West Australian Football

Cultural diversity makes our country great and that has spilled into the football arena.

Many of the children who represented Willetton Primary School at the 150 year Major Schools event at Langley Park last Thursday, May 8 were from different cultures.

Shalini Anand, a Year 5 student from Willetton Primary, is of Indian and Singaporean origin.

With football not really part of life at home, Shalini still has a keen interest in the game, playing at recess and lunch time and enjoying the programs put in place by her teacher, Peter Joseph, who is also the AFL School Ambassador at Willetton.

Joseph has introduced many football programs to the school.

“We often have the coaching clinics with the kids and we’re involved in the Eagles Faction Footy,” he said.

“This year we’re doing it differently. Rather than doing it on a specific day, we’re going to carry it over a term during the sport times and make it a prolonged football experience.

“And of course the footy tipping through the WA Football website with the kids is always a big hit.”

A bit hit it is, with the school winning a round four times last year, each time receiving hundreds of dollars worth of footballs from the West Australian Football Commission.

“I was giving footy’s to other school’s which was great and giving them out as prizes,” Joseph said.

Fremantle midfielder Brett Peake went to the school to present one of the prizes for the tipping competition.

The 150 years of Australian Football school event included activities and competitions run by Fremantle and West Coast players and also focused on the 1seven program which talks about need for one hour of exercise and seven serves of fruits and vegetables per day.