With Jason Cain stepping down at the end of the 2008 season, the Blues were quick to sign up his replacement in the form of the much respected Jaye Macumber.
Macumber has been with the Blues since 2006 as player - regularly commuting from Quebec to play his beloved sport. But it's fair to say that he has for a long time coveted an opportunity to test himself as a Senior Coach in the OAFL.
Macumber has been with the Blues since 2006 as player - regularly commuting from Quebec to play his beloved sport. But it's fair to say that he has for a long time coveted an opportunity to test himself as a Senior Coach in the OAFL.
We at Blues News had the honour of sitting down and having a chat with the affable coach. Here's a little information about the new Blues Coach!
Macumber started his playing career as an 8-year old playing for Horsham in the Under 13s and 17s squads. Position-wise he played as a ruck-rover - but as most Aussies will recall during those early years, as a kid you played ALL the positions. Playing against older kids - meant Jmac's development was fast-tracked. As younger player you either adapted and survived or were simply taken out of the game to play kids your own age. Off the field the young Macumber had other passions which he believed further assisted his development as a player.
He took up Karate at the age of 12 and at the age of 15 received his black belt. The confidence gained by the karate training (coupled with his playing experience and skills) assisted Macumber in being signed on by the St. Michael's Football Club (in the Horsham District Football League) where he made his senior football debut as a 16-year old playing on the wing.
While his football experience developed in leaps and bounds, Macumber also maintained his commitment to his off-field love of karate. He received his first degree black belt (his teaching rank was Sempei) and started running his Horsham instructors’ second dojo in Warracknabeal as a 17 year old. This leadership position meant Macumber started to develop his teaching skills, and was the spark which ignited Macumber's passion to coach. During this time he started coaching the junior footballers at St. Michael's.
He then moved to Nhill to study his nursing degree and it was here that he played senior football in the Wimmera Football league. It was around this time he also sat and passed his level 1-3 AFL coaching courses.
Macumber's next move was to Adelaide in South Australia, where he played (predominantly on the ball) and coached in the Southern Football league with a club called the Marion Rams. Macumber learnt a lot from his first Marion Rams coach; Tony Burgess. Who was a former VFL player with the Collingwood Magpies, as well as a 200 game player with the West Adelaide footy club.
In 1999 he headed back to Victoria where he played (again predominantly as an in and under ruck rover) and assisted coaching with the Marnoo Football Club; in the Lexton Plaines League. The club folded at the end of the season and he headed home to play with his first club (St. Michael's); now called the Horsham Saints and in the Wimmera League.
The coach there at the time was Stewart Devlin a former top 10 (1990) draft pick of Geelong Cats player in the AFL. Macumber had plans to head over-seas in the middle of 2000; but Stewart urged him to play on the Half Back Flank for the first half of the year and mentor a young player to play his role before heading off on his travels. Macumber fulfilled the coach's wishes before taking part in the Aussie tradition of invading Europe.
In 2002 he returned to Australia and resumed playing as Ruck Rover/ Half Back Flanker with the Horsham Saints again and it was here that he broke his left shoulder; just before quarter time in round 5 of the home and away season. Macumber heroically came back on the ground in the last quarter and the side won the game by 2 points; but his season was seemingly “over” after the Collingwood club doctor in Melbourne advised him that he required a shoulder reconstruction. Macumber decided against the surgery and came back to play finals that year and re-broke his shoulder in the club's Semi Final loss.
In 2003 Macumber flew to Canada and landed in Quebec City, where he earned his ISSA personal trainers certificate. He has been in QC since and played 3 games with the Etobicoke Kangaroos between 2004-2006. His shoulder has still not been fixed and still popped out once or twice during those early games with the Roos. Macumber then started playing for the Central Blues when the club entered the league in 2006 commuting to Toronto regularly to play. In 2006 he began coaching the Quebec Patriotes Gaelic football team here in Quebec City. The club under the tutelage of Macumber has came a long way in 3 years. Now with this appointment as Senior Head Coach of the Central Blues, Macumber will be relocating to Toronto in April 2009. In the meantime he will be overseeing the pre-season training from QC, while his assistant coaches Jason Cain and Mark "Knackers" Dobson will run the pre-season training.
Over the course of Macumber's career he has played in 2 winning grand final teams and 2 losing grand final teams.
2009 shapes up to be a tremendous year for the club and all its members - and with the ever-excitable Macumber to steer the on-field-ship it's definitely going to be an exciting ride. The season could not come fast enough.
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