Inaugural AFL Women’s High Performance Academy Program
Forty of Australia’s most talented
female
footballers have arrived in Melbourne to take part in the inaugural AFL
Women’s High Performance Academy Camp.
The camp starts on Thursday June 10 and
will
conclude on Monday June 14 when the participants play in a
curtain-raiser
before the Queen’s Birthday clash between Melbourne and Collingwood at
the MCG.
The players aged between 16 and 34
years will
undergo four days of specialist coaching from the AFL’s High Performance
staff, AFL Coaches Ambassador David Parkin and Stan Alves and the
Melbourne
Football Club. Sessions include fitness and skill testing, kicking
analysis, positional play and tactics, leadership and media training.
AFL Female Football Development Manager
Jan Cooper
said the camp will be a challenging football and personal development
program
similar to the AIS-AFL Academy program.
“The camp’s objective is to not only to
develop skills, but to also help create role models for female
participants. There
are more than 81,000 female football participants throughout Australia
from NAB
AFL Auskick to senior women’s leagues. As youth girl’s and
women’s leagues throughout Australia grow in professionalism, we want
female participants to aspire to attend this camp.
The
most talented female players have been invited to attend and we hope to
encourage and retain them in the game,” Ms Cooper explained.
Many of the Academy program
participants have excelled in
sports a state or national level including volleyball, tennis,
badminton,
soccer, athletics and Gaelic football.
At the conclusion of the Academy the
players will
nominate a player of their choice for the Shannon McFerran Medal, which
is
presented to the Academy member who scores the most votes for their
football
performance and personal development during the Academy program.
There are more than 81,000 female
football
participants throughout Australia from NAB AFL Auskick to senior women’s
leagues.
Many of the Academy program
participants have excelled in
sports a state or national level including volleyball, tennis,
badminton,
soccer, athletics and Gaelic football.
Pictured is some of the lucky participants with a Melbourne Demons Footballer.
Last Modified on 24/06/2010 11:37