Matthew Leuenberger Camp Diary
Events like the AFL Community Camp are really important, particularly in non-AFL states such as Queensland.
This will be my fourth camp after already visiting regional Brisbane (2007), Townsville (2008) and Brisbane again last year.
While our crowd figures and membership numbers are growing steadily, most of the public spotlight is still on the Rugby codes.
The AFL works really hard in planning community events so they can try and convert as many locals as possible to start playing our great game.
It’s always good to catch up with footy fans - particularly those in regional areas that probably don’t get experience AFL first hand with Lions players.
I guess the purpose of these visits is to get as many people involved in playing footy at grassroots level and developing an interest in AFL - then hopefully getting them on board as Lions members.
It also gives us guys a short break from training.
Vossy and the coaches have been training us pretty hard over summer so it will be a nice change to have a relatively lighter week on the track.
Tomorrow we leave the Gabba headed for the Sunshine Coast which is actually a popular holiday destination for a lot of blokes around the Club.
But this week certainly won’t be holiday. We’ll be spending two full days going to schools, junior footy clubs, dinners and other events to mix with our fans in the area. To finish it off, we’ll have a training session on Friday afternoon before driving back to Brisbane.
All the players were given their itineraries yesterday and it seems as though both days will be pretty busy.
I’ve been grouped up with Polks, Jesse O’Brien and Jack Redden for tomorrow’s school visits before joining Dan Rich, Bryce Retzlaff and Niall McKeever at Caloundra Junior Footy Club for a bit of a kick-to-kick.
Then there’s an official dinner tomorrow night at the Maroochy RSL which I believe is close to being sold out.
There’s a full list of our events on the Lions website so be sure to check it out and come along to see us.
In the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep you posted with what’s happening on each day of the Sunshine Coast camp.
Last Modified on 10/02/2010 10:24