Western Cape is ready to hit the ground running for a massive term of footy after the school holidays. Photo: Western Cape College Mapoon Campus.
AFL excitement is ramping up in western Cape York as the drab wet-season weather eases up ahead of a jam-packed Term 2 schedule bringing sporting opportunities to remote kids.
Young people at Western Cape College’s (WCC) Mapoon Campus and PCYC Napranum built up their skills on the field last week during AFL Cape York’s school clinics in preparation for the upcoming competition season.
AFL Cape York game development officer Matt Mellahn said the team visited the communities at the back end of Term 1 to gear up for a big start after the holidays.
A junior competition for older youth, as well as WCC and St Joseph’s Parish School Auskick, will begin in the first week.
“It’s quite packed, and it gets rolling pretty quickly once the holidays are finished,” Mellahn said.
“We hit the ground running as soon as everyone gets back, so we get the information out there, and run some clinics to reconnect with everyone and remind them that we’re on our way.
“It’s nice to do it face-to-face and see the excitement building up as the wet season’s wrapping up, and people are getting outside to do more activities.”
Mellahn said he was especially excited about the junior competition program for students in years 4-6, as it was geared towards more advanced players who had come through the Auskick program.
“Auskick sessions are for anyone from Prep to Grade 6, so if they’ve done it over the last couple of years, it’s probably getting a bit past some of them,” he said.
“It’s exciting to see the ones that I’ve had at Auskick when they were younger, wanting to come in and take the forms home to mum and dad to participate in the junior comp, which is my favourite part of the program, to be honest.
“It’s the young people who don’t just have to do it at school; they want to come and try something outside of their comfort zone, play some different schools and develop their skills.”
Mellahn said the junior competition would allow him to see who had what it takes to represent AFL Cape York as part of the Crusaders teams at regional, state and national events later in the year.
“It’s the ones that want to go to the next level, and we do use that for selection for our rep teams as well, so I want to do some more stuff in an advanced setting, where we play more matches, learn more about the rules and teach them more about the game itself,” he said.
“It’s nice to see that they want to keep learning and keep developing their skills in a different area, so we just want to keep the ball rolling.”
