Glen Waverley soccer squad's SOS

7 Aug 12 @ 04:44am by Tim Michell



Glen Waverley Soccer Club's Aaron De Marco on the field suffering drainage issues.


ONE of Victoria's biggest soccer clubs has issued an urgent plea to Monash Council for a bigger venue as it tries to manage poor pitch conditions and an expanding membership base.

Glen Waverley Soccer Club, which recently registered its 500th member and has 36 teams, says it has outgrown the Glen Waverley North reserve base it has used for a decade.

President Robert McManus said the club had to move games to school grounds because their two grounds, at Glen Waverley North and Larpent Reserve, had been unplayable for half of this season.

"We're not aware of another sporting club in Monash that has needed to do that," Mr McManus said.

"Whenever it rains, Larpent Reserve is one of the first grounds across Melbourne to become flooded.

"People have been voting with their feet to play at our club, but we don't feel the council has done nearly enough to accommodate the needs of our members."

Mayor Stefanie Perri said the club had been offered access to Lum Reserve in Wheelers Hill this season.

Shit ground with no change rooms.

"Council continually has the challenge of trying to accommodate a growth in sports around the municipality, particularly in junior soccer," Cr Perri said.

Not in this suburb the club srvices over 500 players on the worst grounds around.

She said the council was also looking at relocating some of the club's teams to Southern Reserve in Mulgrave.

This ground is a disused AFL ground that bis well past its best days. It is a bog.

But Mr McManus said shifting venues had been one of the club's biggest problems, meaning it lost revenue from canteen sales.

"Being spread over many venues ( ANd large distances)makes it really difficult to establish a club identity," he said.