A girl from Sydney lists her proudest moment in football as playing on WA’s hallowed turf at Patersons Oval, Subiaco. Alison Parker plays for the Balmain Dockers in the Sydney Women’s AFL. In 2010 Balmain were invited to participate in a curtain raiser against a composite WA women’s league team prior to the Fremantle Dockers AFL team playing.
“It was amazing to run out on one of the AFL ovals and play in front of a few thousand people!”
Parker just loves the excitement of scoring goals and aims to be part of any plays that result in goals. “I love running and helping my teammates,” she said. “I just want to be part of any goal that my team scores.”
The other thing Alison is aiming to achieve is to take one ‘specky’ per game. “I haven’t quite mastered that yet.”
However if skill and determination are the two ingredients for taking ‘speckies’ then Parker is sure to fulfil her commitment to herself. Given that she is also a member of NSW’s state cricket team and was named in the 2010 Team of the Decade after only three years of AFL, it’s likely we will be seeing Parker in high flying positions soon.
In the hot seat: NSW coach Tracey Kick photographed with Fremantle coach Mark Harvey and Fremantle CEO Steve Rosich at Patersons Stadium in 2010.
Having a surname that is so AFL makes it difficult for NSW coach, Tracey Kick to avoid the obvious snipes! Tracey is passionate about taking NSW to division 1 and helping her local team, Balmain Dockers, win a flag in 2011.
When you have the surname of Kick, you’re born in Victoria and you coach AFL you’re sure to get some amusing comments made about you. And so it is for NSW Blues coach Tracey Kick. “My Dad played good level amateur footy and I’m related to former Essendon player, Barry Young, but never got to really kick a ball in a proper game until I was around 40 years old,” a reflective Kick said.
“Like ‘most’ Victorians we shifted to the Gold Coast. There were no teams for females when I was living there so I got my Level 1 and took up coaching a boys team instead.”
When she wasn’t involved in AFL Kick spent time moonlighting in an alternative rock band that had several songs on rotation at Triple J and toured the USA, playing at the famous CBGBs in New York and with Regurgitator at the South by South West music festival in Austin Texas. “The band also composed a theme song for the Brisbane Bears (just before the merge with Fitzroy unfortunately – timing is everything in the music industry!)”
But when she shifted to Sydney it was back to AFL! “I helped set up the Balmain Dockers who have a MOU with Fremantle Football Club. In 2010 we went through undefeated only to lose the grand final.”
“Personally I like to watch the growth in players and hope that through my coaching I ensure that players of all levels enjoy football and be the best they can be. I’d really like to coach NSW to a Div 2 win (at the Nationals) and the Balmain Dockers to their first ever SWAFL grand final in 2011!”
To achieve that her players will have to kick straight and not rely on their coach to ‘get a kick!’
The Dale Thomas of the NSW state team: Alison Parkin is fluid in motion, can kick both feet and is an exceptional athlete. Won rookie of the year and played state footy back in 2007, and was named in the SWAFL team of the decade in 2009.
