Player Column – Tim Kelly Round 17

MY life away from footy is fairly different from most of my teammates but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I have a family of my own and I've been with my beautiful partner Caitlin going on six years now and we have a beautiful baby boy, our little son Tykeem who will be two in September.

Life changes pretty quickly when you settle down and have kids obviously but I love the fact that I'm a dad, and a young dad. I really enjoy everything about being a dad and I love my little son. He means the world to me.

A lot of the boys here at the footy club are still going out a lot and loving life, but I'm happy that I have a family to go home to and I can live through them a little bit. I enjoy some of the stories they can come back with but at the end of the day my responsibility is my family and my boy is nearly two now, so he's passed the point of where he needs attention 100 per cent of the time from both parents so we can get out and socialise every now and then. I love having them to come home to, it's as simple as that.

Almost three years ago we found out we were going to become parents for the first time and I think we were both pretty shocked. We couldn’t have been any less prepared to be totally honest, but me and Caitlin had always spoke about wanting to do it even if it wasn’t planned quite yet. We decided to make the best of the situation and I wouldn’t change it for the world now.

It's been awesome watching Tykeem grow up now the last two years. I was over the moon when I found out we were having a baby boy and I've always wanted a little me. Watching him grow all day and seeing him develop is something words can't really describe. It really is amazing.

Having them waiting for me at the end of the day gives me that light at the end of the tunnel really, especially when you have a tough and long day. Especially when I'm juggling footy and work, sometimes I don’t really get to see my boy if he's asleep when I leave for work and just about ready for bed when I get home from footy at night. 

Most times when I get home late he might be still awake for an hour or so, but he's generally going off to bed soon so when I don’t have training, I come home straight from work and I really cherish that time and try to make the most of it. It is tough but it's a commitment I've chosen to make to play footy and I try to make the most of my time at training because I know I'm missing out on family time by being at the club.

Marlion is the experienced dad now in our team so he's been helping out myself and Ashton with some tips. Marlion has four kids now and I guess he's passing on his all his knowledge and experience that he can down onto me. Me and Hamsy are learning off him a bit I guess you could say.

We also got another massive surprise when we recently found out we were having twins. We found out about a month and-a-half ago so it's still pretty fresh and the news is settling in. to be honest I can't believe it but it's a blessing and the babies are due in January. 

Caitlin has been a massive part of my life obviously going on six years now. She is a great mother, a great partner and she supports me in everything I choose to do in life. She backs me in 100 per cent and I really love her and appreciate everything she does for me and our little family.

It looks like being a pretty massive six months. We have this season to finish with South Freo and hopefully we can achieve some success and there's a lot of background noise about what could happen with my future. But it's nothing I haven’t heard before and it's out of my control, but we'll wait to see what happens. 

No doubt it's a big six months ahead when you consider the twins are due in January. If we ended up having to move somewhere for my footy, as long as the right support system was in place there'd be no dramas at all. But in saying that, my family is my responsibility and main priority so they'll always come first.