Peter Somerville is loving his life after footy. The ex-Bombers Ruckman is living on the Sunshine coast, combining his love of footy with teaching.

 

Somerville, 43, retired in 1999 after 160 games for the Bombers including the 1993 premiership.

 

Somerville ran his own plumbing business in Melbourne until 2002 and then made the move to sunny Queensland.

 

He completed his plumbing apprenticeship while he was playing for Essendon.

 

“The AFL didn’t go professional until towards the end of my career so we trained after hours three nights a week, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and sometimes Friday. This was on top of working 7am til 4pm - a tradies’ typical day,” Somerville said.

 

Assistant coach at the Brisbane Lions for five years and then with Maroochydore, Somerville is passing on his skills and experience to new generations of players.

 

And he’s doing this while teaching plumbing at TAFE Queensland. You might think the two couldn’t be more different - but Somerville says they have a lot in common.

 

“Coaching really helped my teaching. Being coached by Sheedy and learning the management side of the business helped me be a better teacher. I learned a lot

 

“You’d have 50 blokes, reserves and senior players you had to coach. Plumbing’s not that much different. I teach them the skills, laws, safety and standards.

 

“And now, my teaching helps with the coaching, especially the computer skills. It’s great what you can do with computers now.”

 

This year, for the first time in a long time, he’s taking a year off from coaching for his own study. He’s completing a Certificate IV in a building qualification to round out his existing qualifications in plumbing and preparing for future career options.

 

Somerville said he’d recommend TAFE and training or apprenticeships to anyone considering it.

 

“There’s that old saying plumbers are millionaires. We’re not - but we’ve got a skills shortage and demand will keep going up.”

 

No doubt Somerville will be back on the footy field coaching again soon, meanwhile, he’s got his hands full.

 

If you’re interested in finding out more, call the TAFE and training line on 131 823.

 

Or why not tell us more about the job you’d love to have and why.
 
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