A Culture of Respect

“Though we’ve been through a lot of change over 50 years, it’s clear that the enduring values of mateship, integrity, kindness and care have been a constant at the club. We might not be an A-grade club but we’ve always had lots of fun. Is there another reason to play football?”

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Acknowledgements

This document is the completion of a project begun in 2010 but deferred by premierships, change of personal, preparation for the fiftieth Anniversary and, in 2018, by the struggle for survival. As this great sporting Club moves into its new home and begins its second fifty years it is timely to make a clear statement of the values that underpin it.

In doing so we acknowledge the great contribution of principal author David McMaster. David is a life member of LTUFC, a former president, a dual premiership player, and the leader of our Wellbeing Team. Outside of the club, David is a senior occupational therapist working in inpatient mental health, community triage, assessment and mental health linkage. He is currently the project lead of the Refugee Access Service at Orygen Youth Health, Parkville. David’s experience will be vital in shaping the part the La Trobe University Football Club plays in being a first responder when its members, visitors or other parties are in need of support.

Other key contributors to this project have been editor Eamon Evans and designer Karen Wallis, who bought professional expertise to the preparation and publication of the document. They have our sincere thanks.

Finally, I would like to thank the Alumni Chapter of the Club. LTUFC has a rich history of inter generational friendship, support, collaboration and mutual respect.In 2018 the fundraising efforts of the Alumni ensured our survival.They also made possible this, the first of many, projects of enduring value.

Samantha Greene

Club President

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Message from Vice Chancellor

La Trobe is a great university.

We began life back in the 1960s, with a mandate to be complementary to, but different from, the other large Victorian universities. La Trobe was then, as it is now, a university deeply committed to making a difference to the world around us. We have a proud history of public engagement and social change, and we are known for our worldview, our independent thinking, and our creativity and innovation. Our alumni are some of the most influential people their generations have produced.

Great universities need great students, and the key to student success is to get involved in activities on campus as well as working hard at academic studies. We know from years of research that the students most likely to succeed are those who get fully involved in their university experience and especially by being involved in co-curricular opportunities.

La Trobe University Football Club is a fantastic way for all students to be involved in university life, to connect with their peers, and to maintain a healthy body and mind. The Club represents everything the University stands for – inclusiveness, diversity and social justice.

The Club is the University’s longest established and largest sports organisation, and has for more than 50 years been a wonderful part of the La Trobe community, helping in many ways to make La Trobe a more inclusive community through assisting regional students transition to campus life, supporting mentoring programs for Indigenous secondary students, and raising funds through its alumni chapter. The Club’s commitment to community involvement and the wellbeing of its members is exemplary. It is a Club of which we can all be proud.

Professor John Dewar

Vice-Chancellor

A Culture of Respect

La Trobe University Football Club isn’t just about playing football, it’s also about friendship and the pleasure of common endeavour. It’s about having a place where students can get to know one another. And, just as importantly, get to know themselves.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Members of every stripe wear the black-and-red stripes. Every class, every culture. Every sexuality, every race. Members with addictions or mental health issues. Members who deserve our support.

And that’s why, at the end of the day, we don’t particularly care if you’re a good player. What matters
to the ‘Trobers is that you’re a good person. A helping hand is worth more than a well-placed handball; catching someone when they fall gets more cheers than a mark.

Whether it be on match day, at training or over a drink, we are all about respect.

Respect for ourselves.
Respect for one another.
And respect for our club.
Regardless of what you look like, your sexuality, and

whatever mental demons you might just be battling, we want you to accept, value and love yourself for exactly who you are. And we want you to extend everyone else the same courtesy. Everyone has a different story, and every story deserves to be celebrated.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe. So welcome to the club!

Respect for

Commitment

Winning does matter.

But trying your best is more important. When a Trober takes to the field, they play with commitment and passion.

We believe that success in football takes planning, practice and an ongoing refusal to compromise – and that success outside football is much the same. By performing our best on the field today, we are also producing the leaders of the future – leaders in social, vocational, family and community environments.

