NOEL McConnell is the architect building Terang Mortlake's female football program behind the scenes.
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The father-of-two and grandfather-of-four is happy to keep his role out of the spotlight but as coach Alison Kenna says, "he just sees things that need to be done and he does it".
McConnell, 66, is part of an eager group including Kenna, assistant coach Nathan Jones and captain Brodie Humphrey which has interest in the Bloods' under 18 girls team sky high.
Terang Mortlake has been in the Western Victoria Female Football League competition for two years.
McConnell, an architect by trade with a community-minded focus, has his own extensive football resume including stints in the VFA and a few matches for Fitzroy's seconds.
But with his playing days long behind him, he wanted to be "one of the people who helps out".
"I have a mate Mick Murphy who put it to the community that we might like to have a team and approached Terang to see how they would feel about that and there was an inaugural meeting of community members who were keen to get the thing established," he said.
"I was a part of that meeting and decided it was a good thing to get involved with to assist the kids of the area."
McConnell - the brother of GWS Giants AFLW coach Alan - helps raise money, liaises with councils and assists with training.
He feels accepted and inspired by the players' "refreshing attitudes" and enthusiasm.
"I'm no spring chicken. It is a nice thing to be accepted as a 66-year-old by the girls too," he said.
"They could have the attitude of 'who is this silly old fart?' but there's none of that."
Kenna said McConnell was a jack-of-all-trades; someone who glued the program together.
"I probably titled him assistant coach this year but he does so much more than that," she said.
"You could just tell from the start he was someone who had a lot of knowledge of what needs to go on behind the scenes.
"He put together for me early on a list of all the girls and basically a profile on all of them, their strengths and what they can bring to the team.
"It was just unreal. He's one of those people that just observes. He doesn't say a lot and even when he sent that to me he said 'I hope I am not over-stepping the mark'."
McConnell is enjoying his foray into women's sport. He loves how "having fun seems to be as important as winning".
"There is a bit more of a happy-go-lucky attitude around the place," he said.
"The number one thing is they are enjoying themselves. If they win, that's great too. It's a refreshing attitude."
McConnell has also noticed "unbelievable improvement" in the squad from the first training session to now.
"A lot of the teams have a senior team already and I think we're going to have to bite the bullet and do the same thing sooner rather than later," he said.
"It will be interesting to see how many girls will decide after they're too old for the current team to continue with their football.
"The leaders at the group at the present time give the impression they're keen enough to keep on going."
McConnell is pleased there is an elite pathway for the players to now strive for but hopes enjoyment remains the number one focus.
"There's two schools of thought there," he said.
"It's great there is a career path available for the girls but it would be dreadful to see the fun lost to the sport and it became the only thing you were there for.
"It is going to be a fine balance to keep that mix. It would be wonderful if one of the Mortlake girls was able to go further with their career and we've got a couple that potentially could."