HAWTHORN Football Club will celebrate grassroots football this week, ahead of Saturday’s clash with Melbourne at the MCG.

During Grassroots Round, the Hawks will have a number of players returning to their junior football clubs to engage with local footballers.

Hawthorn is also committed to upskilling community coaches, and will be supporting the EFL’s Level 1 coaching accreditation.

There will be a number of other surprises during the week to help celebrate grassroots football, so check in throughout the week to see what is happening!

Monday
Grassroots round started on Monday night with a Level 1 Coaching Accreditation course, hosted and fully funded by Hawthorn Football Club for a group of 20 aspiring community coaches. 

All coaches were given the opportunity to complete their accreditation at Hawthorn’s training base, Ricoh Centre, Waverley Park through the club’s Grassroots Partner Eastern Football League.

Funding Level 1 coaching accreditations is just one of Hawthorn’s many initiatives to support grassroots football throughout the year and in particular Grassroots Round.

Tuesday
Tuesday afternoon, Liam Shiels visited his junior football club, The Basin FC, to surprise a special club volunteer and thank them for their support of grassroots football. 

 Watch Shiels surprise at his local club. 

That night the club held a community coaching forum, again at the Ricoh Centre, inviting 100 regional coaches from over 40 Clubs. Hawthorn Football Club Assistant Coaches Brett Ratten, Damian Carroll and Cameron Bruce all presented on each of their lines, spoke about the transition from community coaching to elite coaching and took questions from the large audience.

Giveaways

By wearing your junior football club’s guernsey to Saturday’s game, you can win a free footy! Head to the Hawks Marquee outside Gate 5 to receive FREE Bupa football. Stocks will be limited, so get in fast on game-day.