HISTORY-MAKING HAWKS LIGHT UP NIGHT
INVERLEIGH will be buzzing tonight when its under-11s play the first night match at the Hawks’ home ground.
The Hawks’ brigade of 80 juniors — plus more than 30 Auskickers — has been more than six years in the making since Robbie and Michelle Orr started the club’s Auskick program back in 2012.
Now, the Hawks boast under-13s, under-11s and under-9s teams, plus a healthy Auskick set-up, all up totalling more than 100 footballers.
Junior co-ordinator Chris Weiler said the Orrs were pivotal in creating the junior program in 2012.
“Two years later we started an under-10s, in 2014,” Weiler said.
“We’ve had under-12s for three years (since 2016), which is now under-13s. But the first year we had to amalgamate our team with Winchelsea because we didn’t have enough then, and now the under-13s have 28 players, so they have five sitting out every week.
“Under-9s, this is the first year. We’ve still got the Auskick program going — I think there are 30-35 kids going, depending on the week.”
He said Inverleigh’s demographic was changing, but the program would not run without the volunteers, such as the senior footballers who are coaching the under-9s and under-19s.
“Our school has built up; my son is first year at high school this year,” Weiler said.
“When he started going to the school, there were around about 110 kids going there. Now there are 200odd. The town is building; we’re lucky enough to have young families moving in.
“We just got new lights put in last month and this is going to be the first match ever under those lights. We’re going to be playing against Winchelsea at 6pm and we’re going to try to make a big night of it.”
Weiler said the club wanted to thank MP Sarah Henderson, the Golden Plains Shire and AFL Barwon for help funding the new lights.