Kicking goals with volunteers

Photo Supplied

James Baldock at Auskick, with some possible future players for the Deloraine Roos or the Tasmanian AFL team.

By David Claridge

VOLUNTEERING IS the backbone of local grassroots sports. Parents encourage their children to get out and get active and in turn they join in.

It’s thanks to parents such as James and Phillippa Baldock who keep local football alive for future generations.

Last year, James was chosen as the Tasmanian State Winner of the NAB AFL Auskick Volunteer of the Year. Phillippa shared how James has been involved in football pretty much all his life.

‘James started playing Juniors with the Deloraine Football Club before moving into the senior side. Later on he joined the committee and then coached,’ she said.

‘We both became involved with Auskick when one of our daughters wanted to join in. We agreed to take on the role from the previous coordinators and continue their good work.

’ James’ prize was a paid trip to Melbourne to see a finals game of AFL in 2018. ‘We were actually overseas at the time the game was going to be on, so we were able to go recently instead to watch his team, the Hawks, play Collingwood.’

AFLTAS is once again calling for nominations for Volunteer of the Year, to reward someone who has made a significant contribution to their community.

Information from AFLTAS suggests there were 209 000 volunteers involved in football across Australia last year.