Geelong Cats donate $5000 to help Northern Stars launch first under-nine female team
In an area where junior participation has plummeted, the Geelong Cats have helped a club in need.
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The Geelong Cats have got behind the Northern Stars, donating $5000 to help launch the club’s first under-nine female team..
Northern Stars, a junior club connected to both North Shore Football Netball Club and Corio FNC, fielded mixed teams in U10s, U12s and U14s last season but will have its own dedicated under-nine girl team, with the season kicking off in August.
The decline of football participation in the northern suburbs of Geelong has been well-documented, with AFL Barwon launching a football summit to help combat dwindling numbers.
The issue was thrust into the spotlight during the pre-season when AFL Barwon threatened to start the Geelong league without North Shore because of the club’s alarmingly low tally of registered players.
Geelong forwards Jeremy Cameron and Kate Darby surprised the Northern Stars by presenting them with the donation on Tuesday afternoon followed by a clinic with others Cats stars including Max Holmes and Lawson Humphries.
Cameron was forced to play senior football for much of his junior years in his hometown of Dartmoor in southwest Victoria.
He said investment in junior girls and boys football knows the importance of junior investment.
“It’s awesome that the Cats and AFL Barwon to five back to the community, we’re all about that at Geelong,” Cameron said.
“I didn’t really play too much juniors back at Dartmoor because we didn’t have a junior team then, so it was a little bit different for me.
“But I knew exactly how much I loved football back then and how much I wanted to play. I started with Auskick, which I know is a little bit different and a little bit younger, but that’s where I found my love for it.
“From there I had a few years off but got back into it when I was 13, 14, 15. And that little section in between is so important for a lot of people between the ages of sort of eight to nine and 15, that’s where you see a lot of development.
“So guys and girls all fall in love with the game, it’s really important for us, the growth’s been huge in that area, and it’s important to support it.”
Originally published as Geelong Cats donate $5000 to help Northern Stars launch first under-nine female team
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