Woodend Soccer Club is campaigning for a multi-purpose synthetic soccer pitch for the sport to grow in Woodend.
The soccer club relaunched as the Woodend Eagles in May with massive support from the community but president Alistair Fletcher said there were few options for training on home turf.
“For the past 10 years, local coaches and parents have been trying to get a soccer club going in Woodend but despite a brief successful period for the Woodend Dragons it’s never really grown beyond the Mini Roos program for younger kids,” he said.
“The two footy ovals are saturated with footy and cricket throughout their respective seasons. No rectangular pitches suitable for sports like soccer, rugby or hockey are available in Woodend.”
Mr Fletcher said grounds used for soccer at Gisborne and Kyneton had also been strained due to the sports popularity or struggled in poor weather with flooding.
Woodend’s eager junior players began training with support from Woodend Primary School but the club quickly outgrew the space and relocated to Buffalo Stadium’s football oval during a brief window of availability.
There are currently more than 100 boys and girls, aged four to 11 years, building their skills each Saturday but the club has a long-term plan to develop the Woodend Eagles into a long-term community club catering for all ages and skills.
“We’re at the point where we just need a pitch,” Mr Fletcher said.
“We aim to set up junior training during the week and hopefully at the end of next year we will be ready to join one of the competitive regional leagues. At the moment we’re really trying to build the foundation of the club but it’s hard to do that when you don’t have facilities.
“Soccer is Australia’s fastest growing sport, especially with the success of the Matildas. We have three primary schools in Woodend with girls and boys who want to play, but at the moment the kids have to travel to other towns to train, which many parents say just isn’t sustainable, especially if their siblings play other sports as well.”
The club presented both electronic and paper petitions for a Woodend multi sports pitch to the Macedon Ranges Shire Council last week.
It comes as the council prepares for future planning of Woodend Racecourse Reserve with an ‘issues and opportunities paper’, open for community feedback until September 5.
The paper includes two potential concepts that either keep limited equestrian facilities on the site, or relocate them elsewhere.
Woodend Soccer Club considers the racecourse reserve a good option for a pitch due to its proximity to current sporting facilities at Buffalo Stadium. The club, however, also supports needs of Woodend’s wider sporting community.
A soccer pitch should meet Football Victoria’s minimum current standards for junior competition but could also be suitable for a range of other sports including rugby and hockey. The club is also seeking storage, and shelter for spectators, coaches and players.
Macedon Ranges Shire Council will prepare a report in response to the petitions, to be presented at the September 16 council meeting.
