By RUSSELL BENNETT
YET another stellar crop of youngsters from Kooweerup Secondary College have excelled on the big stage – this time the Year-9 and 10 Super 8’s cricket team, which finished runner-up in the state championships at the MCG last week.
But, alarmingly, some of these gifted players – as well as other young footballers and cricketers – might be forced to look elsewhere to further their talents unless the Kooweerup township can secure a second oval to complement its newly resurfaced recreation reserve at Denhams Road.
There will be under 10s, under 12s, under 14s, under 16s and under 18s using the Kooweerup Recreation Reserve next footy season. That’s around 120 youngsters, not including Auskick participants.
Currently the Kooweerup Cricket Club has two under-11 teams, three in the under-13 and one under-17 team in addition to Milo Cricket.
And these are just the junior numbers. The town’s senior players also use the same ground.
The recreation reserve’s playing surface received a badly-needed upgrade following the 2014 football season and cricketers are set to return to the ground next month.
The workload on the ground throughout winter is a big concern for locals, such as under-17’s cricket coach and football club committeeman Danny Frazer.
“One facility in the town just isn’t enough,” he said, fearing the ground would be “ruined” through such a high rate of use.
“We badly need a second ground because we risk losing our kids to other clubs,” he said.
“They live in town and all pretty much walk to training.
“These kids are from Kooweerup. They don’t want to play anywhere else but if something isn’t done, they’ll be gone.”
The Kooweerup Cricket Club does also have the use of the local secondary college oval but that doesn’t have clubrooms or nearby available toilets.
They’ve used Lakeside Oval in Pakenham this cricket season but that’s more than 15 kilometres from Kooweerup and can make for a logistical nightmare.
Nathan Voss, Cody Miller, Ryan Frazer, Bailey Galante, Brannon Harrison, Travis Bindley and Shaun Donnelly all play for Kooweerup Cricket Club and were part of the secondary college’s Super 8’s team, as were Travis Wheller and Jackson Berry from Cardinia, Mitch Gregson from Catani and Greg Interlandi from Pakenham.
