Darley's under-19s will be able to draw on 350 games of AFL-VFL experience with Doug Hawkins announced as the team's coach for the 2021 Ballarat Football Netball League season.
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The club approached Hawkins about taking on the role late last year and talks continued before the announcement was made on social media on Tuesday.
Hawkins said his role would focus on mentoring Darley's young players and if the club was in good shape off-field, results would come.
"It's about coaching young men to make them better people, particularly off the ground," he said.
"Some might have issues they can't talk to their parents about, so I want these young men to trust me and be able to talk to me like I am a father figure to them.
"I want to make sure they in good shape off the ground, then footy will fall into place."
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A Bacchus Marsh resident, Hawkins has a previous connection to the club through his son Ricky's prior stints with the Devils and was the club's number one ticketholder in 1988.
With his previous coaching experience coming from arch rival Bacchus Marsh, Hawkins said he was looking forward to being involved with a club he had always respected.
"It was a bit difficult because of the rivalry but, at the end of the day, Mick Malthouse coached Collingwood and a year later, he coached Carlton," he said.
"I think the people at Bacchus Marsh will be a little disappointed and surprised, but at the end of the day, I'm going to try to help the youth of Darley Football Netball Club to be good people and be good footballers."
Darley president Mark Shelly said it was a 'great thrill' for the club's young guns to have a mentor with as much experience as Charles Sutton medallist Hawkins.
"Doug's the first to admit that the game has changed since he played but what he can bring to these young chaps is the knowledge of what it takes to get to that level," he said.
"When you're coaching under-19s, it's not just coaching on the field but being someone they can talk to off the field as well and that's an important factor for any club hiring a under-19s coach."
Shelly said Hawkins' hiring would create a strong link between senior and junior teams.
"In our preseason training, we've made a concerted effort and have had really good numbers from both our under-17s and under-19s lads training with the senior group," he said.
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