Marrickville Football Club has established an All Abilities football team are part of its involvement in community football. The Club’s All Abilities coordinator (& 2015 Cec Barlow Award recipient) Pierre Milet gives an insight into the program and the children it has included in this great game.
“The program started two years ago with Ellen Fanning and her husband, Peter, from Balmain & District Football Club who realised the necessity to give kids with special needs the chance to play one of the favourite sports. The Canterbury Association has given them that chance.
I decided with the help of my wife, Claire, to do the same format that Balmain had started by starting another team at Marrickville FC.
So far it’s been a success. The kids are progressing fantastically. The skills that they are learning through playing and training are invaluable. It includes gross motor skills, balance, and coordination. Because they are having fun, they don’t even realise that they are working on these skills.
Most of all, the kids love being part of a club. Simply putting the jersey and the boots on just like all the other kids in the club is something that they just didn’t have access to. They are celebrating goals with high fives, and are learning to enjoy the success that comes from being part of a team.
It’s a very rewarding experience for everyone involved.
I’d encourage any club to do the same.”
