Auskick questions

[stellation]

Howdy folks, my son is going to be playing Auskick next year and I have a couple of questions that I hope you can help me with.

1. Size of the ball for 5 y.o.: I can only find it refered to officially as an "Auskick size ball". I can find a couple of sites that reference an Auskick size ball as being a size 1. Does this seem correct for a 5 y.o/first in?
2. Footy boots: do kids wear boots when playing Auskick at that age? I just want to know as everytime he sees football boots he gets quite excited and says "I am going to get some of those to play Auskick next year!"; I just don't want to lead him on and get his hopes set on wearing boots if they aren't allowed.

[troy34]

Hey, stellation
I work with kids at schools of all ages and the size of the ball used right up till year 4 is what you have been told "Auskick size" I am not sure if it is size 1 but it is the smallest ball the kids can use and the correct size. When the kids play competion the U10s use a bigger ball and the size progresses with the age.
Yes the kids wear footy boots just don't get the ones with metal studs.
Hope this helped.
Luffy

[floppinab]

Where's he going to be playing Stella???

The majority of "Auskick" ball's is are Size 2 but I've seen some as a Size 1. I know some clubs start the 5/6 yo with a Size 1 but I reckon the Size 2 is the right one to start with. My 3 yo has been booting around the Size 2 in the backyard for the last year and he's already nailing decent drop punts.

Note, you should get the Auskick packback when he starts and he'll get an Auskick footy in that.

[stellation]

Thanks for that, just wanted some confirmation of what I had found from pokin' round the Internet. He is dead keen for a pair of footy boots, he wants to have white ones because he thinks it will make him kick like Nick Davis.

I'm not too sure where he will play next year, we live on the lower North Shore and I am assuming probably at Gore Hill with Willoughby. There is supposed to be Auskick run across the road from us at St Ignatius College, they do field teams in the local footy comp but that is just as a school sport- so I'm not sure about him doing Auskick somewhere that he might not be able to play junior footy if he could just go over to Willoughby. If that makes sense. It would be one thing to go to an Auskick centre that just didn't have a junior club to go on to, or if we moved out of the area etc. it is just the worry of having to say "errr, Daddy isn't sending you to a GPS school so you have to change teams".

On St Ignatius (I think they play as Riverview, not as the school... although the school is known as Riverview as well... anyways...) my son and I went over for a kick on their grounds yesterday morning and ended up watching a fair bit of what I guess was their U17s (or is it U18s in Sydney now?) playing against Pennant Hills. I was pretty impressed with the general standard of play in Sydney junior footy nowadays, a lot higher than when I was playing- also nice to see them on the number 1 oval as well. I was kind of pleased to see there is still no sheparding/protecting your buddys in the forward line in junior footy; everyone let their defender go to the man with the ball whilst they just made space for a shot on goal. Some things never change!