There were 4-6 players coming to training every week, and there was no real direction on or off the field.

But, when the Lifelong Lion took over the head coaching role, that all changed.

Not only did he massively bolster the club's commitment to train, he helped kick-start an Orange City academy that gave up and coming Lions a pathway to comfortably transition from Colts to adults.

Throw a 2020 Blowes Clothing Cup grand-final berth into the mix, and you're looking at a heck of a leader at Pride Park.

Orange City's 31-0 loss to Bathurst Bulldogs on Saturday was Paasi's last appointment as head coach as he plans to prioritise work and family moving forward.

"It felt like the right time for me to hand over the role," Paasi said.

"I had been a head coach at two different clubs for eight seasons in-a-row, and now I'd like to put a bit more effort into other areas.

"My parents need me a little bit more now than they used to, and work has become a lot busier since I took on a supervisors role."

After being born into the club through his father, Paasi spent time playing both in England and at Newcastle, but always felt like he was destined to return to City at some stage.

"Steve Stone reached out to me and asked if I wanted to coach," he said.

"The club was a blank canvas when I arrived.

"It's all well and good for a handful of people to train for 20 minutes, but I know so many old members of the club who would have been disappointed with that."

It didn't take long for Paasi to start planning.

"We identified some key areas that needed addressing, starting with the transition from juniors to seniors," he said.

"We added in the academy so we could up skill players and bridge that gap.

"I also wanted to make sure that players understood the technical and tactical part of the game.

"And we didn't want people feeling like they were wasting 90 minutes every time they came to training. We wanted the coaching staff to help players learn and make sure they felt involved."

If there's anything Paasi hopes others can take from his coaching stint at City, it's that you're never too busy to give back to your junior club.

"This club has given me so much," he said.

"There's never a right or wrong time to be able to help a club like this."

As for the first-grade season just gone, Paasi admitted it was difficult but tried to take the positives from what occurred.

"I know this playing group has a lot of heart and a lot of drive," he said.

"This is the year they needed to come back next season and make a difference."

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