AUSKICKERS around the country will be dusting off their boots for another exciting season of fun, skill development and having a kick of the footy with friends and dreams of one day becoming AFLW and AFL stars.
Orrvale Auskick isn’t affiliated with any football club and boasts an inclusive and fun program that has seen a record number of girls tackling their love of Aussie Rule Football. Played on the oval of Orrvale Primary School on Fridays after school, Orrvale Auskick saw the number of female participants boom when AFL Auskick encouraged centres to run girl-only programs ahead of the 2023 season.
The new Orrvale Auskick coordinator at the time, Aaron Cordy, still didn’t have access to Play HQ and registration numbers when he heard the pitch from AFL Auskick to run girl-only programs for centres with the number to do so.
“Orrvale had about five girls the year before, including my daughter, and I thought it would be great if we had the numbers,” said Aaron.
“When we sorted out my access to Play HQ, despite only having about 25 players registered, eight of them were girls. I addressed the school assembly to encourage everyone to come along for our first session, which was total chaos, and opened the option for a girl-only program if they wanted it.
“Two weeks later, we had 21 registered female participants on the oval, it was incredible. We had the second most female participants in the state at our little centre. That’s a massive achievement.”
The 2024 season was another massive coup for the girls of Orrvale Auskick, with 31 female participants. 3 shy of the boy’s program.
“Once the girls got a chance to run around on their own it changed the whole dynamic for them,” said Aaron.
“Each week we’d watch their confidence grow, and we saw a lot of OA players sign up for the Superkick and holiday programs run by AFL Auskick. We may be a small centre, but what I do best is I’m there for fun, I act like a big goose, try to get everyone involved and hope they learn something along the way. I call it organised chaos. I’ve had some incredible volunteers and parent helpers that make it so much easier each week.”
Orrvale Auskick kicks off at Orrvale Primary School on Friday, May 2, at 3.30pm. Children don’t have to attend Orrvale to play Auskick there, with several participants each year coming from other schools. To sign up scan the QR Code and check them out on Facebook.
