44 DAYS TO GO | Heathmont Junior Football Club president Jo Hart-Parker spoke to EFL Media ahead of the 2019 season, all thanks to Yarra Valley Water & Choose Tap.
Overall, were you satisfied with what the club achieved, both on and off the field, in 2018?
Jo Hart-Parker: The committee has been busy planning for the past couple of months and are excited about the upcoming season, as we hope to continue where we left off in season 2018, when our girls under-12s made club history by playing off in the club’s first girls grand final, and our under-12 Boys also reaching their grand final against the odds.
The club is very fortunate that many of our fully accredited coaches will be on board again this season to continue to develop the players in their charge.
Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2019?
JHP: We expect to field 14 teams in 2019 across all age groups.
Girls football continues to see significant interest and we are pleased to announce we will be expanding our girls’ teams in 2019 with the introduction of under-14 and under-18 age groups.
There is also some exciting news on the netball front, which sees the club expanding their netball reach.
We are currently in the midst of talks and finalising the integration of junior and youth netball teams to be playing under the Jets banner for the first time.
There are still some areas to be worked through but early indications are very positive and if all goes to plan should be in place by the latter part of the season 2019.
With the increase in team numbers both football and netball we have started talks with the council about upgrading the facilities down at Heatherdale to cope with the influx of new members.
If you had to pick one, which team do you think is the club’s best chance of winning a premiership this season, and why?
JHP: The Jets are committed to player development, and having successfully run programs over last season, we will be again giving our teams the opportunity to participate in season 2019.
Our pre-season JetStart program, which this year will be a four-week training course with professional coaches, senior players, and trainers, will start on February 25. This proved to be very successful and popular with our teams.
We will continue with our interstate cup challenge, this season South Launceston Junior Club will be visiting us. The club is also in the process of finalising the details for another challenge cup for our under-17 group to play Southport, Queensland this season.
Our SALT (Sports and Life Training) sessions provide personal development and support conducted by a professional agency. Topics included drug and alcohol education, well-being, and mental health support. We have been rolling this program out over the past two years and we plan to cover more teams in season 2019.
All home games have the added support of a professional first aid officer to assist the accredited trainers from not only from our club but the opposition, too.
We continue to support our Auskick Jets Squadrons again this season, with groups at H.E Parker and Heatherdale Reserves.
Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?
JHP: Any new players are more than welcome. We still have vacancies in all teams, especially the under-16 girls, under-11 and under-17 boys.
If any players are interested in playing for your club this season, what do they have to do?
JHP: Registrations are now open, for more information on all areas of the club, and to register, you can go to our website www.jetsjuniors.com
