Eastlakes-MCU Auskick coordinator Garret Goring has been recognised for his hard work this season

Goring was this week named the AFL NSW-ACT Auskick volunteer of the year and he agreed it was certainly a tremendous honour to be recognised.

"Yeah it certainly is an honour," Goring said.

"It's also a privilege to be recognised for the whole group, the kids, the parents, the club and my coaching team.

"It's a privilege to be able to be recognised on behalf of everyone involved."

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Goring was instrumental in the development of Wagga's first girls only Auskick program which he said boosted their numbers to just shy of 100 registered kids this year.

"We extended to 90 registered kids this year with the introduction of girls only," he said.

"Before we put that into play we only had two girls registered who were playing mixed.

"Then with the introduction of girls only that grew out to 20 girls during the season which was really exciting to see that development."

Goring said that he was proud of how the program has developed so far and that it was rewarding to see the development of the girls throughout the season.

"I'm proud of it and it's just such an exciting space," he said.

"You've got new families that are getting exposure to football that haven't previously and you've got girls that have been around football all of their life without an opportunity to play.

"You can see the hunger in their eyes and just the excitement to be on the field and it's really rewarding to see their development there."

The introduction of the girls Auskick program follows on from the commencement of the Southern NSW Womens League and Wagga and District Junior Youth Girls competition.

Goring said a major factor in the development of the program was to provide the next logical step for girls looking to play Australian Rules football.

"It was to provide a pathway," he said.

"We are fortunate enough now that we have a womens comp and we have a youth girls comp.

"I just see the next step is to really start at that grassroots level and give the girls the opportunity from the start to play with their own mates and friends and develop their skills."

It's Goring's second year as Auskick coordinator while he has been involved in some aspect at the Goannas for the past four years.

Goring said that being involved in Auskick is something that he really enjoys and it's something that he takes a lot of pride in.

"I get a massive kick out of it," he said.

"Just being there every Thursday, every Sunday and it's really about the kids and seeing that excitement, the fun and the growth throughout a year and it's something that you can take a lot of pride in and get a lot of enjoyment out of."

There's a big group of people involved in organising 90 kids and Goring said that the success of the program would not be possible without their involvement.

"The big call out goes to the team behind it," he said.

"We've got a 10-person coaching team that facilitate the Auskick program and with them it makes my job relatively easy and it gives us opportunities to try new things and bring in new concepts into the program.

"By having such great support it means we are able to keep trying new things to improve the experience for the kids."

Goring wasn't the only recipient of an award from AFL NSW-ACT as Turvey Park president Simone Harmer claimed the AFL National Community Football Photography Award.

Harmer was acknowledged for her long term dedication to photographing Bulldogs matches and her involvement in advising other clubs across the region on how to manage social media.

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