Junior female football takes it up a notch at AFL clinic

THE next generation of female footballers in the region got the opportunity of a lifetime when they had the chance to learn from Geelong’s AFLW professionals.

AFL Victoria’s ‘Footy 4 Fun’ program made its way to Geelong where 93 future female footballers got to participate in AFL Barwon’s ‘Yeah the Girls!’ clinic held at Deakin University.

The session, catered to six to12-year-olds, entailed a number of footy drills, a barbecue and lots of fun according to organisers.

In addition to the footy-related activities, four Geelong Cats AFLW players were in attendance to assist with the clinic and help the all-female staff who ran the event.

Darcy Moloney, Georgie Rankin, Rebecca Webster and Georgia Clarke were kind enough to bestow some of their knowledge onto the group of aspiring young athletes.

“It was awesome, I wish there were more of these clinics when I was younger,” Moloney said.

“I know I look up my teammates, the people I play with now, and I bet it would have been exciting for the young girls and to hear that playing at the professional level is a possibility.

“I just love to give back, see the girls having fun and getting involved.”

A major highlight for everyone who attended was hearing Georgie Rankin speak on her AFLW experiences and how she made it to the top level.

Rankin’s main message on the day was to utilise the pathways that have been created by the AFL, given these frameworks were not available to female players 10 years ago and to enjoy footy from an early age.

“Overall, the girls had a great time,” AFL regional participation manager of the Barwon region Harry Sleigh said.

“These clinics are a key part of our participation strategy in the Barwon region to increase female numbers.

“We have really strong connections with the Geelong Cats and the local communities and schools, so we saw a great opportunity to organise these events to increase participation and we are starting to see the results of that.”

Sleigh said there will be several localised launches occurring over the next few months for plenty of female juniors to get involved with.

These launches will culminate in a big “coming-together” at one of next season’s AFLW Cats’ games.

To learn more about AFL Victoria’s Footy 4 Fun initiative and its junior female programs, head to www.aflvic.com.au/footy-4-fun.