Preseason training is in full swing for Kyneton Football Netball Club. Photo: Sophie McLeod
Being part of a team is something truly special. Feelings of first game nerves, the relief of kicking a goal, the elation of claiming a win are uniquely shared among your teammates, who become your community and your family. The village of people that make up your sporting team become friends for life, irrespective of the final score. If you’ve ever thought about pulling on the boots but worried you might not be good enough, fit enough or experienced enough – Kyneton Football Netball Club wants you anyway.
Players of every height, skill level and background are being encouraged to walk through the gates and give it a go. Equipment is ready. Coaches are ready. Are you? Women’s coach Lisa Borg knows exactly how much that invitation matters. She first started playing as a seven-year-old at a time when a female team didn’t exist, so she played with the boys.
“My uncle was coaching with the Kyneton Tigers at the time. He’ll kill me for saying this, but he wouldn’t let me play in that first year. I wanted to play because girls couldn’t play footy. But nowadays he’ll always denies that,” she said.
“I was six or seven years old. But anyway, I got playing and I was probably better than a lot of the boys, so he was quite proud of that.” She came through the junior ranks at a time when girls playing football was rare and often difficult. And by the time she reached the under-16 level she was the only girl in the competition, playing alongside boys who often had to defend her right just to be on the field. Eventually there was nowhere left for her to play, so she stepped away – until women’s football finally offered a pathway. She later spent years at Sunbury Lions before returning in 2015 to build a women’s side from scratch. It was not easy. Some early matches had barely a team, sometimes 10 or 11 players, and forfeits were unavoidable. But persistence paid off.
Today the goal is to continue providing a women’s football pathway within the community, to keep the doors wide open for not only aspiring football stars, but those who just want to give it a go.
Head of junior football Emily Dellios is proof of that culture. Deeply involved in the club through her children and committee work, she recently signed up to play despite openly admitting she is still learning the basics.
“You don’t have to be a good footballer,” she said.
“It’s a supportive environment and we’re all going to learn something.”
That atmosphere is exactly what football manager Glenn Harris believes is key to on and off-field success. Working together to strive for improvement each week, building each other up, is what it is all about. Respect, teamwork, discipline, excellence and fun are the values that drive the KFNC and have been entrenched within the club culture since 1868.
“The vibe has been great,” Harris said. “Other clubs have supported us and we want anyone thinking about it to come down and join.” The club is not chasing elite athletes. It is chasing community – parents, beginners, returning players and anyone who ever wondered what it might feel like to finally take a kick. Short, tall, skilled or completely new, the message is simple:
Kyneton Football Netball Club is the place for you.
