Full points for footy book

by LES EVERETT

AUSTRALIAN rules football has never been more popular than it is today. The growth in interest and the influx of lovers of the game without a history of following or playing the game adds to the need for a book like 'I Want to be a Footballer' by Sally Carbon.

Recently I spoke to a boy from Uganda who told me he liked the look of Australian football and was looking forward to having a go at it. "Boys from Africa are strong, I think we could play that game," he said. Parents, even those who have grown up with the game, also need to know where things start and where things can go.

The book traces the journey of Dane from his first game in the under nines through to representing his state at under 16 level. While state representation at schoolboy level is a pretty lofty achievement Dane, thankfully, doesn't go through to the fulfilment of the AFL dream.

The book is interspersed with snippets of footy facts and a short history of each of the current AFL clubs and the overriding message is - "sometimes you win, sometimes you lose" - and that's something many fans could do well to understand.

Carbon is a former Australian hockey player who is well connected in the footy world while the illustrations are by Cam Allen a dashing footballer in his own right who played at WAFL league level for South Fremantle.

This is the type of book boys will attend to and girls will like too. It should be in every school library.

'I Want to be a Footballer' by Sally Carbon illustrated by Cam Allen is published by Fremantle Arts Centre Press.

10 June 2007

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