AFL player Jasmyn Murphy has launched a pioneering Kinderkick program at the Ainslie Football Club in Canberra, designed for three and four-year-olds. The program, the first of its kind in the capital, has already registered more than 35 children in its inaugural year.
Building Confidence from Day One
Murphy, who plays in Ainslie's first-grade women's team, noted a rapid transformation in the young participants. 'There were a lot of kids in the first week holding onto Mum or Dad for dear life like 'who is this girl talking to me, what am I doing',' she said. 'Now those kids are like I don't even want to talk to Mum and Dad, I want to run out to me and yell at me and hang out with me.'
The program focuses on social skills, motor development, and following directions. 'It's getting them out of that shell but also in that social aspect it's not just doing activities and learning your motor skills, but it's listening to what I say, and following direction,' Murphy added.
A Stepping Stone to Auskick
Kinderkick serves as a precursor to Auskick, which targets children aged five and older. Murphy, who moved back to Canberra from Brisbane midway through last year, brought the concept from her previous role with the AFL in Queensland. As the club's Women and Girls Coordinator, she introduced the idea during a preseason planning day.
'It's a good way to introduce kids who aren't really at that school age yet into a sporting environment,' Murphy said. 'I've got a few kids even this year who are probably bordering on turning five so they can do Auskick, but they just don't have the skill level or anything like that so it's a really good introduction for them before they might transition into Auskick.'
Skill Development in Action
Kinderkick runs parallel to Ainslie's Auskick program in two eight-week blocks during school terms two and three. While fun and inclusion are paramount, children begin developing Australian rules skills from the start. 'We start really focusing on what they can do - motor skills, your running, your balancing, throwing, catching, jumping, those kinds of things,' Murphy said.
The progression in handballing and kicking is notable. 'As we progress we progress more into those games against each other and against our parents. It's definitely focused around their motor skills whilst adding footy in there as well. For example with our handballing, in the first week we start with just throwing until we progress into that full handball motion. A lot of them can now handball completely to their parents on their own, and that's just within five sessions,' she explained.
Kicking development is equally rapid. 'It's not an easy thing to do to kick a ball before it hits the ground. When we do the kicking we start on a cone, just getting that motion of swinging through, pointing your toe, kicking the ball through. The first week there were kids who probably couldn't even kick the ball off their cone. The second time we did it, there were kids that were kicking the ball so far off their cone I didn't know whether the cone's safe,' Murphy said.
Community and Family Engagement
Ainslie junior coordinator Sebastian Schob-Wyss highlighted the program's role in making AFL accessible from an earlier age. 'It's been really good at getting the kids and families into the club and also to show them AFL is not just big guys tackling, there's a proper development program and pathway,' he said.
The program is supported by Toyota's Good For Footy raffle, which helps fund grassroots football clubs. This partnership underscores the community focus of the initiative.
