With his six-foot-something frame, the white Moonee Valley Football Club hat on his head, and the massive smile on his face, you can see Seb Baullo from a mile away. It’s a cloudy Tuesday evening and he’s just finished back-to-back sessions, coaching the U18s and then training with the senior reserves at Ormond Park.

Baullo, 20, has been involved in various sports throughout his life, but footy has been his main passion since he moved back from Spain to Australia as a 12-year-old.

“Football’s always been my outlet from life,” he tells upstart. “My brain switches off.”

“I could have the worst day ever … and you get here and nothing else matters.”

Baullo was 15 years old when he started coaching the U12 boys at the club, after a string of injuries halted what he calls an “average” playing career. After eight successive groin injuries, he needed double hip surgery.

With a lengthy period on the sidelines ahead of him, Baullo decided to look for a way to stay involved in the game. While he says he was never the most talented player on the pitch, he says has always considered himself a “big presence” and a leader and thought coaching would be a good fit.

Young coaches play an important role in keeping Australian grassroots sport running. There are around 200,000 coaches under 24, making up a quarter of all volunteer coaches. But what are the benefits and challenges of their youth—both for their own development and for the teams they lead?

Baullo’s time as a coach has had its ups and downs. He’s had issues with parents and self-doubt, especially when dealing with the better players.

“Trying to teach someone something that you’re probably not as good as is hard, because who am I to tell you not to do this when I probably couldn’t do that?” he says.

Still, Baullo is adamant it has changed him for the better. He says he’s become more understanding and appreciative of things in his life.

“You see so many people from different walks of life [that have] different challenges.”

19-year-old Jack Macmillan also ended up coaching the same way. After getting multiple concussions and an ACL tear last year, he was

forced to hang up his boots.

“It was horrible, to be honest, no sugar coating it,” he tells upstart.

During his time off the field last year, he deputised as team manager for the U18s and learned that he didn’t necessarily have to play to feel like he was a part of the club.

“[I] realised how much I didn’t want to stop being involved in football,” he says.

Luckily for Macmillan, the U14s head coach role at Moonee Valley FC became vacant over the summer and he quickly took up the role. He says the first few weeks in charge of the boys were “very tricky”, though.

“I’ve never been good at speaking in front of people or new people,” he says. “Growing up, I kept to myself a bit, didn’t really like being in a huge group.”

Despite the hard start, he says he’s growing into the role day by day.

“I’ve definitely got used to it and my confidence [when] talking in the group has definitely improved.”

Macmillan and Baullo aren’t just doing themselves a service by improving their interpersonal and leadership skills. They are also helping their community. Bachelor of Sport Coaching course coordinator Scott Talpey says these young coaches are crucial to youth sports participation.

“One of the key factors for a young person playing sport and continuing to play sport is having a quality coach,” he tells upstart.

A quality coach can come in many forms and one of the most crucial things to get right is the balance between having authority and being a person your players can trust and feel comfortable with.

Failing to understand their role as a community coach is the most common mistake young coaches make, Talpey says. It’s all about creating an environment in which kids can have fun

“That’s a participation-based coaching context, where it’s not all about winning and team success,” he says.

First and foremost, the ideal coach needs to be personable.

“Someone who is knowledgeable and someone who can be connected to the athletes and have a relationship with them” he says.

Baullo also believes it’s easier for young coaches to relate and connect with the young players compared to parent-coaches or other older adults.

“You’re at that sweet spot of age where it’s like you have some authority because you’re older than them and can also relate to them and be mates, helping to bridge the gap between the coaching and the playing group.”

Baullo says one of the most rewarding moments of his coaching career came when he helped a player through challenges off the field.

“I worked really hard to just sort of crack his walls down and just get him to be happy.”

When Baullo’s team faced this player’s old club, the player was heckled by his old teammates all game.

“We beat them about five or six goals and at the end of the game he just sprinted to me and picked me up.

Baullo lights up when he talks about this moment.

“I’m not going to repeat what he said, but he was just rapt and he basically [said] ‘I’m why this has happened’.”

“It’s just rewarding,” he says.

Both Baullo and Macmillan know this. They’re not coaching to win flags or to make it to the big leagues. For Macmillan, the focus is simple. He wants to rock up every week and be there for his players and be the coach that “everyone loves”.

For Baullo, it’s for the love of his community.

“I love giving back, I love being around the footy club and the club has helped me in times where I needed mental support or emotional support.”