ROSEWOOD United Crusaders women’s coach Kim Bennett is keen to continue helping mums learn and enjoy their sport in this year’s Queensland Christian Soccer Association (QCSA) competition.
After a successful 2024 season guiding the Crusaders to a QCSA Division 4 premiership, Kim was invited to stay with this year’s side moving into the over-30 series.
The former Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) assistant coach accepted a completely different challenge, moving from working with elite juniors to encouraging Crusaders mums to improve together.
She’s back for the new season kicking off after Easter.
“I’m stoked,” Kim said, having resided in Mount Marrow since 1999.
“It’s very handy for me. It’s just down the road and I can still concentrate on my other sport.”
While coaching the Crusaders women remains fun, Kim has another pursuit highlighting her diverse sporting commitment.
She’s an amateur boxer already looking for future fights including a trip to New Zealand in June for the Golden Gloves Masters.
Kim won the gold medal in her 57.5kg division at the recent Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast, taking her fight record to three wins and two losses.
In 2023, the orthodox fighter won the Oceania Masters 60kg lightweight division for boxers aged over 51.
The former Bulls, Knights, Silkstone and Rosewood player with national level experience found a new passion after giving up soccer due to ongoing injuries.
“My son [Joseph] was a boxer and he got injured and Covid hit,” Kim said.
“I was training, helping him while he was here because all the gyms were closed.
“I actually had done my ACL with soccer, so I was not very mobile.”
After three leg operations after playing soccer as a winger and later in the backline, Kim said boxing gave her a new lease of life.
“I started working with him and I took to it [boxing] like a duck to water, so I started joining him,” the athletic mum said.
Kim said boxing required dedication. She does between seven and nine sessions a week as a Rebels Boxing Club member at Walloon.
Kim also works in her wholesale business.
However, Kim likes to make time helping the Crusaders soccer women maximise their soccer enjoyment.
“It’s really a good experience for all the girls,” Kim said.
“It’s not just about soccer. It’s about them all getting together as a group and learning to play the game and learning about working with each other.
“I just focus on teamwork with them. Getting them to bond together and just have that side of their life where it’s all-in and they get to enjoy themselves.”
After losing a number of players who qualified for last year’s finals, Kim plans more training sessions in coming weeks to build a new squad for the 2025 over-30 QCSA season.
Describing herself as a “shepherd”, Kim said winning was a bonus.
“It’s up to them. If they want to go that way, I’ll support them,” Kim said.
“If the girls work together, in my mind that’s an unbeatable team.
“If all 11 players are playing for each other, you do well.”
At the QAS from 2019-21, Kim assisted other coaches helping under-14 and under-15 girls involved in elite programs.
Living in the region, Kim last year welcomed a more relaxed coaching opportunity based at the Crusaders’ Thagoona fields.
“They are nearly all mums. They’ve got children and busy lives and working so it’s a lot for them,” she said.
“I actually wasn’t even planning to do any more coaching. I was planning to have a break.”
But after being contacted, she saw the value in assisting a group of women keen to enjoy soccer.
“The girls had so much fun last year and they made beautiful friends … they made friends for life,” Kim said.
“It’s become like a little community within us girls that we can grow and learn from each other.”
Preparing for a new season, Kim said she would observe the returning players and the newcomers in coming weeks.
“Every training session is about bonding … to get to know each other,” she said.
“I’ve got to watch all the girls – see where their strengths are and then I can create the team.
“Some of them are brand new, haven’t played before but they might be naturally fast or have good hand-to-eye coordination.”
