Members of the West Coast Eagles squad were put through their paces earlier this week when they opened the doors of club facilities to around 35 kids from Camp Quality.

Camp Quality works hard towards alleviating the impact of childhood cancer on families and focuses on bringing families together in an informal atmosphere away from the hospital.

As a United Way Sports Charity Partner of the West Coast Eagles for 2007, Camp Quality children got up close and personal with the football club’s mascot, Rick ‘The Rock’ Eagle, the Camp Quality puppet Kylie, and the newest member of the team, Auzzie, Whiteman Park’s wedge-tail eagle.

Players Josh Wooden, Matt Rosa, Adam Selwood, Brett Jones and Brent Staker joined the group, giving the kids a rare chance to tour the inner sanctum and see where the players work, before enjoying a special training session in the warm-up room.

The kids were even given an opportunity to run through a special banner, just like the team does before every game.

While a little overwhelmed by meeting their West Coast heroes at first, the kids soon grew in confidence and made the most of all the sporting equipment and fun activities planned. There were certainly some AFL stars in the making and the recruiting department will be keeping a keen eye on the Camp Quality kids in the future.