SANFL in the schools

[TigerBoss]

I remember when I was working my way through Primary School in the southern suburbs, and the school I went to was aligned to the mighty Bays. All kids that played footy, and even others that didn't, were issued with what I recall was called "SANFL Junior Supporter Membership".

The membership entitled all holders with a free pass to all Glenelg home games, a pie and a coke at home games, stickers, magazines, a football, and a variety of other little knick knacks.

I'll never forget standing around after school, waiting for footy training to start, and seeing the coach rock up with a few Bays players to help out at training. We had the Stringer boys come out one night, and another night we had Rod Jameson and Robbie Thomson, with Matthew Liptak, Chris McDermott and others turning up other times. We'd open up the big bag of Kookaburra orange footies and try and show the Bays players how good we all were.

My old man is a Sturt supporter, but it was always the Bays for me. I owe the old boy a lot because without fail (rain, hail or shine) Dad would come and watch my footy on a Saturday morning, and then we'd get ready and he'd take me down the Bay or wherever the Tigers were playing.

Just curious to hear what other posters experienced when they were going through school, or what their kids are currently getting access to from SANFL clubs in their zone. It had such a positive effect on my life, and I'm keen to hear about how others perceived this sort of stuff...

TB

[Dirko]

ha good days...

I never played footy in Primary School preferring the round ball game. That was until Rick Davie came to Clapham Primary with another Sturt
douchebag who I can't remember. I was tall for my age and Rick asked why I wasn't rucking etc LOL, so I grabbed a footy gave it a roost
and next thing I was in the footy side. Got all the Sturt stuff etc. My mum wanted to burn it and if I knew how I probably would've

Used to have Stuey Palmer pop in every now and then as his daughter went to my school. I pinched a Kookaburra footy from him

Every kid barracked for Sturt or South, except for me & another kid ! My Mum was the Glenelg diehard as well as my Pop, and like TB, went to every game with them...

My daughters school has the Eagles come over during Footy season...If we win on Saturday may send her to school on Tuesday with the Glenelg scarfe on

[gadj1976]

Hey SJABC, ease up on the douchebag bit.

I remember DISTINCTLY Rick Davies coming to our school telling us off for crossing our arms (it meant we weren't listening!!!). It scared the bejeezus out of us.

Sturt player at a Nth Eastern suburbs primary school, work that out.

[MightyEagles]

At high school, we had a couple Eagles players turn up during PE. Andrew Taylor was one, can't remember the other.

[Pseudo]

We had coaching clinics at our Glenelg-aligned primary school. Laurie Rosewarne would turn up with two current senior players (forget which ones ever turned up now). I do remember Laurie once had one of the players demonstrate how to handball, and the player told us how to make a fist with the thumb wrapped up in the fingers. Laurie then stepped in to correct him, saying that that was a sure way to get the thumb broken!

Fairly early on, the school once managed to get Peter Carey to open the school sports day and judge the marching.

When I played under/13s in year 7, after the end of the season our school footy team got invited to the Bay Oval to watch a training session. We won the Glenelg zone U/13 div/B premiership that year, and I thought the training session might have been some sort of reward for this. The night started with a tour of the changerooms IIRC. Then we were let loose in the changerooms while the players arrived and changed into their gear. I have enormous respect for the players, who were juggling our autograph books and pens while trying to tie up their jockstraps. All that is except Graham Cornes, who rocked up late and said he didn't have time to sign autographs!

In year 7 we also got to play mini-league for the Bays, got the standard coke at the game and a coke for after training during the week. Other than this I don't recall ever being given showbags, free tickets, or anything like that.

[Thiele]

We had a few West Adelaide for boys that came out for training. Plus free tickets.

I was a

[Dirko]

Hey SJABC, ease up on the douchebag bit.

He was a good douchebag gadj !

[RustyCage]

I was a relief teacher for half a day earlier in the year at Prospect Primary and they had some North players conduct a coaching clinic. Over the last few weeks I was working at Elizabeth East and they had photos there of Port Adelaide Power and Central Districts doing a joint coaching clinic earlier in the year. Today I was at the Heights and there were a lot of Norwood stickers on peoples lockers, including people who aren't footy suppoters, so Im guessing Norwood had done a clinic there at some stage this year.

