There is no senior and junior divide at Springwood. They are one club, and their ‘Fill the Hill’ event on Saturday is a way of celebrating that.
“It’s about one club, celebrating the fact that we are all together. There is no junior and senior club, it is one Springwood Football Club, and that’s a great a thing to have,” Junior Chairperson Paul Simpson said.
The concept revolves around the club ‘filling the hill’ to support the senior team as they take on Kenmore at 1:30pm.
It’s rare for a junior and senior club to act as one entity, and Saturday is a way of the club showing its appreciation of how smoothly it operates.
“It’s all about saying thanks. The entire club is invited to this, and that’s what it is all about, a celebration of all things Puma, from the five year old right up to the 60 year old masters,” he said.
“Everyone is coming along to have a bit of a party.”
Springwood has a real focus on the community element of a football club. There is a lot more than what happens on field.
“The seniors come down and help our kids and the kids go and watch the seniors play. It’s a fantastic community feeling at the club, and obviously a bit of success has come because of it,” Simpson said.
“A lot of our senior players are coaches with the junior teams, so the kids will be sure to be on the sidelines giving their coaches a bit of stick.”
This one club approach means there is a clear pathway for junior players to follow into senior football. They are able to share resources, knowledge, and even manpower.
“That’s what we are all about, the comradeship, mateship, developing the skills when they are younger, and then providing a gateway into senior football,” he said.
“It means that we work together, there is no separation, there is no fighting between the seniors and juniors, we work under the same banner.”
While every team loves to win when they run out each week, the Pumas see the bigger picture.
“Our aim is to start to get them more prepared for the senior ranks. We have programs in place which the senior coach runs, giving them the skills and knowledge they need to be successful when they are older, so hopefully they will be wearing the blue and gold when they are 20-25 years old,” Simpson said.
“Winning is important, but it’s more about developing the kids at a young age.”
Springwood’s juniors have matches scheduled before the colts and after the seniors, meaning the whole club will be on show during the day.
101.1fm will be broadcasting live, there will be a live band, giveaways, a DJ and plenty more.
For more information, please click here.
By Andrew Wiles – @andrewjwiles
