TWO 25-year-old football journeymen have been charged with making Scarborough’s stay in the WA Amateur Football League’s C-grade as brief as possible.
Ben Walker takes the helm as league coach this season, with Kyle Martin his deputy, after last season’s coach Dayle Bryant chose not to reapply because of family commitments.
Walker’s coaching pedigree is strong.
His dad Alan is well known to the Scarborough football community, having coached the club in the late 1980s before forging a successful coaching career in the WAFL.
Walker Sr returns to the club in an official capacity for the first time since 1988, to take on the role of bench coach. SAFC president Greg Bryant said Walker Sr’s knowledge of the SAFC culture could only be of benefit to Ben.
“The capacity of SAFC to recruit these people to our club is due to the efforts of Kim Booth, our director of football,” he said.
Martin’s dad was also no slouch. Gary Martin played in East Perth’s 1972 premiership team.
Walker and Martin have been good mates since they were at school and came up through junior football together.
Walker came from Carine Junior Football Club and progressed from colts to play league football at Subiaco before moving to Queensland in 2006.
He played with and coached Labrador in the AFLQ before returning to Subiaco at the start of the 2009 season.
Martin also came from Carine and played for East Perth under the father-son rule.
He spent time with Walker at Labrador in 2007 before moving home to captain East Perth’s reserves in 2008.
Walker retired from the Lions last season and played country football before deciding to stay in Perth. “I always thought I’d get into coaching, just not as early as this,” he said.
“But I can’t keep away from footy.”
The 2009 season was not one to remember for Scarborough, after one win and a draw sent them back to C-Grade for the first time since 1979.