Ryan Waight to help boost Golden Point Juniors

By Melanie Whelan
Updated November 2 2012 - 6:19pm, first published November 10 2011 - 7:54am
Ryan Waight
Ryan Waight

REDAN premiership captain Ryan Waight will take on a mentoring role for the endangered Golden Point Junior Football Club.Liam Brady and Toby Boyle, who work with the Ballarat football hub, will also adopt roles on and off the field in a bid to keep the club alive for more than 150 juniors in the Ballarat Junior Football League.But the survival of the club still hinges on the Dragons’ annual general meeting on Saturday night.Golden Point must fill its committee – or fold.A dangerous lack of volunteers for the board has put the club’s future in jeopardy.The BFL called on Waight for help as a footballer and professionally, as director of Ballarat business GLO, which offers personal development and mentoring to help people reach their full potential in corporate, sport and education sectors.He will be working with Dragons players and coaches on a flexible schedule, in between Redan duties, to bolster the club on field.The initiative already has the Lions’ full blessing.“This is not so much about clubs and, in a way, is me giving back to footy,” Waight said.“Redan is still my home.“I just want to help out so as many kids as possible can play footy, then I know I’ve done my part.”Waight, who started his junior football at North Ballarat, has a decorated football career including time at Victorian Football League level and multiple BFL premierships.He is a BFL and Victorian Country Football League representative player and is a 2006 all-Australian country footballer.Toby Boyle is an AFL accredited coach and was assistant coach at Skipton in the Central Highlands Football League last year.Boyle will lead the Dragons’ junior coaching development.While he played juniors for rival East Ballarat, Boyle said he wanted to ensure Golden Point remain on field as a key feeder club, alongside East Ballarat, to senior club East Point.Liam Brady has offered to help with Golden Point’s administration work, including assistance at committee meetings, in between his BFL duties.BFL chief executive officer Rod Ward said the league would continue to support Golden Point as much as possible, but the club must have volunteers in specific roles to keep the club alive.The Dragons’ have received offers for help but mostly from former Pointies after a call to arms in The Courier on Monday.They still need vital parent support off-field.The numbers are out there — more than 150 people attended the Dragons’ under-10 presentation evening and more than 300 were at the club’s under-12s to under-16s gala dinner.Ward said the Dragon’s AGM was the club’s most pivotal meeting since the amalgamation of its senior arm with East Ballarat in 2001.“All this support, of guys like Ryan (Waight), would mean very little if the club fell over,” Ward said.“We can invest resources, time and encourage helping Golden Point on field but we must get club supporters to help off the field.“...We don’t want to get to work next week and find ourselves assisting 150 players find games at other clubs.”Golden Point’s AGM is at White Flat Oval on Saturday night from 7pm.For more information, contact president Nicole Creati on 0439 332 228.

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