Hills Grammar Football Club, a Kindergarten to Year 12 school that offers weekend winter football for all of its students and the wider community, is arguably one of the most unique football clubs in the region.
Located in the association north in Kenthurst. The school has over 1000 students and fills the majority of their teams from U6’s up to U16’s. The football club is looking to grow and expand the number of teams they are able to field every weekend, though they understand that providing players the opportunity to play and be active is their most important role within the community.
“The aim is to create a football community where it helps players develop their passion for the game, because we want to be a club that has players join us from under six and go all the way to the under eighteens, or just continue playing football in general, whether it’s at our club or another club,” Hills Grammar Football Coordinator Michael O’Neill said
“We don’t want to be a club where players play for a year or two and then decide to give up the game. [It’s about] finding that enjoyment in the game and not worrying about results too much.”
O’Neill, a former student and player at the football club, has come back to help grow and expand the club both on the field and to raise awareness across the Hills region.
“We have two sides of our football, one side being the internal school program, which is like our Hill zone program, where they play against other schools. So that’s one big part of it,” O’Neill said.
“The second part is the club. So, our club mainly caters for U6’s to U16’s. Our U6’s to U11’s train through the Kano football academy, and then our U11’s to U16’s are coached by external coaches.”
Players at the club are not limited to the students that attend Hills Grammar, with registration open to anyone who wants to be active, play football and belong to a football community. With the hope of one day fielding an All Age Men’s side, the club is building slowly but precisely, ensuring that the community focus isn’t lost along the way.
“I am currently coaching the U16 group. So, the aim two will be to transition them into U18’s,” O’Neill said.
“There have been a few times where we’ve got to the sixteens, and they’re not getting good results, and there are issues within the team, so the aim will be to promote them to U18’s. Then eventually when they get to U18’s, they get older, and they’ll keep going up to the U21’s.”
“Definitely stepping into the club this year, I feel like the club has stayed at the same point for the past 3 or 4 years. The goal will be to get more teams and create a structure that allows players to actually get to and go all the way to all age men’s one day.”
“I think it is a really good opportunity to grow football at the school, and I feel like it’s an opportunity not being taken by the school yet,” O’Neill stated.