[Wedgie]

I grew up in the inner south western suburbs, went to Camden Park Primary from prep to Grade 5, then Ascot Park Primary and then Mitchell Park High.
I can remember the majority going for Glenelg, even our Year 2 teacher bribed every kid in the class bar one to barrack for Glenelg with a sticker, I was the only one with the intestifnal fortitude not to fall for it.
Come late primary school and high school despite a majority being Bays fans it was split fairly evenly between Glenelg, Port and Sturt, I always hated people that just jumped on bandwagons or went with the flow so I decided to show even more intestinal fortitude and go for a different side. Both my parents were Norwood fans but they were fairly successful at that stage so it would have been too easy to follow them.
I can remember at one stage we had over 1000 students at Mitchell Park High and there was a grand total of 3 North supporters in the whole school.
I liked it that way.
Copped heaps in 85 and 86 but it made 87 even more sweeter especially when I had hundreds of plebs paying me out for years because they were just sheep who were happy hiding in packs making lots of bleating noises.

Ive always been that way, never one to go with the majority, I like to be different and not just barrack for the most popular team in an area or most successful. Hence why I follow the teams I do in the AFL and other sports. Anyone can take the easy path but they go nowhere in life IMHO.

[FlyingHigh]

I can remember at one stage we had over 1000 students at Mitchell Park High and there was a grand total of 3 North supporters in the whole school.
I liked it that way.
Copped heaps in 85 and 86 but it made 87 even more sweeter especially when I had hundreds of plebs paying me out for years because they were just sheep who were happy hiding in packs making lots of bleating noises.

Ive always been that way, never one to go with the majority, I like to be different and not just barrack for the most popular team in an area or most successful. Hence why I follow the teams I do in the AFL and other sports. Anyone can take the easy path but they go nowhere in life IMHO.

Should have joined us at Woodville then Wedgie.

Agree - this is why I don't follow the Crows.

Grew up in a Glenelg family, lived in Norwood zone, played in North Adelaide junior zone, but ended up with Woodville (and now Eagles), started supported them when they were in the middle of their six spoons in a row. Why? Still not sure. Suppose though, I've seen Eagles win 2 flags, and in those 25+ years Bays have only won two and Norwood three. Most people were Norwood or Port.

[Mic]

Most schools these days get a few SANFL players to do a day's worth of coaching clinics. They hand out a few posters and a couple footies. That's usually about it.

[Psyber]

I managed to get through Primary School at Brompton and then Croydon without discovering either school had any sporting teams, as it was never mentioned by teachers. I assume there must have been teams - Russell Virgo [Torrens] and the Wildy boys were there at the time. John Wildy the eldest - and more Cricket orientated - was in my class.

My father, being a severe asthmatic forced by that to give up the Cricket and Football he played for Moonta long before I was born, was, I suspect, bitter about it and therefore never discussed sport either. My mother, later when I asked, told me he had been good at both.

[TigerBoss]

I grew up in the inner south western suburbs, went to Camden Park Primary from prep to Grade 5, then Ascot Park Primary and then Mitchell Park High.
I can remember the majority going for Glenelg, even our Year 2 teacher bribed every kid in the class bar one to barrack for Glenelg with a sticker, I was the only one with the intestifnal fortitude not to fall for it.
Come late primary school and high school despite a majority being Bays fans it was split fairly evenly between Glenelg, Port and Sturt, I always hated people that just jumped on bandwagons or went with the flow so I decided to show even more intestinal fortitude and go for a different side. Both my parents were Norwood fans but they were fairly successful at that stage so it would have been too easy to follow them.
I can remember at one stage we had over 1000 students at Mitchell Park High and there was a grand total of 3 North supporters in the whole school.
I liked it that way.
Copped heaps in 85 and 86 but it made 87 even more sweeter especially when I had hundreds of plebs paying me out for years because they were just sheep who were happy hiding in packs making lots of bleating noises.

Ive always been that way, never one to go with the majority, I like to be different and not just barrack for the most popular team in an area or most successful. Hence why I follow the teams I do in the AFL and other sports. Anyone can take the easy path but they go nowhere in life IMHO.

With regards to the viewpoint about not wanting to go with the majority, in part that sums up my allegiances to a tee...my Grandma was the only Bays fan in my entire extended family on both sides, and yet, given the fact the first thing I ever received was a knitted black and gold sweater, I was sold from day one...it was Bays or nothing for me.

