EDITORIAL

Our ovals are fields of dreams once again

FRIDAY night heralded the return of junior football to the region.

Teams of our youngest players poured on to empty fields and brought our footy ovals back to life. The unbridled joy of clunking a decent mark, chasing down an opponent and nailing an elusive goal was once again evident on the faces of junior devotees, all of whom had endured at least 10 long months of uncertainty before being able to compete as a team again.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life as we know it, grassroots football in Geelong has been on hold. With AFL Barwon calling off first its regulation senior home and away season and then a proposed modified rules competition, the plucky youngsters who populate grounds across the region this weekend might just be the only ones to kick a ball in anger this year.

For a region as invested and with as proud a football heritage as ours, it is almost unthinkable that a group of 17-year-olds will be the most senior to carry the football mantle across Geelong over the coming months.

But it is also so important.

Our young people are hurting. Five local teenage boys have taken their lives this year. Mental health services are facing unprecedented challenges. Team-based pursuits and physical activity provide a small semblance of normality to let our kids know that they are not alone and everything will be all right. You are part of a team, a club, a community.

Never will this be more evident than in the 200 juniors who will be wearing yellow shoelaces in their footy boots to raise awareness for suicide prevention in honour of former St Joseph’s junior Tom Barnett. Tom’s brother and former teammates have banded together in the months following his suicide to try to find a way to give a needless death some meaning. They hope the yellow shoelaces will start a conversation that too many people feel uncomfortable having. It’s a small but significant act that shows the true power of football at its best — when it sends a message that transcends wins and losses.

And it goes some way to explaining why a return to the field of competition is so important to helping many of our young people through such unprecedented times.

All the coaches, administrators and volunteers who have made this weekend’s return of footy possible deserve our thanks.

Our kids’ smiles this weekend will be a rare highlight in a tough year.