Subi People - Sarah Harris

Over the past 10 years you would be hard pressed to find a volunteer at the Subiaco Football Club as positive and passionate, bringing the same vibrancy to the club, then Sarah Harris.

 

Sarah the current head trainer of the Subiaco Colts program has spent the best part of 10 years helping Subiaco’s players continue to get the best out of themselves, a behind the scenes figure with a profound impact on the on-field performance of the Subiaco Football Club.

 

While her role may read head trainer, Sarah has been so much more than that for players, support staff and other volunteers.

 

Sarah is someone who is passionate about her role, cares deeply about her players and is highly respected for her professionalism and the approach she has for her chosen profession.

 

After first becoming involved with the Subiaco senior program back in 2009, as a fresh faced 19 year old, Sarah has spent the most part of her adulthood giving her time and energy to the Subiaco Football Club.

 

The face still seems as fresh, with that same warm smile on her face every time you venture down to Colts training or into the rooms of a Colts match.

 

The love for Subiaco comes from working with a group of people that Sarah both admires for their dedication and cherishes for their friendship.

 

“It is like a second family being a part of the support staff at Subiaco,” Harris said.

 

“You spend more time with these people than you do with your other friends and family.”

 

Sarah respects all the volunteers at the club, but a few people have a special place.

 

“I loved Stracky, he did so much when I first got involved,” Harris said.

 

“But also the guys like Mick and Albs, former Subiaco staff members like Luke Sanders are all people that have been important in my development as a person and really set a standard for me when I was first involved at the club.”

 

Having completed her degree while also working part-time and volunteering at Subiaco, Sarah is grateful for the opportunities that the club has allowed her.

 

Subiaco continues to have an important impact on the career of Sarah, as she is currently completing a thesis on concussion in sport, in particular football.

 

“I have always been fascinated with concussion and how sport impacts the brain,” Harris said.

 

“It is such an elusive thing with very little study and information on, if you go back four or five years ago the conversations around concussion were very different.”

 

Indeed Sarah is proud that her impact and knowledge in this subject has rubbed off on coaches she has worked with, saying there has been a fundamental change in how coaches are dealing with the seriousness of concussion.

 

It is when Sarah is speaking of the figures and facts regarding concussion that the passion for her profession is most profound.

 

This thesis has the potential to continue to challenge thinking regarding concussion and head injuries, with Subiaco in an advantageous position because of Sarah to be at the forefront of these changes.

 

As for her passion for footy, Sarah believes she has always had a love for the game, though wonders how different it may have been if women football had been promoted when she was younger.

 

“I loved footy but never played when I was younger,” Harris said.

 

“There may have been girls footy around, but I certainly wasn’t aware of it and it really was not promoted like it is now.”

 

As for a football idol, the humour in Sarah comes out when she talks of her first footy idol.

 

“I wanted to be David Wirrapanda,” Harris said with a laugh.

 

“He ran really fast and didn’t back down from anyone, which is exactly how I think I would want to be.”

 

After a few difficult years when she was first involved with the Subiaco Colts program, Sarah is now seeing the rewards of Subiaco’s ongoing commitment towards their talent program and pathway.

 

While the reward is seen in on-field performance, it is testament to a great group of people behind the scenes, who like Sarah have been working for nearly five years to achieve these results.

 

“The change in coaching structure over the past couple of years has been a positive one,” Harris said.

 

“The people we have involved with the program now are really enthusiastic and that becomes infectious, as it really rubs off on you, that we are all in it together.”

 

It is volunteers and support staff like Sarah Harris that while maybe not getting the same plaudits have been crucial to the Subiaco Colts success over the past two seasons.

 

It would be fitting if Sarah and her fellow group of volunteers are able to celebrate in more success with the Colts program next month.

 

Regardless of what may or may not come though, one thing is assured.

 

Sarah Harris will still have that big smile on her face and be doing all she can to make the next generation of Subiaco players the best yet.