From the moment I started barracking for the Bays, I was also a mad Richmond fan in the VFL. It was hard following Richmond in those days, because there was little media flowing into SA, other than a highlights show every Sunday afternoon and without internet and so forth, I could only pick up the rare snippet of information.

When the Crows came in, all my mates and family jumped off their preferred clubs and began barracking for the Crows. I had to make a decision, and while I have sometimes wondered in the past 17 years whether I made the right choice (given the success the Crows have enjoyed over the years), I am happy that I stuck with Richmond, and will ride every wave of emotion with them. To me, it appears false support to barrack for one team, and then jump off that team and onto another...I stuck with Richmond, and will continue to do so...I am as passionate about their plight as I am about the Bays.

I also support Manchester City in the EPL, mainly due to the influence of my father-in-law, who is a keen Manchester City fan from wayback. He grew up in Manchester with three brothers, who all barracked for Manchester United. To be defiant, he decided to take the biggest rivals to United in City and has stuck with them ever since. Just last week he returned from a trip to England with a bag full of Manchester City merchandise. It hasn't been easy following Manchester City over the years either, and had I wanted to, I could've done what many others have done and jumped off my side, and got on board with Manchester United...but I love supporting Manchester City despite their standing in the EPL in recent times.

Good discussion this.

[zipzap]

My memories are pretty similar to those of Pseudo. Lots of Bays players at primary school clinics, pie nights and training sessions, Laurie Rosewarne often seemed to be heavily involved in these. Used to regularly attend coaching clinics at the Bay - remember being in a group with John Seebohm, Peter McInerny (sic?) and Snout McFarlane. Jack Paynter was actually a teacher at my school. Tony Symonds presented me with my Best Team Man (ie Useless but Noble) award - we used to have end of year celebrations at the Warradale Army barracks with the highlight being the annual kids vs Dad's Army fixture.

Weekends held lots of fantastic memories - all the local schools converged on Glengowrie High oval. Great stuff, hundreds of kids - the lightning carnivals were particularly cool. Played mini-league for the Bays - at Unley against my beloved Blues

[JK]

We went to the Parade a few times on training nights, which was just an unreal experience for a youngster with an unhealthy obsession toward his club.

In high school we had a couple of players come to visit, Tony Francis is the only one I can remember ... He explained to us the importance of warming up and stretching and while he was touching his toes my best (Port supporting) mate suggested "Yeah but that's easier for your club, your players bend over more than any others".

We nearly pi**sed ourselves laughing but it seems our humour wasn't shared as we were running laps shortly after

[TigerBoss]

We went to the Parade a few times on training nights, which was just an unreal experience for a youngster with an unhealthy obsession toward his club.

In high school we had a couple of players come to visit, Tony Francis is the only one I can remember ... He explained to us the importance of warming up and stretching and while he was touching his toes my best (Port supporting) mate suggested "Yeah but that's easier for your club, your players bend over more than any others".

We nearly pi**sed ourselves laughing but it seems our humour wasn't shared as we were running laps shortly after

Pretty brave taking the pith out of Tony Francis...the bloke wore a black eye as often as he had a nose on his face...

[Adelaide Hawk]

I go back a lot further than some on this forum, I started playing underage football in the mid 60s, both at my primary school and local club. It was a time when clubs didn't have to work hard at recruitment as any good kid in the area would walk in off the street, plus there was little or no competition from other sports like there is now.

The local area team was one formed by a man with two sons, and he went around the area knocking on doors to see who was interested in playing. We went out for the first game and won by about 25 goals and won the flag undefeated. It was an amazingly talented team, but strangely only one player went onto play league .. and he was a ring-in from another area

The umpire for that first game was Doug Turbill, then Norwood league footballer, but 2 years later began umpiring at league level. I don't know how it was arranged, but every now and then a league player would take training, but not necessarily from Norwood. I recall once we had Gary Sims, star full forward from West Adelaide which made a big impact on me because I played that position.

At school, I recall one year having Haydn Bunton visit and give us a talk. I recall asking Bunton why Norwood weren't going so well that year, and his answer was "we are rebuilding" ... a term I heard far too many times over the next 20-30 years

Norwood held a lightning carnival at Norwood Oval with all schools participating, and we would also play at half time at league matches, a fore-runner to the mini league which commenced in 1969.