BOYS PULL ON BOOTS IN FIRST
TWO junior footballers with Down syndrome will make their football debuts at Newcomb tomorrow morning.
Rowan Klein will play in the under-9s match between Newcomb Blue and Newcomb Maroon, kicking off half an hour before Tuscan Jefferies pulls on the boots against Anglesea in the under-10s.
Both players will be assisted by a helper at times, after Newcomb’s junior co-ordinator Scott Smith and AFL Barwon football development manager Luke Maher came up with framework that had never existed.
“There were no guidelines at all for it, so we’ve worked through AFL Victoria to come up with some guidelines,” Smith said.
“Rowan does need a little bit of help, probably a little more than Tuscan, just with the zones, making sure they don’t run out of the zones.
“We’ve actually got a helper on field who assists occasionally to make sure he’s in the right spot and not running away, things like that.”
Maher said he and Smith had taken their time to get it right, hence the boys had to wait until Round 3.
“AFL Victoria is very proactive when it comes to kids with disabilities playing, but they’re also attuned to the duty of care,” he said.
“It’s certainly not something we’ve rushed into; we’ve relied on the guys from AFL Victoria to provide us with some guidance.
“Even though there’s no set framework or rule for the kids to play, we think we’ve got it pretty right here for these two boys here at Newcomb to play.”
While Auskick is pretty well equipped to cater for all abilities, there is a gap in the market for all abilities junior footballers, until they become old enough to play FIDA.
Geelong’s inaugural open age all abilities season starts on Sunday, but Maher said there was some more work to do to cater for kids like Rowan and Tuscan.
“That was always going to be the gap, the 13-to-16-year-olds,” he said.
“If you’ve got a child 14 or 15, they’re probably not going to be wanting to play in that competition.
“That’s the next step, do we create our own league or competition for all abilities footballers in that 12-18 age group? Is there enough of a market out there to be able to do that? I’m not 100 per cent sure, but that’s something we’ll explore.
“There are avenues for kids now to be able to do Auskick at the Geelong All-Abilities Auskick Centre at Bell Park and then moving onto the FIDA team.
“It’s growing in our region and that’s the real pleasing thing about it.
“The knowledge isn’t strong, but what we can provide from AFL Victoria and AFL Barwon in relation to education is something we’ll look further at doing.”
Regardless, Smith said it was brilliant the two new buddies could have a kick with their Power mates tomorrow.
“I think it’s fantastic there’s an avenue,” he said.
“Obviously (the FIDA team) is for the older kids, but by this happening, maybe others will take up playing mainstream football at the younger levels.”