DRYSDALE Football Club is embracing its recent baby boom by adopting some new family-friendly options during home games.<\/p>\n
Renee Wilson, wife of reserves player Jordan Wilson and mum to almost two-year-old Indi, has launched a new\u00a0initiative that focuses on including the families of players by making the club a more social and healthier place to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard for mums and dads to come down to the footy and support our partners, week in and week out, especially when it is cold,\u201d Renee said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I thought why can\u2019t we make everyone feel a bit more included, and bring the focus inside the football club?<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s welcome the parents and give the kids something to do, so we can\u00a0actually watch our partners and have a chat and be more social and warm.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renee said the new initiative included a \u201ckids\u2019 corner\u201d in the clubrooms with a chalkboard, games and books, plus snack boxes at the canteen that contained fruit, vegetable sticks, dip, crackers and cheese.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt takes a while in the morning to get organised for the football and to have all the food ready and packed for the whole day, so I thought instead of feeding the kids chips, why not offer a healthier option like snack boxes?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids love them and they are well priced; a packet of chips costs $4 and the healthy alternative is only $5.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have even had the netballers and mums buying them \u2013 we sold out last week!\u201d<\/p>\n
Renee said they also had a \u201cladies\u2019 lounge\u201d during the third quarter of the senior\u2019s game, encouraging mums and partners to come in for a social gettogether, a beverage and something to eat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had mums from the other club feel welcome enough to come in and join last week.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to chat to mums I wouldn\u2019t have normally chatted with and it\u2019s a nice feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Renee said that to have good players, the club needed to support their families, not the other way around.<\/p>\n
\u201cBringing the families together will create a better atmosphere and more support for the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe boys spend so much time away from home, so we all miss out, and I know they love it and we want to support them, so changing the dynamics and the focus of the club will really help in the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt may actually encourage players to stay on that extra year or stay at this\u00a0club, as it sets us apart from the others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
DRYSDALE Football Club is embracing its recent baby boom by adopting some new family-friendly options during home games. Renee Wilson, wife of reserves player Jordan Wilson and mum to almost two-year-old Indi, has launched a new\u00a0initiative that focuses on including the families of players by making the club a more social and healthier place to […]<\/p>\n