On Sunday, we welcomed Geelong Football Club midfielder Isaac Sith and Geelong FC recruiter Liam Woodland to our Community Event, ‘the Importance of Playing Local’. Joining them were club life members Linda Thompson and John Molesworth who gave a valuable insight into their history with the Blues, and what local sport and community spirit is all about.

Isaac and Liam engaged in a Q&A session with our community and echoed the message the club is putting out to our players, parents, friends and community right now in pre season, the 2022 season and beyond. We had some brilliant questions put to Isaac and Liam;

As a club we’re struggling with numbers due to our footballers heading to other clubs. In your opinion, if our locals are not progressing to elite level football; why should players stay playing with their local club and why resist the temptation to play down-the-road with another club?

“I grew up in Cootamundra, a small town. I didn’t have club rooms or a good oval as such but the community that the club had created was probably the strongest community in the town because we were smaller than other organisations, where the spirit was alive and well. We cherished that time with our friends running around on the oval, enjoying functions with family, Dad used to umpire, my sisters played netball and at the end of every Saturday we could enjoy the social aspect that the club provided as a family and with friends. While you might not be playing elite level football, the skills and attributes you learn being involved with a local club translate into other parts of your life. You’re given so much responsibility as a teenager within a club that it really sets you up for the future. Your club is always your home club, and for me it was my family club.”

How would you motivate our juniors to run that last lap at training or give that last effort on the field?

“When I played country footy, notably at Redan Football Club in Ballarat, I didn’t realise at the time but AFL recruiters were there watching me. My coach knew, and so did the club President but nothing got filtered down to me as a player. Recruiters were there ticking off not only my football skills, but assessing my character on and off the field, my attendance at social functions and involvement in the club. You don’t have to play at a well performing club or the VFL to be recruited to the AFL. Geelong Football Club recruits regional players, players from the country. If you’re playing good footy and you’re involved in the club, committed to your club, we’ll come and watch you.”

Isaac and Liam mentioned there are concerns at all levels across Victoria that sporting participation is declining, and becoming harder to encourage kids to play sport due to the pandemic and other various factors. As a club, we’re experiencing this first hand. We hope that through engaging more with our local community now and over the coming months, we can encourage sporting participation across the Ballan community, and for our club, the Ballan Football Netball Club. We are committed to making Ballan great again, and hope you can join us!

We were so lucky to be have the opportunity to hear from Isaac and Liam on their careers, and we might even be lucky enough to have them join us again in the future!

#proudlyBallan