All members: Club update (or Your Survival Guide to Life without Footy)

13 Apr 2020 by President - Richard Spencer

Trust you are having a peaceful and safe Easter break with your families. While we would normally have completed Round 1 by now, we appreciate that footy isn’t as high on the agenda as we juggle the demands of our new lifestyles and keep our kids occupied in limited surroundings.

Our Club Board & Committee has continued to be active and we met last week, followed by a call I had with the AFL, so it’s timely to share with you the latest information on what we know at this point.

When will the AFL make a decision on the 2020 season?
The AFL’s actions are guided by the Government’s requirement for us to essentially be locked down until 30th June. Therefore, the AFL is planning to provide an update no earlier than the end of April/early May.

We are all on the same page when the AFL says that their priority is to get kids on the field playing footy in some form this year, subject to Government rules.

In the meantime, the AFL has asked all clubs to freeze registrations and refunds until a decision is made about the shape of the 2020 season. We ask our members and families to remain patient until we are clearer about how the season will play out.

What is the Club Board and Committee doing?
I am so proud and humbled by the dedication of our amazing volunteers who have taken time to meet and progress important initiatives for the benefit of our players and community.

Fifteen Board and Committee members participated in our Zoom meeting last week. Our key priority was to review the Club’s financial position and we had useful discussions modelling different scenarios for the rest of this year, understanding that we and the AFL have already incurred a number of costs.

Behind the scenes, we’re continuing to progress some key activities to set us up for success when we eventually kick off, including:
- a new first aid policy for training and home & away matches;
- new support resources for coaches (training plans, drills etc by age group);
- new sponsorship strategy and plan;
- refresh of our Guardians leadership program for our senior girls and boys;
- continued improvement of our grounds and facilities;
- preparing our uniforms and streamlining our merchandise range;
- improved storage facilities for our kit.

What can we do in the meantime?
First and foremost, if we all follow the Government’s rules, we will hopefully continue to see the COVID-19 curve flatten, and restrictions ease over time.

Just as importantly, as in the elite AFL competition, it’s vital that players stay fit and healthy during this time. Check out YouTube for examples of AFL players making the most of the isolation period to set personal goals and come out of this ready for action and with a sense of achievement.

Your goals don’t just need to be about AFL skills. Fitness, sport you can do at home and other activities are all going to make a positive difference.

As a President who aims to lead by example, here are some of the goals in progress at my place:
Jamie (13) – mastering the Terrey Hills par 3 golf course (currently 5 over par)
Andy (15) – mastering the basketball dunk & 100kg power lift
Sara (16) – mastering coach Stu’s U16G workouts
Lindy – running 25km/week (up from 15).

Sara and I have started working out together and as I shared in a LinkedIn post, togetherness is one of the blessings of our enforced hibernation. I hope you’re finding the same with your family too!

Love to see you share your activities, goals and pics in the ‘Comments’ of this post.

How are we supporting you to stay active during isolation?
St. Ives coaches have been provided with their team’s supply of footballs. (You might recall we made a significant investment in new footballs for all age groups in February this year). If you’d like to borrow one to practice skills and drills at home (preferably not inside!), please contact your coach or manager to arrange it.

Your coach can provide examples of drills or my family likes the simple and practical ones on the Swans Academy Facebook page which are great for all ages and abilities. You can also find activities linked in the emails that the AFL has sent to coaches, managers and players.

Thanks so much for your support during this difficult time, and we are especially grateful to our amazing volunteer coaches, managers, Board and Committee members. We’ll be in touch again when we have more news.

Go Saints…be patient, keep safe and stay active. Footy will be back.
Lindy

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