A message from the Woodend School Sports Committee

Did you know that all of our after hours sport is run by parent volunteers? The parents who run our sports on a Saturday morning receive nothing more than the pleasure of being involved and participating along side their kids. That’s what we are about at Woodend, participation and giving it a go, not winning at all costs; to be equal and allow all skill levels time to shine. What better way to encourage your child’s involvement and be a positive role model than being involved yourself whether you know the rules or not…  I still can’t kick a ball correctly but I can set up a training program, organise, motivate, enthuse, encourage, inspire, direct, celebrate, commiserate and nurture the young people I come in contact with every day. When you coach a team you not only teach the skills of the sport but the skills of life and that in itself is rewarding. We are all nervous and unsure at the beginning but as time goes on you find your feet and enjoy the experience. 
 


At Woodend we encourage both dads and mums to be involved in what ever way possible. Mums can coach any sport, not just netball and dads are more than welcome to coach a netball team. 



On any given Saturday morning you will find many mums out there coaching soccer, AFL, cricket teams and netball teams so give it a go! 



Our working lives are fast paced and busy these days and time is precious. As Woodend grows we will require more man and woman power to make sure that all our teams no matter what code or game that is to be played has a parent who can foster the development of our young sports people. 



As coach of the team you can choose a training time that suits you and your team. You can always share the duties with other parents. If you work 9am-5pm, 5 days a week and can only do the Saturday there may be a good chance that there is someone who is eager to help but can’t commit to the Saturday. If you are a mum who may not be confident in doing it on your own, pair up like Kelli and Gill (AFL) did last year and spur each other on! All sports need coaches, team managers and helpers to keep them going. 



The Coordinators of each sport are here to help and support you as are the staff and parents on the sport committee. We have a number of licensed and qualified coaches who are happy to share their skills and most district bodies offer free coaching courses during the year. The school is also happy to fund level 1 coaching courses for those who are interested in learning more. 



The time commitment for coaches is around 1hours training one afternoon after school or if need be a Sunday afternoon and your game time which is around 1 -2hours on a Saturday morning for AFL and Soccer on a home and away basis. All your game information will be supplied by the coordinator and most of us use email, social media or sms as a way of keeping in contact with you and your team. 



• Netball is played during the week on a Tuesday after school at Suna and trainings are held on various nights as this varies on the coach. 

• Pedal Prix also requires assistance and parents support. 

• Cricket will runs in Term 1 & 4 so plan ahead. 

• In terms 2 & 3 our winter sports commence and there are still vacancies in all teams for AFL and Soccer all teams will require coaches in most age groups. 



Teams will not be registered without a coach.