FREE soccer training for women of all ages is being offered weekly thanks to of members of the Victoria Park Vultures Football Club.<\/p>\n
The sessions are run by coach Raymond Janes, who spearheaded the initiative with the aim of forming a women\u2019s team for the Ballarat and District Soccer Association\u2019s 2024 season.<\/p>\n
He said it\u2019s a response to the lack of female players in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at soccer in Ballarat there are very few women\u2019s teams,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a city as big as this, there should be five or six teams as many.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you go to Bendigo, there\u2019ll be 50, 60 women\u2019s teams playing, the same in Geelong. There\u2019s potentially a maximum of seven or eight teams in Ballarat.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the club unable to build a women\u2019s team for the 2023 season, their seven female players are currently playing in a mixed group.<\/p>\n
About 15 female players would be needed to field a side, and Janes said it\u2019s been about five years since Vic Park had a dedicated women\u2019s squad.<\/p>\n
With ample time before next year\u2019s season, Janes said the sessions are a great opportunity for women to give the game a try and see if the club is a fit for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to build this right the way through this season. If you show up six weeks before and the club wants you to register,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not going to fork their money out unless they\u2019re ready to play the game. This gives us 12 months to build the team, and for them to see if they want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
The free sessions will run at Victoria Park off Military Drive each Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8pm before changing to 6pm to 8pm on Thursday nights from Thursday, 6 April.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
FREE soccer training for women of all ages is being offered weekly thanks to of members of the Victoria Park Vultures Football Club. The sessions are run by coach Raymond Janes, who spearheaded the initiative with the aim of forming a women\u2019s team for the Ballarat and District Soccer Association\u2019s 2024 season. He said it\u2019s […]<\/p>\n