Game Development Road Show Tour Diary
It was an amazing experienced endured by Football NSW Community Officer Robert Fitzgerald and Andrew Fearnley of Western Branch after the two concluded their mission in promoting the round ball game via a football road in Wellington, Dubbo, Warren and Cobar this past week.
The aim of the inaugural road show was to promote the world game in far Western NSW through visiting schools, providing coaching courses and coaching updates.
It was also an ideal opportunity to deliver Football NSW’s Indigenous Community Partnership Assistance Program.
This program also worked towards increasing the accessibility of indigenous football whilst concurrently promoting footballing opportunities in the local community.
It also included a grassroots coaching course for a number of existing and new coaches at the club, further assisting the development of the next generation of the football family.
Below is a detailed diary entry of what occurred during the past week.
Monday 24th March 2014 – Wellington
First stop on the Football NSW road show was the historic town of Wellington.
The Wellington junior football clubs was the proud recipient of the Football NSW indigenous partnership assistants program.
The launch of the indigenous community partnership assistance program was undertaken with a number of the local Wellington junior football players in attendance who enjoyed a Football NSW coaching session, and then participated in some well spirited small sided games.
The assistance package provided by Football NSW was well received by the President of the Wellington junior football club Allen Nickels.
"This fantastic initiative and road show will go a long way in assisting with the growth of this sport in the local community as well as assisting in the development of the game."
Also in attendance at the launch was Western Football President Jim Auld who was also delighted with the special road show delivered by Football NSW.
“It is great to see that the junior players of a small country town like Wellington don’t go unnoticed.”
Fitzgerald stated that this was a fantastic opening trip promoting the game to all parts of regional NSW.
“The smiles on the faces of the kids out there having a go was the best measure of success.
"So it’s safe to say the first stop on the Football NSW road was a big success.”
Tuesday 25th March 2014 – Warren
Day two of the Football NSW road show was centred around the township of Warren in far western NSW.
The day started with a visit to Warren Central Primary School.
The visit saw the students revive a Football NSW coaching session developing the skills of the next generation of footballers, followed by a number of high quality small sided games, where the only winners on the day were fun, happiness and football.
The visit was celebrated by the schools academic staff with one teacher stating, “it’s fantastic for the children to have Football NSW come to their school and bring such fun through sport."
After the visit to the Warren Central School, the Football NSW road show headed to the Far West Academy of sport.
The visit bolstered the scope of footballing opportunities at all levels of the game in the far west of NSW.
With the partnership between Football NSW and the Far West Academy of Sport set to continue to be a football bastion in the Far west region of NSW.
"It is essential to have a strong unified approach to football, especially in some of the most regional areas of NSW, such as the Far West”, Fitzgerald stated.
Wednesday 26th March 2014 – Cobar
Day Three and Football NSW’s Andrew Fearnley and Robert Fitzgerald attended the St John’s Primary School at Cobar running a Schools Gala Day with the entire school student’s participating.
Over 130 students enjoyed playing football before receiving posters from Hyundai A-League clubs as well as Football NSW balls.
There was also a session with 24 players aged from Under 12’s to15’s from the Cobar Football Club running a model session from the National Curriculum in front of interested coaches and parents from within the Cobar Football Club.
Concluding the day, 14 coaches attended a Grassroots Coaching Certificate.
The Grassroots Certificate was well received and offered new opportunities and ideas for the coaches of MiniRoos football to implement into their training sessions for the 2014 season.
Thursday 27th March 2014 – Bourke
The Football NSW road show advanced to Bourke for Thursday attending the Koinara Christian Academy School before visiting the St Ignatius Primary School on Bourke’s picturesque riverside.
The Community Partnership Launch was held at 4:30pm with Football NSW handing over sporting equipment to the Bourke Football Club as part of the partnership which is also designed to encourage Indigenous participation into football.
Coaching sessions took place with the players from Bourke FC before the Launch ended with a BBQ provided by Bourke FC.
Another 14 coaches attended a Grassroots Coaching Certificate.
The Grassroots Certificate gave the overall young participants some much needed guidance on training sessions and MiniRoos’s facilitation.
