Community Sport is Going PRO!

WORDS: Corrine Barraclough PHOTOGRAPHY Brian Usher - www.usherusher.com plus Supplied

Eximm Managing Director, Garry Goodman, is the General Manager of Broadbeach Cats Women’s AFL and a founding Director of Sports Gold Coast. Now, Garry is combining his love of sport and business expertise to revolutionise community sport and talent management ORM’s got the story…

Scratch beneath the surface glitter, the Gold Coast is a mine of interesting small businesses. When you find one, and take the time to knock on the door, you’ll often find a stack of experience and passion for their field inside.

In 1994 Garry commenced a small business that started with one employee and offered one service. Currently Eximm employees approximately 200 people on the Gold Coast and Brisbane offering multiple services to the market including building, security and communications.

Now, the team has added a specialist sports arm to the business.

Garry’s passion outside of the business has always been sport and community and he has done this through various channels including directorships, board positions, consultancy, club president, coach and volunteer. Through his passion for business and sport Garry has been in a unique position to help and give back to the community through sport and not for people to become great sports people, but to have a sense of inclusion, mateship, belonging and worth in a team environment.

“We deliver a range of services nationally, for community and professional clients,” Garry, who was nominated for Best Sports Coach on the Gold Coast in 2021, tells ORM. “Our experienced team can help to support and equip community clubs to best function like an elite sporting organisation.”

Imagine a one-stop shop for everything from Grant Writing to Facility Construction, Maintenance and Player Management.

Eximm Sport are an AFLPA Accredited Agent providing support to clients during all phases of their career. The Talent Management team at Eximm Sport guides clients through contract negotiations, athlete wellbeing, marketing & ambassador deals, personal brand development, financial guidance, and legal advice.

Eximm Sport combined with the suite of services offered by Eximm including building and security. “We design, construct, fit out and maintain high quality commercial and private sports and recreation facilities,” Danika, who is Garry’s daughter, tells ORM. “That work ranges from club houses, grandstands, amenity blocks, indoor and outdoor flooring solutions, as well as security services. My dad has always loved sport; he loves watching sport, but he’s also been physically involved in a volunteer capacity. He’s mainly interested in AFL – he was President of Pacific Pines Power for several years – but honestly knows something about every sport! He’s been involved in community and professional sport my whole life; either sponsorship or volunteering in coaching. My whole family was involved – my mum helped in the canteen and my two brothers were both out there playing!”

Garry saw a niche for his business to better support volunteers in community sport.

Now, The Eximm Sport team are setting the business up to succeed through talent management and community club support.

“Whether you represent a school, a sports league, or are wanting to create a private sports palace, Eximm can build the best while maintaining and repairing the rest,” says Danika. “We put our love of sports into every job and together bring years of experience to get the job done right.”

Danika’s passion for sport has clearly been passed down from her father.

One of her focus’s right now  is the Sports Gold Coast Awards, which will be held at RACV Royal Pacific Pines Resort. Emma McKeon, Australia’s most decorated Olympian, won Gold Coast Sports Star of the Year.

Last year, the awards had 485 attendees, and the goal now is to increase that to around the 600 mark,” Danika shares.

Garry himself sponsors the Junior Volunteer of the Year Award, which recognises someone who puts time and passion into the Gold Coast community.

Bella’s background has also been mainly AFL and she too has been involved in the sport since she was just six years old. After she finished school on the Sunshine Coast, she started working as a casual at AFL QLD aged 18.

“I absolutely fell in love with the sport then,” she tells us. “I loved going into schools and I loved playing football – I became very passionate about all of it. To see the change in kids’ confidence, across all age groups, I just love it so much!”

Both Danika and Bella spent several years working at Gold Coast Suns and are keen to bring some elements of professionalism to the community sports arena.

This job is a dream come true too for me. I’ve always loved playing footie, I started when I was 14 years old. I had several jobs in footie on the Sunshine Coast. I loved playing, coaching and I also loved admin.”- Bella

True to his visionary nature, it was Garry who saw the passion in Bella and wanted to nurture that in a business capacity.

“I’d stopped playing for a while,” she explains. “Then I called Garry and said I wanted to come back to training. I had a kick around, and Garry messaged and said, “Great session. I’ve got a job for you if you’re interested?” Of course, I jumped at it. So, I joined the company early in 2022. Garry saw the need to bring talent management to community sports, it was he who saw the opportunity of being a local sports agent.”

So, what does 2023 have in store?

“Ohh, don’t you worry, we’re very busy with our plans!” she laughs.

“We really want to expand into our community club connections and get our name out there. There are so many local Gold Coast clubs that are struggling along without help. That’s what we’re here for! Local clubs often don’t know about all the resources and services that are available.”

Eximm Sport Talent Management currently has seven AFL athletes on board with more coming imminently.

“By the end of next year, we hope to have around 25,” Bella says. “We basically want to combine our passion for business and sport. The Eximm Sport Team  have a serious love of sport and Garry’s business background has made it all happen. We’re here to help athletes & the community succeed. We’re keen to keep working in the AFL women’s space and also grow into supporting male athletes too. We have a really talented community, and our local athletes really appreciate what we’re doing. Our goal is to be industry leaders in offering support to community and professional clients.”

Eximm Sport is a yes organisation. If you’re a community sports team needing some kind of work, chances are Eximm are the experts who can help.

“We’re open to brainstorming with clients and helping to get done what needs to be done,” Danika says. Between Eximm Sport and the suite of services Eximm offer, “We’re a one-stop shop for building for any sport community clubs. We want to give these clubs the very best resources possible and enable them to function like professional clubs.”

• Want to know more? Visit https://www.eximmsport.com

 

Your Community Sports Wishes… GRANTED!

“There are so many grants out there, and all this time, there are volunteers trying to juggle and do everything without support. To them, we’d like to say, ‘we can help with grant applications!’” says Danika.