MOUNT Isa born-and-raised Rod Woolf will be remembered as a sporting legend of North Queensland.
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The St Kieran's schoolboy worked as an apprentice in the mines and as a fitter and turner in Mount Isa before working at the Mica Creek Power Station.
In 1985 he moved to Cairns and ran some small businesses, but also used his love of swimming to become a coach.
A talented swimmer himself, Rod was also a skilful rugby league player, representing Mount Isa in the Foley Shield during the ``golden era'' of the code for the city, which was renowned for having one of the toughest sides in Queensland.
His son Kristian, now the assistant coach at the Brisbane Broncos, said his contribution to swimming in both Mount Isa and Cairns was something to be proud of.
``The swimming club in Mount Isa back then was very big,'' he said.
The club Rod played a major role in resurrecting was the now-defunct All Stars Swimming Club.
``It was a real credit to him,'' Kristian said.
``It was a small club, which he brought back to life and turned into a very big and successful club.''
Rod met his wife, Lesley, in Cairns and returned to Mount Isa in 1976, where the pair had three children.
They moved to Cairns in 1985 to give the kids opportunities away from Mount Isa.
They spent another five years in Cairns, where Rod became the head coach at the Cairns Swimming Club.
On his return to Mount Isa in 1990 he took up the coaching role at the All Stars in Mount Isa.
All Stars was the all-round champion club in Mount Isa, winning numerous North Queensland and Queensland championships.
Lesley was also the Director of Nursing at the Mount Isa Hospital.
They left town in 2001 and the club sadly failed.
Since then, Rod and Lesley had lived in Alice Springs, Roma and in the Kimberleys at Halls Creek, where Rod worked with the community and developed locals in Pool Management and swimming.
He coached two Paralympians - Michelle Bate and Ricardo Moffatti.
Other major awards included winning an Australia Day award for his contribution to swimming in North Queensland, Coach of the Year honours and he also coached the NQ Academy of Sport team.
He also won an AIS coaching scholarship.
When he was in Broken Hill and had no one to coach, he coached himself and won numerous Victorian and South Australian records.
He was also a member of a world record-breaking masters relay team.
He also coached an under-14 relay team of Hayley Collings, Debbie Collings, Jordania Moffatti and Tess Symonds, which came second at the Australian Championships.
Rod also managed a huge underdog achievement by getting the North West to third at the state championships behind two Brisbane teams.
Rod died in Darwin recently at the age of 66.
A funeral was held in Mount Isa yesterday.
