Indigenous spirit
GRUBBERS LOOK TO INSPIRE KIDS
OCEAN Grove will look to strengthen ties to community and culture through footy with specially designed indigenous guernseys for men’s and women’s teams today.
The Grubbers will shelve their traditional red for a stunning design to highlight their connection with each other, the land they play on, and recognise the hardship of those who have come before them.
Ocean Grove women’s assistant coach Lachlan McKenzie, a Warlpiri man from Central Australia, led the move and was proud the club was pausing to acknowledge indigenous culture.
“Both my grandparents were part of the Stolen Generation, taken from Central Australia to Darwin,” he said.
“Neither got the chance to live and play sports in their community or on their country.
“I want this round to show young indigenous kids here in Ocean Grove and Geelong they don’t have to go anywhere and we as a community are working towards making it culturally safe for everyone.”
Wadawarrung traditional owner Corrina Eccles will lead a Welcome to Country with players from Ocean Grove, Lara (women) and Anglesea (men) participating in a smoking ceremony.
“You have the smoking and then players follow through with the smoke and be encouraged to shower it over their bodies to cleanse the soul and get rid of bad spirits before the women commence their game,” McKenzie said.
Grubbers captain Jackie Montgomery said a stirring speech from one of the club’s indigenous players, Candice McKenzie, at training this week had reinforced the meaning of the guernsey under the motto: “Because of her we can”.
While it shapes as a landmark day for Ocean Grove, the club set another milestone this week, appointing its first female coach to the women’s senior team in Sally Enders.
Chronic leg injuries forced the 42-year-old to put her onfield career aside, but she was eager to give back and encourage other women to increase their presence at footy clubs, drawing on her coaching experience in netball and vast knowledge of AFL.
“It’s not totally foreign to me, but I’m starting to read into it a lot more now,” Enders said. “I’ve got a lot to learn, so it’s great to be on the ground learning from people like Jason and Lachlan
“I think the more female coaches, even at grassroots level, that can get involved and learn more, and having good support around you, we can have a good balance between men and women.”