Off the back of Antoni Jagarinec’s appointment in the Canberra United dugout, Sally James’ return home was always going to be on the cards, having previously worked with the new Head Coach at the club, and at Belconnen United in the National Premier League Women’s (NPLW).
It’s a reunion that has seen the club fill the void left by departing Young Matildas number one Chloe Lincoln, in a move that Jagarinec was delighted to complete.
“I’ve worked with her before, I understand and I appreciate her work rate, her level of commitment, her professionalism, and want to, from a personal point of view, help her grow even further,” the Head Coach said.
“She’s got ambitions herself like all the players do and I want to be a part of that process with her. I know how to push her buttons a little bit as well to get the best out of her.”
It is somewhat of an emotional return to the club for the shot-stopper, having been close to leaving the sport, before being coached by Jagarinec at club level.
“To be honest, when I first had Ant as my coach, I was pretty close to quitting football. I was going trade it for the sherrin and I was going to play AFL,” said James.
“I moved to Belconnen and he revitalised my love for the game and I feel like you have to repay someone that helps you do that. So yeah, it’s a no brainer.”
Having credited his contribution to reawakening her love for football, James’ eagerness for another season under Jagarinec is something that he says is an important goal for football coaches.
“There’s lots of different success measures as a coach, winning football matches is what we’re here [to do], and what we get paid to do to be fair, but there’s that other side of success as well, so when you hear comments like that or when you’re part of someone’s journey and they remember you a long time after you’ve coached them or they want to come back and be a part of that, it is quire humbling and quite warming inside.”
Across three matches in 2020/21 for Canberra United, James’ debut A-League season was followed by a departure from her hometown, however this came with the idea of a potential return, if her former Head Coach was given the first team coaching duties.
“It feels really good, really excited to be back. I think I left four or five years ago, but when I did speak to Ant, I always said if he ever got head coach, I would come back. So here I am, excited for it,’ said James of her return to the club.
Equally, James was always a player that Jagarinec had in mind to be his number one.
“We’ve chatted lots over the last three or four, four or five years that Sally hasn’t been here, so I kind of had an inkling or a little bit of a memory from that,” he said, when asked about James wanting to return when he was appointed Head Coach. “I know that I wanted Sally to be part of my goalkeeping team as well, so it was always in the back of the mind.”
“Saying that, when Sally left Canberra we equally had the conversation [where] I said go spread your wings, go see what’s out there, she went to some big clubs in Australia and flirted with opportunities overseas as well, so the relationship with us is like me with most of my players, I want the best for them, and if that’s here, fantastic, and if it’s not, fantastic.”
Words: Sam Watson
