Cam Reinhart in action during the 2017 grand final against Canberra Olympic. Photo: Supplied by Belconnen United.
The Sporting Capital is a new series by Lachlan Roberts, who will sit down and have intimate conversations with Canberra’s sports stars. For the second part of the series, Lachlan chatted with Belconnen United club legend Cam Reinhart.
The Beginning
“I am a Canberra boy and I went to St John’s in Florey and then to Darra. I love Canberra. Other people talk about Canberra being small and quiet, but I don’t think that way. I go to Sydney and it’s just too full on for me. I don’t have any plans to leave Canberra because I’m happy here. ”
“I started playing football when I was six in the peewees and every year since then I have played. Back then Belconnen was split between Belsouth, Belwest and Belnorth so I started at Belsouth and played there for five years. I went to Belwest for under 11s, and then played there for five years, and then when I was 16 went to under 19s at Belconnen. A year after that, I went to first grade and have stayed there ever since. This year will be my fourteenth year of first grade, which is starting to wear me out.”
“Until I was 15 I played as a striker. I think that all decent players start up front, and then start to move slowly back in their career, apart from the really good strikers. I was moved to left wing so I worked up and down the wings and then since I was 18 I have just jumped into the left back position. I didn’t want to be there, they just put me there. For the first little bit, I didn’t enjoy it, because I had the mentality that I wanted to go and score the goals which is a bit harder from my position.”
“For the way we have played for quite a while at Belconnen, the wingbacks try to get forward and support, so you still get quite a few assists throughout the season, so I enjoy assisting the strikers as much as scoring the goals.”
“Last year, to be fair, Olympic was probably the best team all year and the most consistent. They kinda ran away with it in the first half of the season. We started off slow and picked up over the year and after the halfway mark I think we only lost one or two games. We really got into our straps come finals, which is what everyone wants. A final can go either way, no matter who is in it. It’s just one game, 90 minutes. And we stood up and took our chance.”
The starting team in the 2017 grand final, with Cam Reinhart front row, second from the left. Photo: Supplied by Belconnen United.
Club Legend
President of Belconnen United, Tony Barr called Cam “a club legend and a guy that has been around forever and has won a lot of premierships”, which made Cam laugh.
“Its a pretty big call, I don’t know about club legend. I do have a bit of loyalty to Belconnen. I have always had good experiences and good coaches and it’s a good club to be a part of and I have never wanted to leave. I have never played for money, and have always played for the enjoyment of it.”
“I have had offers elsewhere, but with the guys there at Belconnen it is a pretty easy decision.”
“Back in 2005, we were second last and we really struggled because we were quite a young team but the guys just stuck together and after two-three years we turned it around and we made top 4. And come 2008, we won the premiership and since then we have five to six people that have stuck together. People come and go, but having those couple of players stick around was great, and now we have quite a few talented young guys coming through, like Leo.”
“Leo Mazis came through out of nowhere last year and he really stepped up. Halfway through the season, he was a pretty regular first-grade player and now he has really stepped, moving to Celtic.”
“I might go visit him in a few months. We are pretty good friends and have kept in touch since he moved. I tried to help him out a little bit when he made the first grade, and we are both a bit immature, which kind of helped us got along really well. We both just like a laugh and I love to rile him up at training.”
“Leo took it quite seriously when he first started in the team and he would get quite frustrated when he lost the ball and get annoyed at himself and stuff like that, so I just tried to get him used to the fact that it is gonna happen, especially when he is 17 playing first grade. He isn’t really big enough so he is going to get muscled off the ball, he is going to lose challenges.”
Cam Reinhart receiving a plaque commemorating his 200 games for Belconnen United two seasons ago. Photo: Supplied by Belconnen United.
The 200 Milestone
“To hit the 200 milestone was a big accolade and I always wanted to get there. I have set goals throughout my career, so when I first started, the goal was not to get relegated (when there used to be a relegation system in Canberra). After a couple of seasons, the goal was to win it and after that, you want to win it again, and somewhere along the way you hit the 100 games and then you think maybe I can hit the 200.”
“Getting the 200 was a pretty big deal, I still have the plaque on the shelf at home. It was really important to me.”
“The goal for this year is to go back to back. I don’t think we have gone back to back before. We won it in 2005 and then 2014 and 2017. It is a very competitive competition in Canberra, so anyone can step up and win it. Its hard to have a monopoly over the competition. Olympic has a good team for quite a few years and has won quite a few things, but then we beat them last year.”
“I have been really lucky and I have had a good career. Injuries wise, I tore my groin a couple of years ago, completely ruptured it, which put me out for six to seven months. I have done a couple of ankle injuries and pulled a few hammys but apart from that, nothing. I have been really lucky. I am starting to get sore now, with my left knee playing up. It just takes longer for me to recover from matches. It’s not like it was when I was 18 when I could bounce back the next day and play another 90 minutes. It’s not that easy, so now I have to work a bit harder for it. To only suffer one major injury through my career is all luck, to be honest.”
Belconnen United celebrate in the change rooms after their 2005 grand final win. From left to right: Nuru Somi, Callum Beaton, Cam Reinhart, Alex Connell, Ryan Kyprianou and Daniel Macor – Photo: Supplied by Cam Reinhart.
Retirement
“I’ve had a think about it the last couple of years but I just can’t give it up. We did quite well last year, so I had a bit a think about leaving on a high note, but I just love it too much.”
“I’m now last in all the running we do at preseason, but I know I would just miss it too much and I would miss being around the guys. It’s a good group of guys that have been a core part of the team for a couple of years now with the young fellas coming through.”
“I love it, I love the game, I love everything about it, playing, watching. I couldn’t give it up. Maybe later I’ll just drop down to a lower division and just have a bit more fun. Then after a long day at work on a cold winter’s night, I can say ‘Nup, I’m not going to training’ and just rock up for the game on Saturday afternoon.”
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