NSW Club of the Week: Shellharbour Swans
The Shellharbour Swans Junior Australian Football Club (JAFC) formed in 2005 and has quickly become one of the most successful clubs in the area.
Club President Glen Bachelor played AFL all his life in Sydney and is a life member of Penshurst Panthers JAFC before moving to Shellharbour 15 ago. It was his son who got him involved in the Swans.
“When my son wanted to play a sport, luckily he chose AFL,” he said.
“His cousin played for the Swans for a year beforehand so Shellharbour it was.”
Before becoming President, Bachelor was a committee member and Vice-President of the club. He has been heavily involved in the club, coaching Auskick, Under-9s, Under-10s and currently, the Under-12s side.
In that time he has seen the club grow exponentially.
“I have seen the numbers grow to become one of the biggest clubs in the Illawarra and the formation of a youth girls team which was entered in one of the first all-girl competitions,” Bachelor said.
“We have matured and have become more professional with great equipment and volunteers.
“We moved from a ground that was out of the way with poor lighting and facilities to Myimbarr, which has great exposure and modern state-of-the-art facilities, and lighting that allows us host night games.”
The club has enjoyed their fair share of success in the eight years since their inception.
“We were club champions in 2008, have won five premierships – three of which were in the girls competition – and have quite a number of members in the Swans Academy as well as a good number representing at a representative level.”
While they have enjoyed on-field success, Bachelor said the off-field culture of the club is just as important for a successful junior club.
“We believe we have the best volunteers, kids and supporters,” he said.
“Our game day environment is second to none as all our kids practice good sportsmanship and always play to the best of their ability.
“Our supporters always acknowledge great play, no matter which team is in front!”
The Swans are an icon of the AFL scene in the Illawarra and will only continue to grow.
“We have secured funding to expand and grow our Auskick program which we use to go into schools and do clinics and expose younger kids to the great sport of AFL,” he said.
“We are hoping to grow our numbers to around 60 participants and hope to keep our numbers strong both on and off the field.
“Pretty much continue doing what we have been doing.”