Premiership player and coach and former Fremantle Docker Brad Bootsma back as league coach of North Albany

Decorated North Albany premiership player and coach Brad Bootsma will return to the club he enjoyed wonderful success at, after being announced as the Kangas head coach for the 2022 Great Southern Football League season. Bootsma was a key part of the Kangas’ dominant period in the 2000s, winning four straight league flags from 2005-2008, and he was a player-coach in two of those. The 48-year-old coached in the Upper Great Southern Football League in the 2021 season, but a job transfer back to Albany led him back to the “club he loves”. A young and inexperienced Kangas side missed finals in 2021 for the first time in more than a decade, and they finished on the bottom of the ladder. The Kangas announced Bootsma as their new league coach earlier this month, replacing Leigh Hislop, who has coached the side for the past two seasons. Bootsma was one of four applicants for the league coaching role. “I know the club, every year they apply for a new coach, and it’s just a process they go through,” he said. “I was coaching last year at Brookton-Pingelly, and moving to Albany sort of ruled that out, coaching there, and there was a process to go through, and fortunately enough and privileged enough to get the opportunity. “I was keen to apply soon as I knew I was moving down. I enjoy coaching. I love it. “North Albany gave me my first opportunity to coach, and then to come back and sort of give back a little bit more from what I’ve learnt since leaving is something I’m really looking forward to.” Bootsma played 23 AFL games for Fremantle across two seasons, and played 162 games in the WAFL across 12 seasons for South Fremantle, winning two league fairest and best awards and captaining the club for four seasons, while also captaining the WAFL State team. His time in the GSFL was highly successful, coaching the Kangas from 2007-2011, and winning the Alan Barnett Medal in 2008 in the Kangas’ premiership triumph. “For me personally I’m going to bring a new game style to the club, I know Craig Dew previously had one and it will be similar traits to that but there will be a little bit of other stuff involved with some more modern style of game,” Bootsma said. “I’m pretty fitness-orientated so I guess the boys will get a bit of a shock come preseason this year. We need to be fit to be able to run the game style that I want to do. “I just want to give my experiences back and try and help some of these younger kids coming through and try and get some of them to a higher level. “I don’t really know the players too much just yet, but I still know some of the old blokes that are still here and there is some really exciting young ones that I have heard about, so really looking forward to finding out who they are. “As a new coach, everyone starts from scratch again so I might see some things differently to how Leigh saw them or the way Craig saw them.” Bootsma has been living in Corrigin, who he coached for five years before his stint in charge of Brookton-Pingelly. “I love Albany — it’s going to be a different change going from Corrigin back here, and obviously coaching in the Upper Great Southern, which is a pretty good league,” he said. “I’m really enthusiastic about coming back. I’m excited to come back to Albany. It’s been a long time and it’s the right time for our family to come back, and I love this club. “They sort of gave me an opportunity after my WAFL days and really helped it move forward, so looking forward to keeping that same culture going and strong. “I’m just excited and privileged to get the job. I know I was up against three other blokes that were really strong candidates, so I need to make sure I put my best foot forward and hopefully we can have some good wins throughout next year.” The Kangas will start preseason training in January. The club has announced the rest of its coaching team for 2022, with Ross Barnett in charge of the reserves, Gavin Boyce taking care of the colts, and Troy Keen taking the reins in the 16s, while Fiona Mountford will coach the women’s team.