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JUAVFL veteran Epic Journey to the Pies: A Story of Triumph and Transformation!

“When it rains, it pours.”

A myriad of events is unfolding in the life of 32-year-old Tom Wilson, a name gaining growing significance and acknowledgment within the confines of the AIA Vitality Centre.

A whirlwind of events is unfolding in the life of 32-year-old Tom Wilson, a name that is gaining increasing significance and notice within the confines of the AIA Vitality Centre.

In December, his journey began with the engagement to his long-time partner Ruby. Recently, the couple celebrated the arrival of twin girls named Harriet and Romy, marking a special time for the now-expanded family of four.

He has been part of the Collingwood VFL team for 18 months, having joined at the beginning of 2023 after playing 140 games with the Northern Bullants/Blues. However, he has recently become one of the most well-known figures in the club for a new reason. This school teacher of seven years made a career change earlier this year by joining Collingwood’s AFLW program as the Head of Development and Midfield Assistant Coach.

He now gets to live and breathe the Collingwood way of life every single day, having solely faced the black and white as opponents in his more than ten years within the football system.

Wilson remarked of his role as coach at the same Club where he plays football, “It’s unique, isn’t it.”

“A lot is going on, and when it rains, it pours.” Right now, life is going quite nicely.

Since I know that someone is watching out for me, I just want to express my gratitude for the possibilities I’ve been given.

“I’m incredibly appreciative of the things and people I have in my personal life, and I’m just as happy and appreciative of the people I get to work with every day and have daily conversations with.”

He never imagined that his decision to move a short distance south from Preston to Olympic Boulevard last year would also result in a change in his professional path.

Nonetheless, he has always had a strong interest in education and learning due to his background as a teacher, and coaching has always been on his mind.

Wilson stated, “Coaching or that education side has been a passion of mine for the last seven years that I’ve been a teacher.”

“I am really appreciative that this opportunity has arisen; I had no idea that my involvement as a Collingwood VFL player and my development role within the VFL program would.”

“My goal was to make every post exceptional and to utilize all the wonderful people and resources in my immediate vicinity to let them know that I’m here to stay, that I’m stepping into your space, and that I want to give back to the environment.”

As a result, Wilson is prepared to start a new chapter in the Pies’ program as it enters the AFLW preseason under Head Coach Sam Wright.

However, as he suggests, nothing happened quickly.

Growing up in the Eastern Suburbs of Melbourne, Wilson’s first football memories are rooted in his family and go back before he ever entered school.

“I’m a native of the Eastern Suburbs; I still reside there, about 30 minutes away from Melbourne,” he remarked.

“I started playing football when I was five years old, for my junior team, North Ringwood.

“It was quite fantastic because when I was five years old, I played 50 games in the Under 9s, 100 games in the Under 16s, and 150 games in the Under 9s with one of my friends.

“I played on a junior squad that had some success. My love of football probably began because my dad was a coach when I was younger and he was really passionate about it.

By the time this article is written in 2024, Wilson has played 164 VFL games. As a midfielder, he has probably played close to 350 games of football in his career.

And most of them have been of high quality as well; in the TAC Cup in his late teens, Wilson was a standout for the Eastern Ranges.

Wilson has always played football at the highest level, even if he isn’t sure how close he was to being picked by the AFL.

“What is the length of a string? Looking back on his draft year, Wilson said, “I’d like to think at some point there may have been a possibility, but the answer to that is I never really know.”

I believe that’s more or less the main thing; I’ve always wanted to play for as long as I could at the best level I could.

“I’ve had a great time playing VFL. It’s been a lot of fun, but there have also been challenges as I’ve changed, tried to solve problems, and tried to reach my full potential.

“It has been really rewarding from a football perspective, and it has been equally important due to circumstances and the people you meet along the way.”

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