School league kicks off

Above: The Coleman Red Bellied Black Snakes prepare to do battle. Standing are team members Luke, Dylan, Mitchell, Craig and banner holders Shenae and

By Cam Scott
HALLAM Valley Primary School has its very own football league, and the competition officially started last Friday.
Lunch times are now filled with students running around in the eight teams that make up the Hallam Valley Football League, and all teams now have specific football jumpers, thanks to the kind sponsorship of Australand.
Bunnings has also offered the league the use of 10 footballs, helping the competition out with equipment.
Each team in the league has been named after football legends.
The Skilton Snappers are named after Bob Skilton. Then there are the Reynolds Rams (Dick Reynolds), Cazaly Koalas (Roy Cazaly), Whitten Joeys (Ted Whitten Senior), Coleman Red Bellied Black Snakes (John Coleman), Bunton Platypus (Haydn Bunton), Farmer Kookaburras (Graeme ‘Polly’ Farmer) and Barassi Black Cockatoos (Ron Barassi).
The league held a draft at the end of term two, with grade five students getting drafted into different teams.
Each team can also pick one grade four rookie and this year for the first time ever the league has two sublist players from grades three and four to top up depleted lists.
The drafting process is just like the Australian Football League’s, with the team finishing last in 2004 getting the first draft picks.
The Barassi Black Cockatoos got the first selection this year.
After term two’s preseason Australand Cup, last week’s launch of the real competition sent the school into party mode, with a host of activities signaling the start of play.
Kids from grades prep to four are encouraged to become club members and receive different membership packages from each of the clubs.
The membership drive was a huge success, with almost all grade prep to four students signing up for a club.
Some even decided that one club wasn’t enough and joined several of their favourite teams.
Each team also has a club song, and a medal count to find the best and fairest players, one for the boys and one for the girls, concludes the season.
Organising teacher Chris Pentland said the majority of students would be involved in the league in some capacity.
“The students don’t have to play, but most really love it,” he said.
“Not only are the students involved in playing the games, the students also do some media work, acting as reporters and typing up stories to be placed in a weekly newsletter.
“Many other classroom activities are also undertaken by the students to integrate their lunch time fun into classroom learning.”