Mitchell Woellner had a simple reason why as a kid from Mount Kembla he decided to play American Football.
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"i was probably a bit of a fat kid and I didn't have to run very far and I got to hit people," he told the Mercury.
Woellner is now an adult but 20 years later his love for gridiron is just as strong.
The Dapto resident has been involved in one of America's favourite sports since joining the Wollongong Mustangs as a "pudgy teenager".
He played for the club for many years before leaving to try other sports but returned to take up a coaching position with the Mustangs.
"It's kind of been a rock and roll ride since then," Woellner said.
"I coached Wollongong [in the Gridiron NSW League] and then I ended up going up to Sydney and coaching for UTS for a few years. In 2022 I won the state championships with those guys.
"Then I also coached the men's team and then as a roundabout way I was appointed defensive coordinator for the New South Wales state teams in under 19s and under 20s as well as for the men's team.
"I'm currently the head coach of the NSW men's team. Last season was one of our most successful and led to me being appointed defensive coordinator of the Australian Outbacks U20s side.
"I love the game and the coaching side of things.
"What is exciting about it for me is that the coaches are a participant in the game. It is distinctly different to rugby league where coaches prepare them and then they kind of set them free, whereas gridiron's incredibly tactics based, there's a whole heap of coaching and you have to dedicate time to it.
"One of the challenges that we see in the Australian sport is you can't just show up and play.
"Like if you show up tomorrow and have a crack at it, it's a two to three-year sport and then once you get past that, you start to get into real dividends of the game and how enjoyable you can find it."
Woellner and the Australian Outbacks will head to Canada for the World Gridiron Championships in June.
The draw has yet to be released but the Outbacks are set to play against teams including USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil and Panama.
Woellner said Canada would start the tournament as favourites, adding Australia's aims were to finish the championships with a winning record.
"The Australian teams never had a winning record so the potential to win two of the three games would mean that we could be the first team to do that," he said.
"But I think normally what we measure ourselves by is what the kids do after the game. The Outbacks programs had a long history of giving kids college opportunities and being able to get them in front of high level scouts and people who are able to view it as a talent based assessment.
"There's some local kids that have got scholarships in the States. The likes of Jordy Stalker that most people would know from Wollongong.
"The sport really is growing in Australia and the opportunities are starting to be limitless in the sense of kids are playing in Germany and getting holidays covered and things like that.
"The big thing is the balance between education and athleticism and I think that's something that the sport's really focused on is that you've got to pay attention both to your books as well as your performance on the field."
Agron Latifi
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
Wollongong born and bred. I love reporting about the Illawarra region and have been doing it for more than 20 years. I've moved into sport recently after covering the education round for the last five plus years for the Illawarra Mercury. It's been a great pleasure.
