As the Yass Valley Council Sports Awards edge nearer, Bek Gallagher is hoping that the second nomination will indeed be the charm.
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This year marks the second time Gallagher, 19, has been nominated for a Sports Award for her services to the club.
The Yass native is already a stalwart with the Yass Redbacks, having played for them since age nine.
In that time, she has acted as a player (who competed in her 200th game last year), coach of two teams, referee, Club Committee member, and was a recipient of the Junior Club Person of the Year.
Suffice to say, Gallagher is arguably overqualified for the Sports Award.
She thanked her parents for starting her at the Redbacks, and attributed her motivation to be such an active member of the club to them.
“Probably through my Mum and Dad. They are very involved – or were very involved – with the soccer club.”
Of her coaching Gallagher said that “there was a team … the Under-9s, they didn’t have a coach. I’d helped out, like on the sideline of my younger brother’s team and helped manage a couple of little kid’s teams and they were like ‘oh, do you want to coach by yourself?’ and I was like ‘ak, okay’.”
Although Gallagher is a prolific presence in Yass’s sporting community, she is also an aspiring hairdresser, and is working two jobs in Canberra, both of which take up most of her time and prevent her from doing as much with the Redbacks “as I’d like to”.
In spite of her previous nomination, Gallagher was still “shocked” by this year’s suggestion. “The first time, I was nominated for the Club Person of the Year Award, but I won the Junior Club Person Award within the soccer club, so they just nominated me to see what happens.”
However, the first nomination was somewhat more personal because “I was nominated with my Dad actually [the first time],” Gallagher said.
Although her extra-curricular activity within the club is diminishing due to her growing professional commitments, Gallagher still found the time to play as much soccer as is physically possible with the little free time she had.
“Last year I played on three teams, but this year I’m only playing on two. It’d be getting close to 250 [games] now.”
Even though Gallagher’s work means she spends most of her time in Canberra, she said Yass would always be home, where she is most comfortable.
Gallagher plays centre-back for the Redbacks, and joked that her time on the field involved “lots of yelling … People are like ‘what’s wrong? Bek’s not yelling!’”
Gallagher has been nominated for the Club Person of the Year category. The winners will be announced on July 29th.