Brett White thought about entering the business world but there was no stopping his love for footy.
White is the current coach of the Canberra Raiders Under-20s side, a role he has held for the past two seasons.
After announcing his retirement at the end of 2014, he joined the Canberra coaching staff while also dabbling in the food franchise industry.
He juggled the two jobs for a period of time but it was his passion to stay involved in rugby league that ultimately won out in the end.
“I love it. I love still being involved in the game at the top level, doing stuff with first grade and my own group,” White said.
“It is great to work with the next generation of young players coming through and hopefully having an influence on their careers and their lives as well.
“If I can have the slightest positive influence on some of these young guys I see that as very rewarding. As far as job satisfaction goes it doesn’t get any higher than that.”
“I wasn’t thinking about (coaching) too much but the opportunity to go straight into it at the time after retirement was appealing… it is something I feel really suited to and really enjoy.”
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White knows as much as anyone how important a relationship is between a player and his coach.
He experienced that first hand during his six seasons and 127 games he played for Storm.
White came to Melbourne in 2005 as a young kid unsure if he had what it took to become a top notch rugby league player.
It was at that time when Bellamy gave him the one thing he needed more than anything else.
“Belief,” White said.
“When you have that feeling that someone believes in you it gives you a lot of confidence.
“Everything was always really straight forward and simple. He always left it up to you to go and do your job.
“That belief that someone knows that you can do it gave me a lot of confidence, Craig had a massive influence on football career and also my life.”
White said he was disappointed that he is yet to get to experience an Old Boys weekend since entering retirement.
However he will be making the trip back down to Melbourne next week for the 10-year reunion of 2007 Grand Final winning team.
“The close nit relationships you form in a side like that, they last forever,” White said.
“You always stay in contact with blokes and I am really looking forward to that weekend where we can all get together and enjoy each others company.”
