41 DAYS TO GO | Mooroolbark junior president Adam Gatherum 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?
Adam Gatherum: Mooroolbark Junior Football Club (MJFC) was extremely satisfied with season 2018. We fielded 15 teams (324 players) across both boys and girls series ranging in all levels of ability.
The kids across all age groups made new friends, learnt new skills, and further developed their passion for a wonderful community sport.
The pinnacle of our season has to be our under-17 premiers taking out the grand final against Vermont after exercising what was a four year plan in the making. The hard work and planning from all involved was well worth the effort when reflecting on the long build-up.
With that said, we were very proud of all our teams (both playing and support staff) with the way they represented our modest eastern suburbs community football club.
As a club on reflection, we know we have areas to improve. We have sat down as a committee and put plans into place in an effort to progress.
The MJFC is a very social club, with regular events that are always very well attended. The social culture of both the player and parent groups has always been a positive one.
Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2019?
AG: MJFC is likely to field 16 teams for season 2019. It should consist of three girls’, and 13 boys’ teams
What has the feeling been like around the club over the pre-season?
AG: Our pre-seasons are always very exciting.
There has already been many weeks of hard work for the playing groups, and this is always supported by the committee relentlessly preparing for the season ahead.
The families attending training sessions are all enjoying the opportunity to spend time together again, in supporting their children. We have really good parent support numbers at most of our training sessions for the full duration, and then surprisingly remaining there to continue the catch-up!
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?
AG: Under-12 boys will have a good crack at it this year. They will have learnt a lot after their “out of sorts” game versus The Basin in the grand final qualifier. They come in to the season with a full list, and an unchanged support crew.
Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?
AG: MJFC prides itself on providing as many kids within the community the opportunity to play football. The difficulty is trying to reach the EFL player number cap without going past it, unless of course you can raise two complete teams for the age group. Currently, we could accept and field one or two more players in under-8s, 9s, and 11s. We are however keen to attract more players to our under-15 boys, and under-16 girls.
If any players are interested in playing for your club this season, what do they have to do?
AG: If you have a child that may be interested in playing junior football with MJFC, you can;
Contact the club secretary via email at: mooroolbarkjnr@efnl.org.au, where you can advise of your child’s interest to play and make any enquiries,
Access our club’s Facebook page at: @moojnrfootballclub, where you also make any enquiries,
And lastly, jump on to our club’s website at: mooroolbarkfc.com.au, and select the Juniors drop down box from the menu to get the contact details for one of our many available committee members. You will also be able to read a little about our club, its people, and its history in our junior pages.