her.
"It's just a testament to the George Town community and the way in which we pull together when things are tough for some people," Burt said.
"Certainly what we want to show our young people is that there are good people and good club culture and that's what our club is about at the moment.
"It just goes to show that football's not the wins and losses on the board, it's about the community and the environment."
While it's been a tough season on-field for the Saints, Burt hopes the renewed focus on strengthening the club culture will lead to eventual success.
"What we are hoping is that club culture promotes the kind of environment that we've got but also encourages our local players to stick with us and be a part of our club [and] have a few of our locals come back that are playing high-level football to support us."
Josh Partridge
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
As a sports-mad fan who loves to remain challenged, sports journalism always seemed the path for me and it's allowed me to do things I never thought possible. A keen racquet sports player, I'm experienced in that field, allowing me to do my job at a strong standard.
