SOUTH CROYDON FOOTBALL CLUB - MEDIA RELEASE 31ST AUGUST 2011
“LEADERSHIP EDUCATION IS NOW PART OF THE SOUTH CROYDON FC CULTURE”
These days there is increasingly more to the local sporting club than meets the eye. Many local clubs are following the lead of Australia’s elite and implementing educational programs to encourage and develop leadership within our “Y gen” community. South Croydon football club is currently leading the way and they have achieved more than they bargained for since the implementation of their current Sports Leadership program.
Sport has always played a vital role in the education and development of our next generation, encouraging teamwork, communication, responsibility, assertion and self-belief. The Sports Leadership Program at the South Croydon Football Club has taken this education to a whole new level with the innovative leadership program they launched upon the commencement of this season. This new Program which is run by “The Sports Leadership Coach” along with John Strachan, South Croydon FC Facilitator and mentor, promotes confidence, social and emotional intelligence and teaches young players how to get the most out of themselves and their club.
“Right from the outset it became very clear that the program was very structured and was going to go a long way from taking our leadership group from where they were to where we needed them, both on and off field. At the start of the program the boys were pretty quiet and not too sure of what was going to happen but once they realised that this was their footy club and their responsibility to put things in place and make things happen it really took off, it was fantastic.”
By week six of the program the leaders get a very clear view of what the programs about, by week eight they understand what their responsibilities are, by week ten they were effectively running the whole thing.” South Croydon FC program facilitator and mentor, John Strachan said.
“I could not recommend the program more highly, it is a fantastic program especially at community level, it gets everybody to start thinking about what it is to be a leader and some of the roles you need to instil in young blokes, look it was just terrific.” John reiterated.
Richard Maloney is the creator, director and head facilitator of “The Sports Leadership Coach” program and is also the Sports Leadership and Mindset Strategist for the Western Bulldogs AFL team. Maloney continues to work with South Croydon Football Club along with eight other teams at a local and state level nationally.
Maloney is extremely optimistic that South Croydon Football Club will go a long way next year and hopefully consolidate their spot in First Division and maybe even have a tilt at the Finals with the level of talent coming through the ranks at the Bulldogs, however with it or without it they are big winners this season, along with the local South Croydon community.
Pictured: South Croydon FC Leadership group. Chris Dinnell, Daniel King, Nick Molnar, Eamon Costello, Zac Higgins, Liam Fitzgerald, Facilitator/Mentor John Strachan, Shane Kearney.
The South Croydon Senior Football Club has had a challenging year in its second season in the strong First Division of the Easter Football league. With a budding crop of talented youth coming through the Bulldogs very quickly understood that they needed to be thinking laterally and fast track the leadership skills of the playing group to support the long standing club Captain Eamon ‘Ace’ Costello in his last years before handing over the mantel to the next generation of stars.
Last Modified on 25/04/2012 10:20