DON Ross joined Ballarat Football Netball Club for preseason training at the end of 1980, literally kicking off his first footy game with the side in 1981.<\/p>\n
A passionate member for over 40 years, he\u2019s written a book sharing the club\u2019s story from the period when he first became a Swan, until 2020.<\/p>\n
Honesty Without Malice <\/em>is 127 pages of \u201chistory and yarns\u201d from the perspective of Ross, and BFNC community members, with plenty of old and more recent photos rediscovered in storage or on smartphones.<\/p>\n The publication has many moments to share, but the author has a few of his own favourites.<\/p>\n \u201cIn 1988, we had three premierships in a week. The under-18s won one week, the reserves won, and then the seniors won,\u201d Ross said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next major highlight is the 2008 premiership, which John Northey coached. I also enjoyed the day we put the structural steel up on our new clubrooms, and I was in a scissor-lift outside watching the end of a Melton South game.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of the Club fabric \u201cfor two or three generations,\u201d Ross has played, coached, umpired and more, however an element of community sport has kept him involved.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of the blokes I coached are 50 now… but working with young people has kept me young. We\u2019ve got 800 kids within boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 footy, and netball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cOur Club is so old, dating back to 1860. I think we\u2019re the oldest regional sporting club in Australia. We\u2019ve got a lot of respect for our history.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s lots going on here, and we have so many great families.\u201d<\/p>\n