Photo: Luke Bighin (right) about to tackle Devonport's Joel Stone [PlessPix]
NPL Tasmania players Luke Bighin (Kingborough
Lions United) and Riley Dillon (Clarence Zebras) are showing themselves to be
entrepreneurs as well as footballers.
The pair own Strike Soccer School, which offers
after-school soccer activities for youngsters.
The enterprise is going so well that the pair
hope to expand their activities to Launceston soon.
I spoke to Luke Bighin about his football
career and his plans for the future for the business.
Walter Pless: How old are you, Luke?
Luke Bighin: I’m 20 years old.
WP: How
long have you been playing football?
LB: 14
years.
WP: Which
clubs have you played for?
LB: I
have played for Zebras FC, University Soccer Club and my current club is
Kingborough Lions FC.
WP: What
is your favoured position?
LB: I
have predominantly played centre-back (right) in senior environments.
WP: What
are your thoughts about the NPL?
LB: I think it is an extremely fun league to
play in and to follow. Each club is
intriguing for many individual reasons.
For example, the comeback of Adam McKeown at Kingborough Lions, the
major new signings for Glenorchy Knights and Olympia, and the young talent seen
at various other clubs.
WP: What's
the main difference between playing in the NPL and in the Southern
Championship?
LB: The
main difference as a player is the difference in some of the key fundamentals
of football. As a whole, the
physicality, skill level and professionalism is at a higher level in the NPL.
WP: What
made you eventually move to Kingborough Lions United?
LB: I was
intending to try and play NPL again after my season at University. Jez
[Kenth] had sent me a message so I went down to the Den for pre-season
and ended up staying.
Photo: Riley Dillon celebrates a goal for Clarence Zebras [PlessPix]
WP: What
is the name of your enterprise and how did it come about?
LB:
Strike Soccer School (formerly Hobart Soccer School) came about because
Riley Dillon and myself had the shared vision to provide primary schools with
an after-school soccer program. We both
believe that soccer provides many benefits for children. It promotes a healthy lifestyle and builds
confidence and resilience. There are
also so many long-term benefits of playing the game, such as being able to
start your own soccer school.
WP: What
do you offer?
LB: We
offer various soccer programs, including our main After-School Soccer
Program. Our After-School Program runs
straight after school at various different primary schools around the
State. We also run our own holiday
clinics during the school holidays. Our
programs are all focused on development and fun.
All the information on our programs can be
found on our website (strikesoccerschool.com).
WP: Are
you expanding the business?
LB: We
are offering our After-School Soccer Program to any primary schools that want
to get on board. We started operating
with just two schools in our first term nearly a year ago. We now operate at seven schools, which
include Lansdowne Crescent, Goulburn Street, Montagu Bay, Princes Street,
Campbell Street, Sorell School and Moonah Primary school. We have booked in a number of new schools for
term 1 of 2021, which Riley and myself are super excited about. We are always open to discussions with local
schools to see if they want to partner with us so we can provide our program to
more children.
WP: What
is your ultimate goal with this business?
LB: Riley
and I don't have any firm goals with the business. We are just focused on providing the best
programs we can for the children we coach.
Soccer is a great activity for children and it
promotes a healthy lifestyle while providing development in self-confidence and
resilience. We want to coach as
many children as we can and promote the sport in a positive way.
WP: What
is your football future?
LB: I am
hoping to make football full-time. This
means being an established NPL Tasmania player and full-time coach at Strike
Soccer School. Hopefully, I can make
this goal a reality in the near future.
