JONNY Hirst is settling in well in his first year of footy with Swan Hill. ANDREW ROGERS writes.
AFTER playing almost all of his football out at Murrabit where he grew up, Jonny Hirst has this year switched to Swan Hill.
Transitioning to life as a Swan has been made easier thanks to connections through running Voyage Fitness and having played cricket with the club since 2011/12.
“I started this year with Swan Hill. Previously to that I was out at Murrabit which is where I had been pretty much my whole life other than being at uni,” he said.
“I started playing there when I was literally about seven, going through my entire junior career and then into the seniors.”
Now 28, Hirst was lucky enough to be around Murrabit during its golden era of the early 2000s.
“I made the transition to seniors and played over 100 games there including the 2007 grand final, which was obviously a highlight,” he said.
“[Murrabit] had a core group of players that stuck around and in 2007 we got a few back for a crack at the grand final.”
Living in Swan Hill with wife Renee and new-born Mia Lou, Hirst said cutting back on travel was the main reason behind the change.
“I’ve had the gym since 2011 and [the change meant] less travel and also I was just ready for something different and wanted to experience a higher level of footy as well.”
And so far the move has been a successful one as clients quickly become friends, he said.
“Yeah I’m loving it, obviously I had a lot of friends there anyway, being involved with cricket and knowing them through the gym, so the transition was easy,” Hirst said.
Hirst studied exercise science at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne but said running his own business wasn’t necessarily a big priority.
“It wasn’t a main goal but it just sort of fell into place. I definitely wanted to work around the exercise prescription side of things, either in the gym industry or in rehab,” he said.
Seeing people achieve their goals was the best part of the job, Hirst said.
“We usually have a class or two a day whether it’s boxercise, personal training or programs for new members,” he said.
“Seeing people achieving the result they set out to achieve and the smile on their faces is the most rewarding thing.”
And it seems Swan Hill Football Club will have Hirst for a few more years yet, with a return to Murrabit not immediately on the cards.
“At this stage I’m pretty happy where I am. I wouldn’t rule it out but it wouldn’t be in the next couple of years,” he said.
“I just love the club at the moment and all the guys are really good.”
