THE football journey of Ben Boseley has come full circle following his appointment as coach of GDFL club East Geelong for 2021.
Boseley, who fills the vacancy created by Jeremy Power’s decision to step down in June, played his early junior football at the Eagles having grown up within a couple of drop punts of their Richmond Crescent base.
“I left here when I was about 13,” he said. “I played up until about 2001. I remember playing under-9s, under-11s and under 13s.
“I used to play out at Breakwater Reserve in the morning and come and be the waterboy for the reserves and seniors.
“I used to give water to (now president) Sean O’Leary. So it was quite weird having a coffee a couple of weeks ago with Sean when I remember being an 11 or 12-year-old boy giving him the water.
“It is a bit of a homecoming. It’s a great club, and although I was a young boy, I really enjoyed my time here.”
A move to Highton as a teenager resulted in a fruitful stint at GFL club South Barwon where Boseley featured in two premiership-winning teams.
He also appeared at VFL level for Geelong and was part of two grand final sides at Geelong Amateur.
The 32-year-old was most recently coach of Colac and District league club Birregurra between 2014-17, winning premierships in his final two years at the Saints and a grand final appearance in his first season.
“I’m excited to get back involved; I love coaching,” Boseley said.
“I did four years at Birre, which was a great learning experience for me. I’d never been a senior coach before.
“2014, we lost the grand final, which was hard to take.
“But that was the catalyst to learn what it is to be a successful team and ride the lows and understand what it means to put good systems in place.”
Boseley, who has signed a one-year deal, returns to East Geelong with the club trending upwards following marked improvement in Power’s two years in charge.
After just four wins in Power’s first season in 2018, the Eagles returned to the finals for the first time since 2014 last year.
“Jez has set a great platform,” Boseley. “I’ve been in touch with Jeremy thanking him for the way he left the football club.
“I think it’s important when you’re a football coach that there’s success beyond your tenure.
“That’s the heart of every coach; you want to have success, but ultimately you want the club to get better under your watch.
“It’s up to me now to build on those foundations.”
Unsure whether he will play in 2021, Boseley’s first task will be to work with Sean O’Leary and football manager Michael O’Leary to assemble East’s playing list.
“We’ll make some calls, particularly to guys who have been here for a number of years and touch base with them,” he said.
“Then we’ll start filtering down the list and communicating with as many players as we can.”
Twitter: @tom_king79
