Under 15s – As we celebrate an outstanding, undefeated season, it is fitting to honour their three remarkable coaches: Roger, Rohan and Albie, who have mentored many of these boys since their early days of rugby. While the boys have developed exceptional on-field skills, they have also deepened their love for the sport, learning the values of perseverance, teamwork, and respect—qualities that are equally important off the field.
The coaches’ teamwork ensures a complementary balance and fosters each players confidence while building a cohesive team. We greatly appreciate everything you do, both on and off the field, for this group of young men. Your dedication, wisdom, and unwavering commitment have been the cornerstones of their success as individuals and as a team.
Under 12s – Reds – Chris and Andrew, the U12 Reds coaches are two incredibly passionate men of rugby. Chris brought all of his proud Kiwi heritage to the fore, and has been a devoted coach to this team. He has injected great positivity into our boys and their gameplay; always smiling, he has brought a sense of fun to training, while instilling responsibility into the boys both on and off the field. His ability to understand the opposition and strategise game play accordingly is amazing. Andrew, a passionate Wallaby supporter, is also a very supportive and well-regarded coach for the Reds. His words of encouragement to each player, talent for reading game play and ability to fire up the team at half time has led to many match turn arounds. Supported by LeRoux during fitness training, both Andrew and Chris have been amazing for our boys’ confidence, their development in rugby and their growth into young men we can be proud of.
U12 Whites – Under 12 Whites have had an amazing season and it couldn’t have been done without the support and dedication of our three coaches, Anthony (Ant), Dylan and Glen. Each one brings his own talents to the coaching team making them a formidable trio for our boys. Rain, hail or shine they are on the field getting the best out of our boys, guiding them to be better players and mentoring them for the future. Having coached the team for the last two years they have influenced our boys to be respectful of their teammates, other players, clubs, dedicated to rugby, gracious in losses and celebrating the amazing wins. Possibly their last year coaching the team, it is fitting that they end it with a chance to win the big trophy in the U12 Grand Final.
Under 10s – The U10s are incredibly lucky to have the dream team of coaches. Budda and Adam are a phenomenal coaching partnership with unwavering integrity and commitment to the development of the kids as great humans, not just great rugby players. They are open and approachable, with an incredible depth of knowledge of the game that is setting up the team with all the foundations they need to play safe, smart and well-rounded rugby.
What a moment it is to see the kids looking up at Budda and Adam – eyes wide open, soaking in all these men have to offer. We’re so grateful to have you leading and influencing our kids – both in the game, and in life. Under the wings of these coaches, the U10s are set to soar!
Under 9s – The U9s coaches, Ryan Campbell and Damon Ellis, showed great commitment to the team this year. Both suffered from significant injuries early in the season and kept showing up for the boys anyway. Both had significant other family commitments affect them this year but still they showed up and worked together to make sure the team always had guidance and support. In terms of the game and the rules, there were lots of big changes for the U9s this year and Ryan and Damon worked really hard to make sure the boys had all the skills and knowledge they needed to succeed on the field.
Under their guidance, the U9s really came together as a team this year, worked hard as a team and succeeded as a team. As a parent on the sideline, it was great to watch and clear that this transformation was the result of awesome coaching, lots of hard work and dedication from Ryan and Damon. On behalf of the team and the parents – thank you Ryan and Damon and well done!
Under 8s – The Noosa Dolphins U8s have had an exceptional year. The skills, teamwork and knowledge of the game has visibly grown week on week.
This is down to the dedication, hard work and enthusiasm shown by the Team’s two coaches – Grant “Chooky” Fowler and Andrew “Higgo”
Higginbottom. Chooky and Higgo are the first to arrive and last to leave for every training session and game; with countless extra hours behind the scenes. They make training fun, whilst assisting players of all abilities to develop. The close bond between the boys and coaches is noticeable, with players hanging on every word of Higgo’s famous pre-match ‘rev ups’ and Chooky’s post-match summaries. No one has a bad word for these two, and they are the epitome of the term ‘good blokes”’. Congratulations on a great season to Chooky and Higgo, with a huge Thank you from all the players, parents and everyone involved with the Noosa Dolphins U8s in 2024.
Under 7s – How lucky are we? Coach Hamish is committed, consistent and considerate. No one is left behind, all player’s skills are met and challenged. He has crafted a special sense of team, one where the boys respect the game, each other and their opponents – and have the best time along the way. Every training is well organised, engaging, fun and caters to the ability of the entire team. He leads by example on the field, motivating, directing, suggesting, supporting, celebrating, consoling, encouraging – nothing gets past him. The boys adore you, trust you, and are inspired by you. Thanks Coach Hamish for making our U7s feel special in their own unique ways and always going the extra mile. We can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Under 6s – A big thank you to the Under 6s coaches this season, Rod Davies, Terry Carroll, Tane Maxwell and Brett Nicholas. With two teams of U6s these coaches had their hands full and patience tested as they herded cats, but produced amazing results along the way. Coaching the U6s is about introducing kids to rugby and helping them fall in love with the game, mixing this with developing the basics and making it all as fun as possible along the way and that’s what our team of coaches did to a very high level. Well done and thank you to each of you.
