Trying to establish yourself as a senior coach at a new club can't be easy at the best of times.
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Let alone during a COVID-19 pandemic.
That has been the reality for Chris Banwell, who has recently taken charge of a well-oiled Newlyn ship.
The Cats have been knocking on the door for a premiership in recent years and have turned to the 33-year-old to help them take the next step.
Banwell made the move following a long career with East Point and took over the position held by Dan Wehrung and Chris Dwyer. And things had been ticking along nicely with pre-season training before the coronavirus crisis hit and derailed the campaign.
"It was a bit of a shame because we were going really well through pre-season and we were in a nice little rhythm," he said.
"Everyone has lost their momentum but we've done what we could to try and keep the players connected through the Facebook page.
"But at the end of the day it's a footy club and you are there to run around and train and ultimately play games, which we've been unable to do.
"Hopefully there is a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel with these restrictions being lifted and training commencing potentially as soon as Monday."
Banwell said it had been a frustrating period of events, but was hopeful some sort of season could be salvaged in 2020.
He said despite the stop-start nature of the season, he was loving his time at the Central Highlands Football League club.
"I'm loving it. It's a nice change-up," he told The Courier.
"I obviously loved East but being able to have a new perspective of things and then to be able to step up as a senior coach is a fantastic opportunity that I'd been looking for for a little while.
"So when it did pop up and it was with a club like Newlyn, it was very hard to say no to.
"I wasn't disappointed... pretty much throughout the whole pre-season it's been fantastic. It's a wonderful country club with wonderful people and it's just disappointing we haven't been able to get out there and play a game yet.
"You don't really get to see what the inside of a club is like until you are out running around and playing games against other clubs."
The Newlyn committee met on Thursday to discuss the potential for training to start on Monday in line with the new AFL Victoria protocols.
But Banwell said Cats players would continue to train away from the club until a start date for the 2020 season is known.
