By Mikayla van Loon
Lilydale Junior Football Club is preparing to sign new and old players for next season with a registration day coming up at the end of month.
Club Treasurer Con Kelly said aiming to grow the club and bring kids back to football that were lost throughout the pandemic period, the junior Falcons would be hosting a come and try day.
“Coming out of Covid, through that middle age group of under 13, 14, 15, we lost some teams with kids just not coming back but we don’t want to be dwelling on that,” he said.
“We’ve got really good numbers in our junior grades. So we’ll have teams from under nines, right through to under 13 this year, along with an under seventeens team.”
Another focus for the junior club for 2023 is to bring back a girls team and to encourage female participation, with a vision to create a pathway to senior football for both the junior boys and girls.
“From a girl’s point of view, if we could get the interest in that under 10, under 12, age bracket, we could start their football journey for multiple years and seasons, and you build your numbers and teams through that,” Mr Kelly said.
Open to everyone of all abilities, Mr Kelly said the idea behind the registration and come and try day is to show young people the possibilities of playing a sport.
“We’ve come out of Covid and it just disrupted people’s lives. Kids are prone to developing habits of sitting on a screen, and so forth, versus getting out, being active and playing football.
“So getting kids back playing sports is good for their mental health, it encourages families to get out and support the kids, network, and be sociable. So we’re all about that as a club.”
While higher participating numbers is good for the club, Mr Kelly said it is more so about giving children an outlet and helping them rebuild their “mental health and social skills that they may have lost or diminished during Covid.”
The registration day will be happening on Sunday 27 November, with the AFL run “Come & Try clinic beginning at 9am and registration opening from 10am at the Lilydale Gateway Reserve.
“So any kid that wants to come and have a kick of the footy and see what footy is like, is welcome to attend and that may in turn see them register to play with Lilydale junior football club, which would be great.”
Lilydale Junior Football Club will also have a marquee at the Lilydale Street Fair on 3 December.
Although details are still to be confirmed, Mr Kelly said Lilydale Junior Football Club will be holding a junior girls clinic in early February.
“AFL Victoria will be running a four or five week program for any girls interested in playing football where they would come along and do some training and skills,” he said.
