CTF Tradie of the Month: Zac Mainwaring

Claremont star Zac Mainwaring is providing a spark on and off the field.

When he’s not kicking goals or laying tackles, the Tigers vice-captain and Kia WAFL State Team representative works as an electrician for Cove Electrical and Security.

As the opening feature in Construction Training Fund’s new Tradie of the Month series, Mainwaring opened up about how he balances footy commitments with working full-time as a sparky.

The Construction Training Fund Tradie of the Month opened up about how he balances footy commitments with working full-time as a sparky.

He explained it can be tough at times, praising coach Ash Prescott and the rest of the Claremont coaching staff for their understanding.

“Being a tradie, balancing training and playing can be tough at times,” he explained.

“During my time, I have felt that being open and honest with employers as early as you can to inform them of this, helps them to be on the same page as you and organise jobs to finish on time.

“It is also super important that during days, especially main training days you fuel your body correctly.

“I found that going to a nutritionist helped massively in getting the most out of my self each day.

“Being open and honest with coaches is also a massive part in helping this run smooth.

“I am very lucky Ash and the coaching staff at Claremont really buy into this and understand that sometimes days don’t go to plan and you may have been in a trench, digging for eight hours.

“This may mean you have a bit of a lighter night on the track to reduce the chance of injury and fatigue.

“Lastly, making sure you try keep an afternoon free each week. This could be for rest and recovery (sauna and ice bath) or maybe going to do something you enjoy (playing golf or just going to see some mates).”

The 24-year-old, who’s been a qualified electrician for two years, said he knew early on that university life wasn’t for him so put his hand up to do work placement once a week.

From there, he realised what he wanted to do for a living.

“During school I knew that uni life was not for me,” Mainwaring said.

“I found it quite hard to focus whilst at school and studying, so got the option to do work placement once a week.

“This led me to trying out being a sparky. From that day onwards I knew that it was what I wanted to do once I finished up at school.

“Lucky enough for me I got to do my apprenticeship at two great companies, Team Electrical Services (commercial) and Focus Electrical Services (residential) which made the process super easy and enjoyable as well as getting to learn about two different areas in the trade.”

As for his current work environment, Mainwaring said he was lucky enough to work for a close friend who’s since become his business partner.

“Since about mid-2025, I’ve worked for Cove Electrical and Security which was started up by a mate, Ryley Verco,” he said.

“We have now recently become business partners and really starting to grow the company.

“At the moment we have a team of five – three tradesmen and two apprentices – but are growing quickly.

“We do a variety of work from residential, light commercial, security, aircons and service all over the metro area and further.

Working for Cove has been huge for my personal growth but also my football, Ryley was very understanding of my commitments to training.

“This means I am always able to get to training on time to be able to do extra work.”

That balance has helped Mainwaring enjoy a career-best season for the ladder-leading Claremont, playing a mix of small forward and midfield to earn his second consecutive State team selection.