By Mikayla van Loon
Encouraging young people to make the right choices when it comes to driving is what the TAC’s road safety round is all about.
For the Croydon Junior Football Club (CJFC), spreading that message has become an important part and major focus in the club’s values.
In its second year, CJFC will be hosting an all day event at Croydon Park on Hewish Road to celebrate and mark the road safety round on 23 July.
CJFC president Brad Eley said with another age group of players heading towards driving age it’s important to keep on top of the messaging, as well as reiterating it differently each year.
“It’s really good for them to see the message and get it out there and find different ways to get it out so it’s not just repeating what we did last year,” he said.
Getting creative, the club has been posting videos to its social media like one where the mascot wants to pick up his phone while driving but a friendly reminder “you don’t want to lose four points before the game” is all he needs to put it back down.
Eley said spreading the TAC message is something the club does all throughout the year to keep it fresh in people’s minds but the dedicated round
“It makes the kids aware of it too because they see parents have got their phone or don’t have a seatbelt on but they’ve watched [the TAC round] for two, three years and then that message hopefully goes right through to once they become 16 or 18 and on the road themselves,” he said.
Maroondah Police Service Area Inspector Dean Grande said modern day distractions make it challenging for young people to always be safe on the roads.
“Life lessons are learned the hard way unfortunately so we really just don’t want them to be hurt or killed or put themselves in a position where they are going to be harmed,” he said.
Seeing how proactive CJFC are in ensuring the safety of their players and broader community is a really positive thing for Inspector Grande.
“Engaging in a social activity, like football or any other sport where they’re in a group environment, it’s really an opportunity for us to gather that group so they empower each other as well because they’re going up as a group we’re not targeting individuals as such.”
Inspector Grande said although it’s hard to give just a single message or advice to new drivers, he did say it comes down to being aware of both themselves and their friends.
“If they’re going to hop in a car, just think about who you’re hopping in the car with and where you’re going and what you’re doing.
“So if you know somebody’s had a few drinks, don’t get in the car, if you know they’re a bit reckless, don’t get in the car and be courageous and be comfortable to say no.”
Eley said getting all teams down for a full day of football and engagement with local emergency service officers is an important part of what they are trying to do as a club.
“We want the whole club there for as much of the day as possible so we’re there for different people throughout the day,” he said.
Police officers and firefighters will be making time on the day to also attend and interact with the community.
“Your first thought when you see the police or the fireys is that something bad has happened. It’s not always bad, there’s both sides to it.
“To bring everyone together to show that it’s the bigger picture, I think that’s a message on its own.”
For Inspector Grande this also rings true, being able to form relationships with the community and attend sporting events creates better trust.
“Police and emergency services are closely linked to the community we represent and protect and it’s really important we work hand in glove with the community to form those relationships,” he said.
“It’s really important we get to engage the kids early and form those relationships so they don’t have any fear and they know that we’re here for them.”
