Story by Chris Cavanagh – Courtesy of Moreland Leader
COBURG is hopeful of fielding two junior teams in the Essendon District Football League this year after its plans to create a junior arm were given the green light earlier this month. The VFL club took over the management of the Coburg Auskick program at Coburg City Oval last year and has the numbers to field an under-8s team this season. The hope is an under-10s side will also get off the ground and the Lions will have a full complement of junior sides within the next five years. 
“It’s about building a sporting club and there’s no better way to do that than engaging the kids,” Coburg general manager Craig Lees.
“There’s a bit of a black hole in Coburg with junior clubs. “We’ve got a lot of primary schools in the area and I don’t think we’d be encroaching on anyone else’s territory if a junior club was formed at City Oval, which it has been. “We’ll build it over the years. By 2020, the aim would be to have 200 kids playing junior footy for Coburg.”Lees said a large number of participants from the 2014 Coburg Auskick program did not go on to play under-8s football for a club because of the absence of a genuine pathway. EDFL general manager Marc Turri said the league did not expect Coburg’s addition to the competition to impact negatively on existing clubs. “There’s a long-term Auskick program that has been held at Coburg so it’s only natural that feeds into a junior football club,” he said. “With the growth that is happening in and around Coburg at the moment, we’re pretty confident that we’ll have a successful club which won’t have any negative impacts on the surrounding existing EDFL clubs.” Coburg will hold a junior information and registration night on Monday, February 29 from 5-7pm at Coburg City Oval.
