A club built in four weeks
Jandakot’s Richard Leigh speaks to Cameron Palmer
“We had four weeks to have a side up and running,” stated foundation club member Richard Leigh.
For the four foundation members of the Jandakot Football Club, they knew there was an opportunity to have a senior football club in the Jandakot area. They knew they had the basis of a senior team with a strong junior football club. They had passion and desire for what a local football club could do for their community. What they didn’t have was time.
With their club nomination accepted for the 2009 season, the Jandakot Football Club was born. And with no coach, no support staff and only four players, time was what they needed the most. What they lacked in personnel both on and off field though, was made up for in vision and passion.
Some 10 years later when one of those foundation members and the club’s first ever President, Richard Leigh, speaks about the origins of the Jandakot Football Club that same passion remains.
“The motivation of the senior club, we knew the junior club was 800 strong but a lot of those kids were getting lost to footy after juniors and being a local you saw some anti-social behaviour,” Leigh said.
“We needed to create that pathway for the kids, whether it was Jandakot Senior Football Club starting up or another senior club coming in. In the end, it ended up being Jandakot Senior Footy Club starting up.”
With that vision for the community and for the game, Leigh and his fellow foundation members put a focus towards sharing that vision and building relationships at the junior football club. They presented a business case which would be instrumental in getting the support of Jandakot Jets Junior Football Club. This relationship helped recruit players for the first season and has been the backbone between the senior and junior clubs.
While they knew where the basis of their playing list would come from, no-one could have imagined where they would recruit their first coach. With the four foundation members looking to grow support in the local area, they set up a petition in the local Bunnings car park.
“When we were taking those signatures one of those guys said if you do get the club up and running, give me a call, I’m interested in being a senior coach,” Leigh said.
“That was Toby Lewis. We gave him a call and he had about three and a half weeks to prepare a season.”
Yes, the first coach of the Jandakot Football Club was recruited at Bunnings.
From those humble beginnings and a whirlwind four week pre-season to get a team and a coach, the Jandakot Football Club has grown to become one of the success stories of the Perth Football League. Somewhat ironically, the club collected premierships and progressed through the ‘C’ Grade competitions from around 2018.
While success has been enjoyed by Leigh and his fellow foundation members, who still remain associated with the club, he is quick to recall on what matters the most - improving a community and the young people that make up that community.
“We are about making sure our junior footballers have a nice structured and easy path into senior footy.”
