Airport West coach Jimmy House urges EDFL clubs not to forget juniors
Airport West boss Jimmy House has implored rival clubs to consider “the bigger picture” when deciding if the 2020 season should go ahead.
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Airport West coach Jimmy House has implored rival clubs to look beyond their senior teams when deciding on the viability of a season.
Several Essendon District Football League clubs have cited health and financial concerns in recent weeks amid the coronavirus crisis as they await a final call on the 2020 campaign this month.
But House, who is football coordinator at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School and has worked with NAB League outfit Eastern Ranges, said the next generation of talent needed to be looked after.
“It’s more important than just 22 blokes running around at 2pm on a Saturday,” he said.
“Most of these football competitions have got thousands upon thousands of kids who are wanting to play football for what football offers.
“I’m a coach and I get paid, I won’t deny that. But these kids run around for what the game offers and we’ve got clubs and competitions pulling out because the vision is purely (about) grown men running around at 2pm.
“There’s a bigger picture in my eyes as to why we play footy and I’ve managed to work with my group pretty extensively during this period.”
The EDFL has scrapped player payments for 2020 to ease the financial strain on clubs.
It is also understood AFL Victoria is against allowing matches to proceed without crowds, which would help clubs generate valuable game-day revenue if it is ticked off by the State Government.
Cricket Victoria has also approved a request to extend the football season into October, which means Round 1 could be staged as late as August 1.
House, who steered North Heidelberg for two years before taking the top job at the Eagles, said player welfare had been a priority during the shutdown period.
House spent a season out of football in 2019 after stepping down as the Bulldogs coach in January last year because of personal reasons.
“I’ve been on the wrong end of mental health in periods of time, and I’m a big advocate of support mechanisms and being around each other,” he said.
“I’ve been driving the boys to say, ‘Right, this is what we’re going to get out of it,’ and to support each other.
“Life’s hard enough as it is without what we’re going through.
“We’ve opened up our support networks to make sure we’re there for each other.”
Burnside Heights president Justin Peagram said last month he had been left “shell-shocked” after a string of club bosses declared the season should be cancelled.
“The community aspect of it … you take an outlet away from people – some people can cope and others may struggle,” he said.
“Our club has 400 members or players and some of them may not be coping too well at the moment because they’re not catching up with their mates, they’re not doing that exercise or team activity and they’re not having that laugh.
“Everyone’s got pressures at home … and footy’s an outlet to get away from it all for a couple of hours.
“That’s where we think community footy has its biggest benefits.”
Four country competitions – the Kyabram District, Heathcote District, South West District and Millewa leagues – have ruled a line through their seasons.
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