Coming back to town: Shepparton United product and former AFL player Michael Barlow will bring his new Play On footy clinic to his home town this Friday.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
One of Shepparton’s star athletes is launching an exciting new coaching initiative for up and coming footballers this Friday ‒ and is using his home town as the pilot market.
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Michael Barlow, who played 141 games for Fremantle and Gold Coast, will be running an interactive clinic called Play On Footy for children aged 7-14 at Shepparton’s Deakin Reserve.
Now the senior coach for VFL club Werribee, this platform is a continuation of his passion for development as he looks to help nurture the next generation of football stars.
Partnered by Carlton VFL assistant Matt Buck, kids will get the opportunity to learn from two of the best coaches the state has to offer and undertake a host of drills targeted at improving their fundamental skills.
An exciting step in his coaching journey, Barlow explained how the idea for Play On came about.
“There are a fair few similar concepts and companies floating around and, having been involved in a lot of clinics during my playing days, I was inspired to get out there and start my own,” Barlow said.
“The main focus for us in the short term will be school holidays, regional areas and community connections and run these clinics in a pretty similar mould to how they always have been run in terms of lots of fun and games.
“Myself and Matt have a passion for helping kids get active and moving, so combining our coaching expertise we thought this was a great concept and we are thrilled to have it off the ground.”
While the foundation of the clinic will closely mirror many that exist across the country, Barlow said there was one point of difference with Play On that separated it from the pack.
“If they are open to it, the exciting thing we can offer children and their parents is the chance to film them during the session as they showcase their football skills,” he said.
“As a result we can couple the feedback we give them in real-time at the clinic with follow-ups post-clinic where we can further explain things they are doing really well and what they can improve on.”
Working tirelessly to bring their idea to life, the coaches were quickly faced with the conundrum of what location would be best to launch the concept.
For Barlow, his home town of Shepparton was the location that quickly sprung to mind, as he looks to use this platform to promote the game in regional areas.
All the details: The flyer for the Play On footy clinic this Friday.
“It was a no-brainer to leverage the community I grew up in and bring our first clinic to Shepparton, and we are thankful to the Goulburn Valley League and its clubs for their support” he said.
“We’ll be looking to make the clubs around Shepparton the basis of what we do quite regularly, I see it as super important to provide kids in regional areas coaching opportunities like this.
“With so much emphasis on promoting the game in metropolitan areas and up in places like Queensland sometimes regional areas can be lost, so a lot of what we do will be based around helping expand the game in these places.”
As for what he hoped the kids would get out of the session, Barlow said the goal was simple.
“The primary focus is fun, we just want all the kids to go out there and enjoy themselves,” he said.
“From there if they pick up any specific skill tips and improve their game that would be awesome, and we’ve got some experienced coaches that we think will help these kids get the best out of their football.”
Play On footy clinic begins at 9am and runs until 2.30pm at Deakin Reserve, Shepparton on Friday, December 23, it costs $55 and interested parties can register at playonfooty.com
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