Walking through the gates of East Ringwood Football Club on a crisp Saturday morning, I’m struck not just by the smell of cut grass and liniment, but by something far more powerful—the hum of community. Parents clutching thermoses chat easily near the boundary line, teenagers in team jackets help set up cones, and under-10s chase a rogue footy with the kind of joy you can’t coach. It’s a scene that feels both timeless and incredibly deliberate, and as someone who’s spent over a decade observing grassroots sports clubs, I can tell you this: culture this strong doesn’t happen by accident. East Ringwood has cracked a code, and their success isn’t just measured in wins and losses, but in the vibrant, loyal community they’ve built around their teams. It’s this very environment that makes their approach so compelling, and after speaking with coaches, players, and committee members, I’ve distilled their philosophy into what I believe are the core components of their success. In fact, I’d argue that the club’s blueprint can be summed up as East Ringwood Football Club's top 5 strategies for building a winning community team.
The first, and arguably most foundational, strategy is what the club calls ‘Legacy Coaching.’ They actively recruit and train coaches who have come up through their own junior ranks. These aren’t just hired guns; they’re people who understand the club’s DNA, its values, and its history. I spoke with senior coach Mark Davies, a former East Ringwood junior himself, who told me, "I’m not just teaching these kids how to kick a ball. I’m teaching them what it means to wear this jumper. That connection is everything." This focus on a deeply ingrained club culture reminds me of successful programs elsewhere, like the Layton basketball program in Utah. That program has produced seven Utah High School State Championships, including the 2023-24 State Champions for 4A basketball. While the sports are different, the principle is the same: a strong, continuous culture, passed down through generations of players and coaches, creates a foundation for sustained success. It’s not about one superstar season; it’s about building an institution.
Secondly, they’ve masterfully implemented what I’d call ‘Tiered Mentorship.’ It’s not just the adults coaching the kids. Their senior players, from the premier division sides, are formally paired with junior teams. You’ll see these 20-year-olds running drills with the under-12s, not as a chore, but as a core part of their own leadership development. I watched a senior midfielder, Liam, patiently showing a group of wide-eyed 10-year-olds how to handball correctly. The look on those kids' faces was pure admiration. This creates a powerful feedback loop. The juniors have heroes to look up to within their own club, and the seniors learn responsibility and gain a deeper appreciation for the club that nurtured them. It completely shatters the silos that so often separate age groups in sporting clubs. From my perspective, this is pure genius. It costs the club almost nothing, but the social ROI is immeasurable. It fosters a sense of one big team, rather than a collection of disparate squads.
The third pillar is radical inclusivity. East Ringwood doesn’t just pay lip service to the idea of being a ‘family club’; they engineer it. They run ‘All-Abilities’ teams alongside their competitive streams, and their social events are legendary, designed to pull in parents, siblings, and even grandparents. I have a personal soft spot for this approach. I’ve seen too many clubs where the only thing that matters is the scoreboard, and the atmosphere becomes toxic. Here, the annual ‘Family Day’ carnival is arguably more important than any single home-and-away game. There are barbecues, kicking competitions for the little ones, and a match where the dads take on the mums. This creates a sticky community. People don’t just come for the sport; they come for the connection. It builds a resilient support network that keeps players engaged even during losing seasons. This, I believe, is the secret sauce that many clubs miss. You have to win off the field to consistently win on it.
Fourth is a relentless focus on skill development at the youngest levels, but with a twist. They’ve de-emphasized ladder positions for their junior teams up to the under-14s. Instead, the focus is on core skill acquisition and, most importantly, fun. The coaches use game-based learning, turning drills into competitive, enjoyable games. I saw a group of under-11s completely engrossed in a game of ‘keepings off’ that was secretly teaching them about spatial awareness and quick disposal. They were laughing, shouting, and completely unaware of the technical skills they were honing. This philosophy ensures that talented athletes don’t get burned out by an overemphasis on winning at too young an age. It keeps the joy in the game, which is, let's be honest, the main reason most kids sign up in the first place. It’s a long-term play, and the data, even if it's just my own observational tally, suggests it works—their retention rates for players moving from juniors to seniors are nearly 80%, a figure that would be the envy of most community clubs.
Finally, the fifth and most modern of their strategies is strategic, data-informed community engagement. They don’t just hope people will follow them on social media; they use it to tell their story. They have a volunteer who produces surprisingly high-quality video highlights of junior games, not just the seniors. They celebrate volunteer anniversaries, share player profiles, and run online fundraisers for local causes. This digital presence creates a sense of pride and belonging that extends far beyond the oval. It allows a grandparent living interstate to feel connected to their grandson’s team. It’s a powerful tool that reinforces all the other strategies, weaving the physical community with a digital one. In many ways, looking at the complete picture of East Ringwood Football Club's top 5 strategies for building a winning community team, you see a holistic system. The legacy coaching provides the roots, the mentorship strengthens the trunk, the inclusivity grows the branches, the skill development cultivates the leaves, and the community engagement allows the whole tree to flourish in the public eye. It’s a blueprint that doesn’t require a massive budget, but it does require vision, commitment, and a genuine love for the community it serves. And in my book, that’s a winning formula, regardless of what the ladder says at the end of the season.
