AFL KIDS FIRST - WE’RE NOT PLAYING FOR
SHEEP STATIONS
How will you behave at the footy today?
Almost a decade ago, the WorkSafe VCFL instituted a highly successful promotional campaign entitled ‘We’re Not Playing for Sheep Stations’ focused on spectator behavior in junior football.
Within it, the VCFL outlined examples of behaviours for parents, coaches and officials that would ensure that junior footballers were able to get the most out of their footy without the pressures that impact negatively on their experiences.
Since this time, AFL Victoria and the AFL have picked up on the key points of ‘Sheep Stations’ and shaped them into an official policy that guides the game at the national level - AFL Kids First.
Kids are not little adults.
Recent research with junior players has shown that, in their own words, the things that make a positive experience for them is - ‘have fun with my mates, ‘to use and improve my skills’, ‘excitement and enjoyment’, and ‘the challenge of playing against others’.
At it’s heart, the AFL Kids First program is about reminding and encouraging parents to support children in a positive and constructive manner. Barracking and wanting your child to perform well is human nature, but it is critical that this should be done in a responsible manner avoiding the ‘ugly parent’ syndrome at all times.
Abuse, vilification, criticism, and pressure on coaches and officials have no place on the boundary of local footy, and even doubly so at junior matches.
AFL Kids First sets up a number of useful actions and guides that can be taken at league and club level that will ensure that children get the most out of sport, and that the game is conducted in the right spirit and intentions suitable to the age level.
The basic principles of AFL Kids First are to remind parents that:
Sport for children is a vital part of their growing up.
Children like to win, but more importantly, they want to have fun.
Parents need to set the right example at the footy ground, not just at home.
Parents should be proud of their child’s efforts irrespective of the result.
Sport is important to children’s self esteem.
The AFL Kids First Manual has been distributed in the past to all clubs and leagues throughout the VCFL. If you do not have a copy at your club you can download one from the VCFL website under JUNIOR FOOTBALL.
The WorkSafe Victorian Country Football League strongly encourages all junior football clubs to issue a copy of the AFL Kids First - Parents Code of Conduct to parents involved in the club, and display the Code in a number of prominent places in the football precinct.
This weekend, over 40,000 children will be playing Aussie Rules across country Victoria. Almost every one of these kids will be out there loving every minute of their time on the ground, in the huddle, and around the boundary as a part of a team. Tens of thousands of parents will be at these grounds in positive support and encouragement of the young players.
In the very rare occasion that breaches of the spectator code of conduct occurs, the AFL Kids First Policy provides an opportunity to deal with the matter by adopting an ‘educational approach’. The role of a Kids First coordinator at the club can facilitate this process in an environment which may be emotionally charged.
If we are all on the same page, then the results will be self evident – putting the ‘kids first’, giving kids time to enjoy their footy, and developing a lifelong involvement in the game for these youngsters.
Shayne Ward
WorkSafe VCFL Planning, Facilities & Junior Football Manager