Colac Otway soccer boost

COLAC Otway Rovers are set to play their home games at a new two-pitch soccer facility in Colac in 2020.

The development comes after the Colac Otway Shire council purchased land formerly owned by the Victorian Department of Education.

For a club that has had to play all its home matches on “a cow paddock in the middle of nowhere” in Beeac, the proposed relocation effectively means the club will be able to not only attract but retain a significant number of potential junior players from Colac.

Rovers secretary Sam Hare is excited about the proposed move to the former secondary school site off Ross St, claiming the club will finally be in a position to grow its numbers.

“Last year when we ran the Harry Kewell Football Clinic, we had more than 110 kids turn up midweek. Our problem has always been retaining them. The move to the new facility will change all that,” Hare said.

“Apart from Aussie rules and netball, there is not much else for young kids to play in Colac. More and more kids (and their parents) don’t see footy as an option, as they consider it to be too rough a sport.

“As such, we have had immense interest in our sport and our club, but with the difficulty of getting kids out to Beeac our numbers have stagnated over the past few years.”

Hare said the appetite was there for a surge in the growth of registered participants.

With the loss of a junior boys’ team, coupled with one less men’s senior team, the numbers at the Rovers plummeted this year, but Hare is confident of a turnaround in 2019.

“Shortly we will be running our own in-house juniors’ tournament in the off-season and with the excitement being generated about the future home ground, I am certain we will grow our numbers quickly,” she said.

Hare did warn there was still plenty of work to do.

“We hope for all the land to be signed over to council by December of this year, then comes the hard part of funding the development of the pitch and amenities,” she said.

“The next step will involve applying for grants, seeking funding from local and state government as well as organising many club working bees.

“But the future is certainly looking bright for both the Colac Otway Rovers, as well as for the sport of football in Colac.”