MFA Coaching Spotlight: Max Ormerod (Burragorang District Soccer Club)

Max Ormerod has been a dedicated member of Burragorang District Soccer Club (BDSC) since 2011, playing his way through the age groups within the club. Max’s journey with Macarthur football has led him to become a coach for the U13s Girls team, and is also a coach co-ordinator.

Max is a dynamic and enthusiastic coach, who is highly driven and motivated to develop players. Max prioritises effort and respect as core values to his coaching style, and describes himself as a player-centred coach, who always puts the players first.

At the age of 16, Max expressed his interest in coaching, and worked as an assistant coach with Burragorang's then U14 team and again in 2023 with the same team in U15. Max then requested to coach the U13 Girls team in 2024.

Max went and completed his Foundation of Football qualification to give himself and the team a solid foundation of success. In the off season, Max wanted to develop himself even more and went and completed his C Diploma coaching qualification.

At Burragorang's AGM Max was nominated to be BDSC Coaches Coordinator, and Max accepted the role. Max has developed training programs for our MiniRoo Coaches and is spending time working with the coaches at their training sessions, as well as still being the coach for the U13 Girls in 2025.

Paul Ashman is a coach that influenced Max’s coaching philosophy and coaching style. Max claimed that Paul showed him that “simplicity addressing situations with player is very effective”. Paul also taught Max how to treat players with respect, and this has been a core principle in Max’s coaching.

One factor that motivates Max to coach is, watching the players develop and seeing them smile when they come off the field. This aligns with his philosophy of “enjoyment and development”. Max designs fun sessions to engage the players to grow their skills. In practice, Max states “these sessions relate to a core skill and game scenario, and we work them out together”.

Max worked with the team and developed these players to understand the aspects of the game; from basic skills, positioning and team work, these girls started to flourish under his guidance.

Max’s favourite experiences working with the U13s Girls team was seeing the players’ smiles after winning their first game, and described the feeling as “something I will remember for a long time”.

Overcoming barriers such as, opportunity for coaching whilst living in a remote area and being required to travel a lot, Max has pursued his passion for coaching and has found a lot of success. Max was the Troy Betts Memorial Award recipient for 2024, for his efforts during the 2024 season. This award is for a member of BDSC who goes above and beyond for the club in the season.

Max is an asset to Burragorang District Soccer Club and a highly sought after coach for many age groups. BDSC would like to acknowledge him within the MFA to show that the club and members appreciate him and all that he does for our small but mighty club.