The Pinjarra Football Academy (PFA) recently hosted their annual draft day to select the next crop of talented young footballers into their highly successful program.
On the back of consecutive Country Week titles for the female footballers at Pinjarra Senior High and strong numbers of young females playing football at community level, 2019 will see the introduction of girls into the PFA.
“It has been fantastic to see the PFA look to evolve by catering for our female footballers,” Country Week coach Jenna Mason said.
“Our girls have achieved some great things the past two years and I can only see them developing further through specialist training with the academy.”
The PFA draft day puts prospective academy members through a series of physical tests, mirrored on the AFL Draft Combine.
Students completed a beep test, 20m sprint, vertical jump, agility test and a goal kicking test before participating in match simulation.
Clinton White, a Year 8 student who is currently in the PFA, commented on how good the day was.
“The highlight was playing the trial game at the end of the day. It was really good to see what was going to come through into the PFA next year,” he said.
“The girls are more aggressive while the boys seem to have a more tactical game. There are not as many goals kicked but it’s good to watch as they take the game to the ground to fight for the ball.”
Draft day organiser Brennan Gillam was pleased with how it went.
“Seeing students push their limits to gain entry into the academy is great,” he said.
“It has certainly been a hard task selecting our PFA classes for 2019”
The PFA has developed into a significant part of the Pinjarra SHS community, catering for boys with an interest and talent for the game.
It is offered at the school as a specialist program for boys in Years 8, 9, and 10, and girls in Years 8 and 9.
Related content:
Ava Latter, a Year 8 student in the school’s academic extension program (AEP), was excited to hear about opportunity to try out for the PFA program.
“It is good chance because not many girls have traditionally had the chance to participate in specialised sport at school,” she said.
Ava is a competitive swimmer who has grown up with sport. She is pleased to do more sport at school because she says it makes school more enjoyable.
“It is also good to be able to be in the PFA and the AEP at the same time,” she said.
“You can now have an all-round education in terms of academics and future careers but you also get to do the thing you love.”
For more information on Pinjarra Senior High School or their school-based special programs, visit pinjarrashs.wa.edu.au.
