THE Horsham Demons hope to start a regular football program for young Wimmera girls in 2017.
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The Horsham Demons are offering three free introductory AFL sessions for girls aged 12 and over.
The sessions are on at the Horsham City Oval on July 19 and 26 and August 2.
Horsham Demons’ Terry Arnel hopes the sessions can establish interest for a development squad, which could eventually lead to participation in a South West competition.
Nekaela Butler, 15, who currently plays for the Ararat Storm Youth Girls Football Club, has high hopes of playing in the AFL women’s league, which launches in 2017. Nekaela now travels to play for the Storm, the only girls football competition in the Wimmera.
Mother Pauline Butler said the introduction to football session would be a positive step for Wimmera girls.
“It’s more about letting girls know the pathways available to them now that there’s an actual AFL league,” she said.
“It’s a great opportunity for girls that want to pursue a career in football, to be able to do it locally and not have to travel.
“The women’s league has been developing over several years but it’s really starting to get exciting now that they’ve announced a competition.
“It gives the girls hope and drive to want to get to that AFL level.”
Arnel said the club had seen a keen level of interest since announcing the sessions.
“We’re trying to give somewhere for the interest levels to be able to be expressed,” he said.
“We’re doing this so girls Nekaela’s age and younger can come and experience the three-week teaser.”
Arnel said the club would be taking a basic approach to the sessions and encouraged girls of all skill levels to give it a go.
“If there’s age groups that are really young and have had Auskick and nothing since, we start with grass roots stuff. If we get an older group that is obviously more mature athletically, we’ll modify and adjust based on that demographic,” he said.
