Dilf

Dad – Athlete – Coastie – DILF

by Luke McMahon

The Dads of DILF CLUB recently sat down with Coastie Dad, Central Coast Mariners Captain, and all-round legend, Matt Simon. Our home-grown, Central Coast boy and his wife, Ange, are proud parents to daughter, Darcie (4), and son, Will (2).

Let’s start with your perfect day Matty. What is it? Lobster Beach for sure. I take the family out in our boat and head over for a day on the beach with our friends. The kids normally crash out mid-arvo, on top of the lifejackets on the floor of the tinny, so it’s a breeze.

What do you love most about being a Dad? I love coming home after a rough day at work or a bad game and giving my kids a cuddle. They give me a massive lift, especially after a crap day or possibly copping a bit of off-field criticism. How my day went makes no difference to them, they just want to spend time with me.

What do you find hardest? Being away from them for sure. During the season, we spend a lot of our weekends away around the country. In the off-season, we might have games overseas or I might have other playing commitments that’ll mean I’ll be away for a couple of weeks at a time. It gets hard being away so much.

So, what’s your secret to successfully juggling professional soccer, nailing Dad-life and keeping quality time for Ange? Yeah, for me, the secret is having an incredibly supportive wife. Mate, she

does everything. She’s an amazing mum and is so supportive. She just wants me to follow my passion and make a career out of something I love doing so that makes it heaps easier. When I’m home I try to be ‘off-the-clock’ as much as I can and be present with the kids. Once a month we’ll try to get out for a date night, just the two of us, to spend some quality time together.

What’s your worst Dad-fail? Oh mate, well, a couple of years ago Ange had gone away for a few days and I had

the reigns. Darcie was about 2 and her day-care called to ask me to pick her up because she was having stomach pain. I brought her home and spent the arvo thinking ‘nah, she’ll be right’. She wasn’t very well during the night, but I didn’t want to panic or anything so just kept an eye on her. When I changed her nappy the next day, I saw something shiny in her nappy. It was a hairclip she must have swallowed the day before. I think I muttered to myself “f--- me!”. I felt so bad; I probably should have taken her to the hospital. Then, to top it off, she started repeating what I’d said when I found the clip! *Laughing* Ange wasn’t impressed.

Finally, what’s your best advice to a new Dad? Be your own parent and do your own thing. Google is the worst – try not to get tied down with looking things up online and going through all the parenting apps. Every experience is different, so just go with your own style. Whatever works for you.

Luke is a 29 year old father-of-two from Wamberal. He’s the founder of DILF CLUB, which runs Australia’s largest network of Father’s groups. A former Officer in the RAN, Luke now works a fly-in, fly-out job and spends much off his off-time at regular Dad catchups with his two little girls’.

DILF CLUB’s Recommends: Ferry to the Footy

The Dads of DILF CLUB are always looking for something new to do with our mini-me’s and we reckon it’s definitely worth a look-in at taking them on the ferry to the soccer.

We’ve done the trip a couple of times with the kids and it’s a top evening! Let’s be honest, we all know the Mariners have had a rough season with a new squad, but results aside, it’s a cracker of an afternoon if you’re keen to get out on the water, have a couple of cold frothies and want to skip the muck-around of parking in Gosford.

Central Coast Ferries operate their service from wharves in Empire Bay, Davistown, Saratoga and Woy Woy – so get Mum to drop everyone to the wharf before she has a night to herself, load your own esky and cruise Brissy Water in style. The Ferry arrives thirty minutes before the game so you can take a casual stroll across the training field and have a kick around on the way.

The Ferry departs about twenty minutes after the final whistle. After the game, make your way back to your waiting esky onboard and down the chook and coleslaw bread rolls you packed for the ride home. Another couple of coldies as the light disappears on the cruise home, before Mum meets you for a pickup from the wharf.

So, if you live on the southern peninsula or by our beaches, skip the drive into Gosford and cruise our beautiful waterways in support of our Coastie Dad, Matt Simon, and his Central Coast Mariners.