Comets live to play another day
THEY were a club in turmoil, struggling to find players, parents and a committee willing enough to save it from the brink of collapse.
That is until a group of local mums and dads stepped into the fray.
Now it seems the Centenary Comets Junior Soccer Club will live to fight another day, after an emergency meeting on Tuesday night saw several of the club's parents volunteer to help run the struggling club.
The groundswell of support came as FNQ Football manager Duncan Sims laid out the options on the table for the Comets, which involved either merging with another club, continuing to play on or simply folding altogether.
However, Sims warned of the hard work and dedication it would take to get the club back up and running.
"We're not kidding ourselves to suggest that it's going to be an overnight success," he said at the meeting.
"We need people to have enough passion for the club ... it's not a paid job. It's a thankless task."
While debate was passionate at times, parent-coach Pete Butler said the drive was now there to save the club from oblivion.
"We need to keep the club running not for our own kids, but also for the rest of the kids in the community," he said.
"At least we've got somewhere in the area where the kids can come (play) in a safe and friendly environment ... and have a kick on Saturday."
Butler, who was putting signs up at 6am yesterday to promote the club's sign-on day this weekend, said he had also delivered close to 1000 flyers in schools and supermarkets throughout the area since the club was given a new lease on life.
"We've always based it as a family-friendly club, and this year we've got a few things on the horizon," Butler said.
"We're going to bring some solid training regimes in and obviously try to promote fair play. At the end of the day, we're doing it for the kids and the local area, that's all we can do."
The Comets will host two sign-on days on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 1pm at the club's home ground at Petersen Park, located along Petersen Rd, Edmonton.
That will be followed by another two sign-on days next weekend.
The registration fee for junior players aged between six and 11playing non-competitive football is $145, while juniors 12 years and up pay $165.
For more information, head to twitter.com/CentenaryComets or search for Centenary Comets Junior Soccer Club on Facebook.
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Saved: Nine-year-old player Cooper Butcher stands in front of the meeting that helped rescue the Centenary Comets Junior Soccer Club. Picture: MIKE WATT














