It’s full steam ahead for the Team Swans Community Programme as we head into 2010.
In addition to working closely with the AFL on soon to be announced initiatives aimed at enhancing the Team Swans school programme, there are some other major events planned for the next few months.
The first of these is the AFL Community Camp - very different in format from previous years, as this December small groups of players will head to twelve different regional centres including Bathurst, Dubbo, Port Macquarie, Coffs Harbour and Narrandera to participate in school visits, AFL clinics and community events.
The Team Swans Community Programme encompasses all player appearances and community involvement. School visits, hospital visits, charity programmes and Club engagements all fall under the Team Swans umbrella.
Engaging with the community has been an important part of the Club’s philosophy since the Swans arrived in Sydney in 1982, and the earliest incarnation of the Team Swans Community Programme came into being in 1986 when the Club appointed seven players - Dennis Carroll, Mark Browning, Stephen Wright, current Team Swans manager Craig Holden, Darren McAsey, Paul Hawke and Brett Scott - as development officers, each assigned to a region of Sydney, whose full-time job it was to visit school and community groups.
With the change of ownership of the Club in 1988, the funding for such a structure dried up, but the programme was relaunched in 1996 as part of the Club’s renewed Welfare programme. Matthew Nicks, Simon Arnott, Michael O’Loughlin, Anthony Rocca and Simon Garlick were the pioneers of the new Team Swans, and in the inaugural year achieved 1968 hours of engagement with the community.
This may sound like a lot - but since 2005, an average of 6000 hours per year has been spent on Team Swans activities. The core of the activity been the Team Swans Healthy Choices programme, which involves players conducting sessions with senior primary school children and speaking to them about the importance of a healthy lifestyle and the ability each individual has to influence those around him to make the correct lifestyle choices.
A number of high-profile players have been involved in Team Swans since its rebirth in 1996 - including Adam Goodes, Brett Kirk, Jude Bolton, Jarrad McVeigh, Nick Malceski and of course Jared Crouch.
All Sydney Swans players are involved in Team Swans activities, and it is considered to be a vital part of the players’ development which and is philosophically supported by the coaches and the Club as a whole.
Keep an eye on sydneyswans.com.au as December approaches for details of the Community Camp activities which may be happening in a town near you!