MIKE Hayes loves a challenge and taking on the first grade coaching duties for the Shoalhaven Rugby Club will be a massive task.
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He comes back onboard after Shoals had a miserable season this year.
The Shoals finished second last on the first grade ladder, won only two matches, lost 14 games, had 735 points scored against it and could only put on 203 points.
The 103-5 loss to Avondale this season was a dark day for the local club.
Hayes is not one to dwell on the past and he wants to lift the club out of the doldrums.
His passion for the club could be a key to lifting the Shoals off the bottom of the ladder.
Player recruitment could be part of the plan.
“It’s not out of the question to suggest that we may recruit players in key positions,” he said.
“We have put out a few feelers for some overseas players.”
Hayes will give some promising junior players the chance to shine.
“I will blood some juniors and the idea is to have a mix of experienced players with some up and coming players,” Hayes said.
He has agreed to coach the team for the next three seasons.
Hayes’s local coaching pedigree is strong.
He got the Shoals into the grand final in season 2000 but they lost to Tech Tahs and in his last local stint in 2012 he got the team into the major semi-final.
Hayes loves the Shoals and he wants to give back to the club and sport that give him so much.
“I want to expose others the opportunity the Shoals and rugby union can provide,” he said.
“Rugby union can help develop your character and that is what this club did for me – it helped develop my character.
“Basically I want to give something back to the club that gave me the launching pad for my career.”
He loves the mateship rugby produces and how it teaches people to dig deep when things get difficult.
Hayes has an extensive playing and coaching history, including Queensland and NSW representation as a player, over 380 Premier Grade games in Sydney and Brisbane.
He has been a level three coach for over 10 years.
Hayes has just moved back to the area after a two year stint as director of rugby at Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast.
Working junior players made him a better coach.
“There was more focus on the delivery of the information,” he said.
He will soon make an announcement about the start of pre-season training and this season’s coach Phil Duncan will be his assistant.
Meanwhile, the Shoals will hold its annual general meeting on Friday October 31 from 7pm at the clubhouse.
