Coaches and staff from the Club’s Next Generation Academy, powered by Tyrepower, are in the Kimberley this week conducting youth football clinics and coach education workshops.
NGA Coach Roger Hayden provides an update on everything that is going on during the four-day adventure that starts in Broome and wraps up in Kununurra.
Read the report from days one and two!
It was an early start to Wednesday, hitting the road and making our way to Halls Creek, just a few hours up the road from Fitzroy Crossing. Where we were scheduled to continue our program of junior and youth clinics, coach education and accreditation, and meet local teams to assist with training sessions.
Before the session began we took a quick trip out to see some of the local landmarks including China Wall, a natural quartz seam structure, that stretches across the hills, appearing like it was man made and the original Halls Creek town site that was established during the gold rush era in the 1800’s.
Halls Creek has been a talent hotspot over the years so we were looking forward to seeing the emerging talent from the area.
The junior and youth clinic saw a large roll-up of participants with over 50 attending, starting with basic skill development and quickly turning into a full scale game, that was ongoing for nearly 2 hours.
Again we had a great turn out of local coaches, male and female, with police also supporting the process of education and registering to acquire their Foundation Level accreditation.
The talent was clear to see, but the most impressive aspect was the endurance and commitment to playing at full pace in the Kimberley heat for so long.
The day wrapped up with all of us assisting in running training sessions for the Yardgee Dockers senior mens team. We thought the skills had been impressive with the youth clinic, however these guys were another level, showing unbelievable kicking and speed to move the ball from one end of the ground to the other.
It was great to see the commitment of these guys to training and we took the time to answer any questions the coaches had regarding the implementation of the rules changes that have been introduced in 2021, including manning the mark.
Next up on this trip is Warmun, the home of Leno Thomas, and then travelling further north to Kununurra to wrap up this opportunity to engage with the people and places of the Kimberley.
