The later part of 2008 has seen the Swans Pilbara development team has grown significantly, Nicole Graves the previous District Manager now works full time with the Football Club, taking on the position of Manager – Pilbara Development.  Nicole will oversee our increasing amount of programs in the region and manage the staff and program mentors associated with our Pilbara commitments.

Tracey Pemberton former West coast Fever and Perth Oriel Netballer also joined the Swans team and is now based full time in Port Hedland developing opportunities for male & female youth in the region (Shooting Goals), Tracey is based at the High school working with our Kicking Goals teachers to grow and develop current and new programs throughout the region. 

What we have been up to over the past few months in the Pilbara:

·         3 Talent academies were set up in Newman, Port Hedland and Karratha that were designed to identify talented young footballers to participate in SDFC’s 14’s & 15’s development squads. A total of seven players from the region were invited down to Perth to participate in the carnival. All seven displayed varying levels of success throughout the carnival and we expect some to continue along the talent pathway to 16’s, colts and WAFL league over the next few years.  Special thanks to Michael Cook, Steve Markham, David McGivern and Richie Patching for volunteering their time to coach and organise the Talent academies in each region.

·         Pilot program at the Newman Senior High School (NSHS). This involved a football and netball program that was designed to encourage Martu students to attend school and be involved in school activities. Each Wednesday, Tracey Pemberton and I attend school classes and become actively involved with Martu classes and assisted, where possible, the students that attend class. This also created an environment that allowed us to build relationships with the students. The pilot ran for 8 week during 3^rd term.

 ·         With the assistance of BHP Billiton, we are taking the Martu students, other local Indigenous students (not Martu) and non- Indigenous students from NSHS to Broome to take part in a sports carnival involving football and netball. The trip is a reward for students who demonstrated a willingness to attend school and show a behavioral level that are up to NSHS standards. It also will allow participants form relationships outside of the school environment that may assist in their personal development.

·         We also provided sporting equipment to participants who regularly attended training sessions. Football boots, netball shoes were kindly donated by the Kicks 4 Kids organisation, which is run by former Subiaco premiership player and ABC commentator Rod Willet. SDFC also ran a competition that asked the participants to design their own football jumpers that will be proudly worn during the Broome carnival and any future football games involving the school and the Martu program.

·         Life and communication skills were also demonstrated during the Martu pilot. Cooking classes were a huge hit.

·         Netball programs were also targeted with great success.

Apart from the physical activities that were run, there was also underlying issues that were prominently re-enforced. Some of these issues were;

·         Team Work

·         Dedication

·         Physical Fitness

·         A willingness to participate

·         Respect for other people as well as self respect

·         Reward for Effort

As this is the first time SDFC has been involved in the projects mentioned above, I am convinced that we can learn from these experiences and derive great benefits form them. This will ensure that we can improve and provide better opportunities for the young people from the Pilbara to realize their goals and ambitions.

Thanks

Chris Lewis

‘Kicking Goals’ Coordinator

SDFC