Local and Country Clubs.

In the early 1970’s my parents moved our family to Geelong from Nyah, a little country town in the Mallee. It was a wrench moving from friends and an area I loved to the big smoke.

 

One of the things I missed most was The Nyah Football Club. The ground was known as the ‘Rec” and sat between the mighty Murray River and the township. It was close to home and if I heard any activity there I was there in a flash.

 

My lifelong love with footy started at the Nyah Football Club. My dad and uncles played and as kids we could run with the players at training and fossick for balls behind the goals after they sailed through.

 

It was a small town so we saw our heroes almost every day. Floppy Guy, Bushy Henson, Normy Campbell, Pat Phelan, Chesty Coburn and Nifty Harrop were giants to us youngsters. They knew us, looked out for us and made sure we used our manners and behaved ourselves.

 

Game day in the bush back then was the highlight of the week. All of us in the car and off to the footy. Plenty of food for everyone and space and freedom for kids to run and enjoy the day. Saturday nights inevitably involved families and gatherings over tea and a few beers. Sunday mornings were my favourite.

 

Running laps and kicking the footy with our heroes. The ‘barrel’ was always on, a sort of tribal gathering to have a few beers and relive the game the day before. I can still see and smell the rooms, the photos on the walls, beer tickets inside the glasses and World of Sport on the TV. A simple life but happy life, most of it linked to community and sport.

 

After we moved, friends weren’t easy to make and Saturdays were about riding my bike and exploring a new neighbourhood. One Saturday I discovered local footy. It came in the shape of St Peters Football Club.

 

They played in North Melbourne colours and they had Joe Radojevic, a lefty who could kick goals from anywhere. I used to follow him from end to end each quarter. The Ocean Grove juniors relived that memory years later when they followed big Adam Richardson from end to end as he kicked bag after bag and entertained the crowd. Those St Peters players became my new heroes.

 

Local and country players can be heroes as well.

 

Newtown and Chillwell became the junior club for a group of us. Like a lot of youngsters we played where our mates were. We had great junior coaches, John Smith was like a father to us and Hughy Strahan was the senior coach.

 

He loved the junior players in the club. He was a great player and an even better bloke. He could win a game off his own boot and still find time to see how we were going and how we played that day.

 

We all wanted to play for Hughy when we grew up. He always encouraged us ,he was a positive role model and humility and respect for everyone were his trademark. Above all he was so brave on the field.

 

No matter what was happening he just kept going and did what was best for the club. When I look back now he was a great leader of people and he did it in his own way. The club became successful again after years in the wilderness.

 

Great coach and senior players supported by a hard working committee, it's a quirky thing how clubs have great periods of success followed by lower periods of performance. Generally because they have moved away from what made them successful on the first place.

 

Local and country sport is the lifeblood of our games at the higher levels. Players, coaches and administrators have generally all been part of a club at grass roots level.

During the last month or so the lifeblood has been overlooked and somewhat forgotten with the talk around hubs, season lengths and money in the game. For a lot of us local sport has been missing in our lives.

 

Young girls and boys, teenagers and adults haven’t been able to play the games they love and make great sacrifices to do so. Seeing suburban grounds and courts empty on week nights has been strange when usually they are alive with people, voices and energy.

 

Missing on the weekends are parents watching their kids play and compete. Riding every bounce, throw, mark, tackle and goal. At clubs, Thursday nights aren’t the same. No team selections and a club getting ready for a weekend of playing and sharing. Youngsters like we did a long time ago can’t watch their club heroes on the field. Dreaming and wanting to be like them. I grew up idolising Hughy Strahan and was lucky enough to play with him.

 

Country and community clubs play a pivotal role in the development of so many people. A well run and connected local club can is akin to a second family. Values, behaviours, life lessons and habits explained and demonstrated in a positive way.

 

The best grassroots clubs I have seen have have been ‘one club’. The youngsters are guided and encouraged. There is an established way of playing, behaving and contributing. Its not just about winning, it's about a vision and creating a positive environment to be part of. What does that look like?It’s like being at The Colac Football and Netball Club during their finals campaign in 2019.

 

It was a privilege to be there on that night. Seniors training with energy, kids everywhere, the clubrooms alive with giving people, the kitchen feeding all and old timers having a beer at the bar.

 

What stood out are the simple things in life. When the teams were announced everyone listened. Bottles, cans and rubbish were put in bins and plates were taken back to the kitchen with a thank you very much.

 

That night the president spoke and reached everyone, he acknowledged families, the junior players and award winners from the previous week. A senior netballer told a joke because it was her turn and then nominated another club person for next week. Matt Gibson (president) wished all teams well for the weekend and asked for help to pack up the room. Everyone got up and helped.

 

People ranging from toddlers to ageing club legends all belonging and connected to the Colac way of doing things. People went home to their family lives after a great club night ready for a weekend of playing your heart out and doing your club proud.

 

Driving home that night with my great friend David Ramsay we talked about what we saw that night.

 

- Club leaders were selfless and committed to the club

 

- Coaches and senior players loved the club and set the standards

 

- Relationships were strong and warm, they knew each other

 

- People were valued, respected and acknowledged for their efforts

 

- There was pride and happiness in their club

 

For clubs waiting in limbo for the seasons to start there is much to do if you have the energy and focus.

 

A few weeks of planning around junior development, coach education, recruiting model, gender equality communication channels and establishing role descriptions may set the platform for years to come.

 

Use the time. It will be worth it as the future belongs to those who plan and work for it.