Amanda Bottcher said her award was a team effort. Photo: Eleisha Collins.
A volunteer for the Griffith Swans Football and Netball Club has secured a major award after helping to boost participation in an Auskick program by almost 70 per cent in just 12 months.
Amanda Bottcher was named 2025 volunteer of the year for the NAB South West Junior program, which covers the Riverina, and is a nominee for the nationwide prize.
“I’ve been an Auskick coordinator with my husband Tom and our cousin James Toscan for the past two years,” she said.
“Last year we ended the season with 110 kids and this year we got up to 184. We’ve also grown the number of girls from 11 to 30.
“I run the girls’ session; I also do the communications, the organisations and initiatives like the Grandparents Day, where the children are encouraged to bring their grandparents out, which is such a wholesome event.”
Ms Bottcher said she was shocked by the award, stressing the recent achievements were a team effort.
“There are three of us coordinating this program and I’m probably just the loudest,” she joked.
Amanda’s sons Mack, Bowen and Reegan with husband Tom. Photo: Supplied.
The NAB AFL Auskick program is an introduction to AFL for children aged five to 10. The season in Griffith runs from March to July each year.
“We coordinate those 184 kids every Friday night for Auskick sessions. We also coordinate Gala days, half-time games while the Swans are playing and we also organised one during half-time for the Giants v Geelong game in Sydney last month,” she said.
“It was really special as 10 of our kids got to be guard of honour as the teams ran on the field. [Former Griffith Swan and now Giants’ star] Harry Rowston doubled back to give all our kids a high five.”
Ms Bottcher arrived in Griffith as an Irish backpacker for what was supposed to be a short stay in 2011. She ended up staying after getting married and having three boys, who all play Auskick.
The 39-year-old has been heavily involved in the community and is also a P&C representative for Griffith North Public School.
While it’s a challenge to convince children to play outdoor sports in a device-driven era, Ms Bottcher said she always finds a way.
“I’ll recruit in all the parental groups I’m in; I’ll nab a few other parents and get them to recruit and I do a lot of publicising on social media,” she said.
“I think Friday is a good night to do it; we can have a bit of a run before the weekend and then do takeaway for dinner. The kids love it and they don’t feel the cold.
“It was already a very strong program; we were shocked that numbers have escalated.”
While she grew up in Cork and loves Gaelic football, she was quickly converted to the Australianised version of the sport and encourages parents to get their kids into Auskick.
“We open registrations for next year in November; we’ll let people know on social media. If you register early, you get a pack in the post, which includes a football, a jersey and a backpack. It makes a good Christmas present,” she said.
