2024 Hostplus SANFL Volunteer of the Year Finalist – Elle Griffiths

By JORDAN ROUTLEY

When Elle Griffiths was told there wasn’t a team for her daughter Piper to join at Broadview Football Club, she rolled up her sleeves and got to work.

“She (Piper) wanted to go across to Broadview because that’s where her brothers were playing, but they didn’t have any girls teams,” Griffiths said.

“They said we could come along but we needed to make a team, so I did.”

Griffiths has been an integral part of the club ever since and has gone on to set up several junior teams to help girls get involved in footy.

“This year I started an Under 8s girls team and we started with one player and we ended up with eight the night before the first game and now we’ve got 13 registered with us.

“The recruiting is a really big thing that I’ve done and the bit that I find hard and time-consuming but something I am really passionate about.”

On the back of that hard work, Broadview now have a thriving women’s program, with both the senior and reserves teams making the Division 1 grand finals this year.

“It has really grown over the years and it’s been exciting to watch with our senior women now in Div 1,” Griffiths said.

With a seemingly limitless passion to see the club succeed, Griffiths has taken on a vast array of jobs since joining four years ago and commits countless hours to the club.

“It has really been about building a community where people feel safe and included and it has all just grown from there and now it feels like our second home,” she said.

“I am basically there every day and go to all the trainings for all my girls teams and try to get to as many games as possible.”

Having never previously coached a football team until taking on her daughter’s team four years ago, Griffiths has progressed to the role of coaching coordinator and helped mentor the club’s team of coaches.

She has attacked the role with unwavering enthusiasm and a desire to continually learn and provide development opportunities for her coaching staff, having recently completed the AFL’s Level 2 coaching course.

“The main thing for me was if I do the coaching courses and learn everything I can then I have that info I can pass on to the coaches.

“I am always tapping into the resources the SANFL put out about coach development so I am up to date with everything that is happening and I invite all my coaches along so we are all on the same page.”

As always, her work in this space centres around making the club’s players and coaches the best they possibly can be.

“I think my days of coaching are over, so it’s more about helping my coaches develop and helping them be the best version of themselves and see them move forward,” Griffiths said.

Elle is one of seven finalists for the 2024 Hostplus SANFL Volunteer of the Year Award, with the winner to be announced at the annual SANFL Community Volunteers Awards Night at Adelaide Oval on Friday, 11 October.