South Morang’s Ian Findley wears many hats: chaplain, counsellor, netball coach, dotting grandfather and teller of country dad jokes.
So varied are the former Whittlesea secondary college chaplain’s interests that he has published three books on wildly different topics.
Mr Findley’s work with children who were being bullied – and those who bully – led him to research how schools handle bullying, which ultimately led to his first book, Shared responsibility – beating bullying in Australian schools.
A desire to connect with his grandchildren during the pandemic lockdowns via a daily joke paved the way for his second book – HEY, KIDS! a collection of more than 850 dad jokes.
And his years spent coaching netball, after initially playing the role of supportive dad on the sidelines, led to book number three: A complete guide to coaching and teaching netball.
“None of them were intended to be written,” Mr Findley said.
While Mr Findley’s first book was published in 2006, he most recent offerings were released earlier this year.
He said he decided to compile the jokes he sent to his grandchildren into a book to give them something to remember the tradition as they got older.
Each of his grandchildren has been given a copy of the book.
The netball book came about after Mr Findley observed some local matches and noticed the same techniques he taught to young people decades ago were still needing to be taught.
Mr Findley said he loved his years working as a chaplain and counsellor at Whittlesea.”
“[The students] taught me more than I taught them,” he said.
“I loved the one-on-one and group counselling.”
Details: ifindbooks.com.au/
