West Coast stars Quinten Lynch and Scott Selwood visited Newman College today to present an Eagles Cup trophy to eager young students.
The year six students packed into the assembly area to greet the players who came to reward the budding football stars for winning their division in the Eagles Cup competition.
Run with the support of the club's principle community partner BHP Billiton Iron Ore, Eagles Cup involves local schools participating in weekly inter-school matches, with matches held across each of the metropolitan WAFL districts.
The program’s emphasis on playing for fun and developing sportsmanship was highlighted by Lynch who commended the competition for encouraging kids to get involved.
“Eagles Cup is just a great way to stay fit, active and healthy,” Lynch said. “It’s great for kids to be able to come together, have a common goal and enjoy each other’s company.
“The main thing about the competition is team work and helping each other out; it’s not all about your footy skills.
“Team work, camaraderie and leadership are all really important in this competition; there would probably be a few young blokes that stand up and show some leadership.”
Presenting the excited students with the Eagles Cup trophy was a special moment for Lynch, who himself remembers being an avid football fan at school.
“We are all young once and everyone loves to win a trophy or a competition,” Lynch reminisced.
“It’s great to come here and give back to your local community and see the excitement they get from winning their part of their competition. It’s a great reward for their efforts.”
The success of the program is evident in the number of schools participating in the competition, with more than 524 primary schools and 12,000 children competing.
With schools from across Western Australia participating, Eagles Cup looks set to continue to encourage kids to get involved and enjoy being active well into the future.