Stephen Hill returned to familiar surroundings on Tuesday afternoon as Freo players spread across Perth for junior football clinics.
The players ran clinics ahead of the Nicky Winmar Carnival, which was created to provide young Aboriginal youth with another platform to enter the WA football talent pathway.
Hill was at HBF Arena in Joondalup, where he played for his WAFL club West Perth before joining Freo in the AFL.
He said it was always nice to return to his grassroots.
“I have a lot of happy memories here and it’s really rewarding to come back and give something back to the kids,” he said.
Hill was joined by teammates Matt de Boer, Tendai Mzungu, Michael Apeness, Jack Hannath and Tanner Smith for the clinic.
He said the Nicky Winmar Carnival was a great initiative for Aboriginal youth.
“All the kids out here today are really enjoying themselves,” he said.
“It’s great to see them participating and being so passionate about footy.
"There’s quite a bit of talent out there, too."
The Nicky Winmar Carnival targets disengaged players with the aim of getting them back into the football system at club level and in development squads.
The inaugural tournament was held in 2007 and consisted of five teams. In 2013 the carnival featured 11 teams with over 300 participants and coaches all from the Aboriginal community.
The Nicky Winmar Carnival provides participants with a direct opportunity to:
· Participate in a structured WA football marquee event · Achieve coaching and umpiring accreditation · Re-engage with educational and sport participation programs · Connect with AFL/WAFL mentors and role models · Potentially be identified for WAFL development pathways · Represent the State through selection into the AFLs National KickStart Championship · The overall goal of the carnival is to increase the amount of Aboriginal youth playing at community club level and representing their WAFL zones in development squads
The Nicky Winmar Carnival is played in a round robin format over one day. Competing teams are based on WAFL metro and regional zones, and all teams are coached by Aboriginal coaches.
The carnival also provides participants and coaches with the opportunity to be selected into the WA KickStart U15 State Aboriginal Squad who compete at the national KickStart National Championships.
It will take place at Bendigo Bank Stadium, Mandurah on Sunday 1 March, 2015.
