27 DAYS TO GO | Heathmont junior president Jo Hart-Parker spoke to EFNL Media ahead of the 2020 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 2019?
Jo Hart-Parker: 2019 was another year of development within the club especially in our girls program with the addition of an extra team, the under-14s to add to our under-10s, 12s and 18s.
It was great to see all competitive age groups compete in finals with the under-14s winning our first girls grand final. Within the boys competition, we fielded nine age groups over a variety of divisions. Our 15s and 14s played finals which was a credit to the coaches and support staff with our under-14s playing off in the grand final.
Off-field, the club once again continued their interstate football program with South Launceston Football Club and it was their turn to journey over to play. It was another successful venture and is slotted in again this season (and) we are looking at extending the program to now include a girls team to participate.
We continued with our coaches development program ensuring that they were suitably equipped with all the information and skills they need to successfully coach their charges. My thanks to all the volunteers that helped run the club last season – all their efforts contributed to another successful season.
The club has also begun talks with the Whitehorse Council about a possible upgrade to the Heatherdale Pavilion and is a work in progress. It is also very exciting to see the new Pavilion going up so quickly at H.E. Parker and should be ready by the start of season 2020. The future looks very bright for the Jets.
Approximately how many teams do you think you will field in 2020?
JHP: We will be introducing another girls team this season – an under-16s – to add to the other four teams in our girls competition. Also we have been very fortunate with an influx of younger players in our non-competitive sides especially in under-8s. We expect to field nine teams in the boys’ competition and five teams in the girls’ competition.
What has the feeling been like around the club over the pre-season?
JHP: The feeling around the club pre-season has been very positive. We upgraded our registration system towards the end of last season which has helped us greatly with team numbers and team combinations. All coaches have been appointed and most of our teams, especially the older grades, have started training.
If you had to pick one, which team do you think is the club’s best chance of winning a premiership this season?
JHP: This is always a hard question as players develop at different levels, I think our most success will be in the girls’ competition. Although there will be a couple of the boys teams that will certainly be up there.
Is there a particular age group of players that you need as soon as possible to fill a team ahead of Round 1?
JHP: We have vacancies in under-11s, 15s, 17s and under-16 girls.
If any players are interested in playing for your club this season, what do they have to do?
JHP: All players are welcome and they can jump onto the website – www.jetsjuniors.com – for all the information needed on all teams. They can also contact me via email – president@jetsjuniors.com.
