Hot Shots bringing kids back to an active lifestyle
THE AFL tribunal won’t be required following Round 9 AFL action after all players accepted their sanctions.
Following on from a busy week that saw four players front the tribunal, just six charges were laid by AFL match review officer Michael Christian on Monday.
All penalties offered were fines only and were unsurprisingly accepted on Tuesday.
The most debated incident arising from Round 9 was Lance Franklin’s elbow to the jaw of Fremantle’s Joel Hamling.
But the Sydney superstar was cleared of any wrongdoing over the collision that left Hamling concussed.
Franklin’s swinging left elbow made contact with the defender’s jaw in the second quarter of the Swans’ win at the SCG.
Christian deemed Franklin was seeking to evade a tackle and his actions were not unreasonable in the circumstances. AUSTRALIAN tennis legend John Fitzgerald believes the best way to encourage kids to be more active is with a smile on their face and a racquet in their hands.
Fitzgerald hit the courts with students at Currajong State School yesterday as part of the ANZ Hot Shots Racquet Roadshow, with excited prep students also given a racquet to take home. Hot Shots games are played on smaller courts with modified equipment, including lighter racquets, lower nets, and low compression balls that don’t bounce too high.
Former Davis Cup captain Fitzgerald said kids were always quick to pick up the tennis skills with their new racquets.
“You’d be surprised at how many kids can make really good contact with the ball because of the format. They’ve got this soft ball that bounces right in their little hitting zone,” he said.
“They have a smile on their face and they’ve had a racquet in their hand and it’s having good effect. There’s a lot more kids playing tennis around the whole country.”
Fitzgerald said the goal of the Hot Shots program wasn’t just to help nurture potential Grand Slam champions, but also encourage kids to get out and be more active through playing tennis.
“I’m a little biased about our sport, but it’s a sport for a lifetime,” Fitzgerald said. “You can play from three or four years of age and there are people still playing in their 80s and 90s.
“It doesn’t mean tons of people are going to be professional players, but it means that more people will have a racquet in hand and the game flourishes.”