BRETT and Maree Thompson have dedicated time improving the junior program and family culture at Pimpinio.
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Maree grew up at Pimpinio and married Brett in 2001 who moved to the club that same year. He grew up and played his football career with Noradjuha before it merged with Quantong.
The couple are both life members of Pimpinio.
Brett said the reason the pair love the club was because it was family orientated, had a strong junior program and club members were tight-nit.
“People like ourselves got involved because we had kids coming through. There was more of a focus on getting extra kids out from Horsham,” he said.
Maree said the junior program has skyrocketed in recent years.
“It has really developed in football and netball,” she said.
Maree coaches both modified and the C Reserve teams at Pimpinio and said the hard work put into NetSetGo and AusKick had started to show dividends.
Pimpinio is undefeated in 13 and under netball, equal third in 15 and under netball, sixth in under-14s football and equal second in under-17s football.
Brett coached the under-14s premiership winning side, alongside Ash Webb, in 2017, which featured his son Dylan.
The couple have four children – Dylan who plays under-17s football with Brett coaching, Tahlia playing for the undefeated 13 and under team and twins Ella and Paige in the modified program. Tahlia also plays alongside her mother in the C Reserve team.
Brett said he played eight minutes of reserves football for Pimpinio Football and Netball Club.
“I had retired after playing for Noradjuha,” he said.
“After the honeymoon we came back and they were short in the seconds so I thought I would fill in. I lasted eight minutes, I hurt my thumb, finished up and thought it was a silly idea to start playing again.”
Brett said he was the runner for the seniors for two years after the thumb incident, and was the bench coach for the senior team in the premiership years from 2005-06.
“I was the bench coach until 2013, then I started coaching under-14s,” he said.
Brett said he hoped the strong junior football and netball program now will show in the senior ranks in years to come.
“The aim is to flow through and retain those juniors and push up the ladder,” he said.
Maree said there were so many junior netballers at Pimpinio they had two extra teams. Maree said Pimpinio has a NetSetGo team and 13 and under team in the Horsham City league, along with the original NetSetGo and 13 and under teams in Horsham District league.