Multicultural Youth Embrace AFL 9s

By Sam Canavan

January 17th was the date, Blacktown International Sports Park the venue, and a fun introduction to football the order of the afternoon.

With a softer ball and modified rules, including a ban on contact, AFL 9s was the perfect starting point for the youngsters, who came from 11 Marist Youth Care Houses across greater Sydney, from as far away as Maitland.

The majority of atendees came from Afghani and Pakistani backgrounds, and though they’d been born and bred with soccer, they soon took a shine to the oval ball game.

The clinic comprised core AFL skills including kicking, handballing, marking, and ruck work, before the group put it all together for a frenetic game of AFL 9s.

“I have been to a lot of AFL clinics over the years, and this was one of the most enthusiastic and engaged groups I’ve ever seen,” said AFL 9s NSW Manager Ryan Silvester.

“They were also very talented, considering how foreign the skills set would have been to them.

“By the end they were stringing together quite complex passages of play, hitting difficult targets by hand and foot, and looking like they’d grown up with footy instead of soccer!”

 

The group was so keen they insisted on playing more than an hour past the clinic’s scheduled conclusion time, continuing to throw themselves into the the AFL 9s game despite 40 degree temperatures.

One senior Marist Youth Care leader was amazed at the enthusiasm of his charges, remarking they’d “usually struggle to be out of bed, but they’re running around having a great time!”

 

When the Sherrin finally stopped flying between ends at Blacktown, the youth group left a little sapped by the heat, but content in the knowledge they’d learnt to play an exciting new game, and enthused by the prospect of another chance to play AFL in the near future.

“After such an overwhelmingly succesful day, all parties – especially the participants – were really keen to have another clinic soon,” said Silvester.

“Hopefully it can be a continuing association, and these kids from different backgrounds can keep coming together and having a great time playing footy.”

Marist Youth Care is a specialist youth organisation providing essential services for more than 1000 young people and their families across Sydney.

They’re always on the look out for volunteers, who can help in a variety of positions.