A week out from the very first session of the Melton Saturday Auskick Centre four years ago, the co-ordinator dropped out and committee members scrambled to find someone to do the job.
Michelle Whitehand, who was on the committee, put her hand up and with her husband as one of two coaches, the program started with 30 children.
Four years on, Whitehand is still the co-ordinator and the program now embraces more than 130 children.
“I was on the committee for the Melton Junior Football Club and we were approached about starting another Auskick Centre in Melton to run on Saturday mornings,” she said.
“I thought it was a great idea to have a centre that was connected with the Bloods.”
Whitehand’s work hasn’t gone unnoticed, and earlier this month at the AFL Victoria Community Football Awards she was named AFL Auskick volunteer of the year.
She was nominated for the award by AFL Goldfields development manager Grant McMillan.
“I’m not the type of person who likes taking individual accolades,” she said about the award.
“This award is for the whole team. Graeme Dreaver is the coaching co-ordinator and does a lot of the planning of the kids on Saturdays. It allows me to do a lot of the promotional and communication side of things.
“We’ve got nine volunteer coaches and more volunteer staff. It’s a big team that’s like a family.”
This year has been a big year for the centre, with 48 children given the chance to be part of the AFL grand final parade and play at half-time on the big day at the ‘G’.
Continuing to grow the program is the next step for Whitehand and the rest of the committee. An AFL Goldfields study released last year found only eight per cent of males aged five to 39 in the area were playing any form of Australian Rules.
A scholarship program is another idea Whitehand is hoping to get off the ground next year.
“Next year we want to start a scholarship program to help under-privileged kids get involved.
“We had a kid keep coming up with his pocket money asking if he could play.
“We’ll look at approaching schools to give the chance to kids who wouldn’t normally get to do it.”
