A group of sixteen Indigenous and multicultural footballers were selected to attend a Richmond Academy screening day at the Club’s Punt Road Oval headquarters last Saturday.
As part of the Tigers’ Next Generation Academy Program, the Richmond Academy, they were introduced to the Club’s elite sporting environment and completed a number of high performance testing activities.
From the group, 11 participants travelled from the Goulburn Valley, while the remaining five came from the Sunraysia region.
Several participants were selected based on their performances at the Richmond Academy’s Come and Try Talent Days in Swan Hill and Shepparton in September.
Other participants were identified by their TAC Cup Club (Murray Bushrangers or Bendigo Pioneers) or nominated by their community.
Saturday’s program included:
- Introduction and tour of the club
- Personal identity session
- Nutrition
- Fitness testing (speed, agility, vertical jump and Beep testing)
- Skills (basic skills including kicking, ball handling, handballing)
- Strength and mobility programming
Richmond’s General Manager – Football Talent, Dan Richardson, addressed the participants on Saturday and was impressed by their enthusiasm.
“The participants, who ranged from 11 to 17 years old, were all eager to impress in the testing activities,” Richardson said.
“We want to see them develop, and we have given them specific football programs to take back to their communities and local football clubs to work on over the summer.
“We look forward to welcoming them back to the Club in January, with the outlook that they will build on their skills and continue to progress as young footballers."
Richardson said the Club was looking forward to engaging more participants as its Academy program continued to grow.
“Through the Richmond Academy, we hope to provide significant opportunities to both boys and girls who are not currently playing football or are underrepresented at the competition’s highest level,” he said.
“We will continue to introduce our great game to children in our region and hopefully unearth the future stars of the Richmond Football Club.”
Richmond would like to thank Rumbalara, ASHE and the Murray Bushrangers and Bendigo Pioneers for their on-going support of the Club’s Next Generation Academy Program.
