ARTICLE COURTESY OF THE DAILY EXAMINER
The adoring, smiling faces told the same story as the AFL legend.
“The main thing is about being outside and having fun,” Sydney Swans skipper Adam Goodes told the Examiner.
“They are having a ball.”
Two-time Brownlow Medallist Goodes and clubmate Gary Rohan joined classes of children from Westlawn, Gillwinga and Grafton Public Schools for a kick yesterday as part of Telstra's AFL community camps.
Currently 42 Swans players are travelling around the state in a bid to spread the Australian football gospel to an area long devoid of it.
Goodes, a soccer convert from his younger days, knows first-hand about picking up a foreign sport and having a crack.
So did Goodes think Westlawn's pupils have the, well, goods?
“It's great to see how easily some of them can pick up the skills,” he laughed.
“They don't have to end up being a star but it's good they get to enjoy this sort of thing.
“It's about giving back to the community and getting kids outdoors and into a healthy lifestyle across Australia.”
Australian football – and the Swans in particular – are making giant strides into the region with the Gold Coast and Western Sydney soon to pose threats to the quickly cramping marketplace.
Last month the Swans announced a new North Coast Academy in Coffs Harbour, with Goodes joining Swans legend Paul Roos at the official launch at the Pacific Bay Resort on Tuesday.
Yesterday each of the pupils was given access to a Red Rookie membership for 2011, which includes free entry to three games this year at the Swans' home, the SCG.
“We are always up for more people to play the sport and support us,” Goodes said.
“Hopefully these kids will come along to three games this year and keep coming back.”
The North Coast already has members in the Swans academy, which is headed by former coach Roos and provides an intensive training program to develop junior talent in NSW.
The academy, which caters for boys aged between nine and 18 and is run the same as the Sydney base, will ensure talented youngsters have a clear pathway to one day play for the Swans.
When fully operational, the academy program will provide access to an elite Australian football development program for 720 youngsters each year.
Last Modified on 11/02/2011 21:05