And we also believe that the way we play the game helps shape the way that the world sees La Trobe. When we wear the red and black stripes, we are representing our community. And you can be sure that we wear them with pride.

Respect for

Leadership

At LTUFC, you can be a leader. Whether it’s buying the beverages or balancing the budget, organising some oranges or giving coaching a crack, everybody has the opportunity to get involved in a way that will aid their professional and personal growth.

As a club ‘of the students, for the students and by the students,’ so to speak, we provide a great environment for young people to develop leadership skills – because if they didn’t, we’d simply cease to exist.

For a university-based club such as ourselves, finding club presidents, committee members, captains and
the like will always be annual task due to the ceaseless turnover of students. If the club’s ups and downs over the decades have taught us anything at all, it’s that strong leadership off the field nearly always correlated to sustained success on it. Matches can be won by players, but for a premiership, you need leaders.

We believe that good leaders have a strong sense of identity, a clear set of goals, a good sense of teamwork and a genuine care for club members. Healthy clubs build healthy life attitudes and attitudes which members will take with them into all other aspects of life.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Respect for

Effort

Newcomers to the Trobers should be immediately aware they have entered a place of purpose.
A place to which they can make a meaningful contribution as a player, administrator, trainer

or supporter. And a place which can contribute something to their lives in its turn.

Volunteerism is the cornerstone of every university club and our club is no exception. We require high levels of dedication and commitment from all of our members with no financial reimbursement.

At LTUFC, we value honesty, integrity and effort.
It is these attributes that bind our players across the generations. It is these attributes of which great things are made.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Respect for the

Community

At the Trobers, we are about building footballers. And we are also about building people. People who will be an asset to any organisation and indeed any community – people who will become good parents, good partners and good friends. People whose value – and, above all, whose values – will far outweigh the ink on their academic transcript.

And all of that starts with the recognition that the club is a community in itself. With about 150 active participants at any one time, together with an alumni
of more than 3000, we recognise and welcomes our responsibilities both to each other, and to the community at large.

LTUFC values its position in the general, football and university communities.

All members contribute and all contributions are respected.

Respect for

Women

LTUFC is fortunate to have, from its earliest days, enjoyed the participation of women as trainers and administrators and, since 2009, as a successful team in its own right. Expanding the roles and responsibilities of women within the club has only ever improved the quality

of environment.

Because of the value we place on women within
the club culture, it’s a rule that at least one of our three main leadership roles must always be filled by a female representative.
Equality of opportunity for all members, in other words, is not just a goal but a right. Every voice is as powerful as the next around here, and every one of them will always be heard. There are no outsiders at La Trobe.

Respect for

Multiculturalism

Located in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, La Trobe University has always had a strong connection with multicultural Australia, and the football club is no different. If you’re looking for a symbol of multiculturalism, you can simply take a look at the honour boards in our club house.

Our footy club is a place for people from all different backgrounds, a place where differences in race, religion, beliefs and cultural rituals can be set aside – or, better yet, duly celebrated. Cross culturally, common activities such as sport are the key to greater inclusion, respect and understanding of differences.

At the Trobers, club members are encouraged to speak up and educate the greater club as a whole about their culture. We believe that multiculturalism makes Australia great.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Respect for people with

Addiction Issues

The young adult years tend to be a time of experimentation – and experiments can go awry.

They are at an age with high levels of engagement in clubs and highlevel participation in sport.

This means that sporting clubs can often provide the first line of support when it comes to alcohol, drug and gambling issues. The cohesion of members allows for identification of at risk-behaviours, early intervention and other such support.

At the Trobers, this can be especially true, since we have such a high percentage of rural students – students who have recently, and often for the first time, left the structures that have supported them throughout their childhood.

For those students, we are a family and a community. We have a culture of speaking up for our fellow club members and speaking to them in times of trouble.

Respect for people with

Mental Health Issues

Young adulthood is a significant transition period for many, and this can be especially true for university students.

On top of the stress of educational commitments can come the stresses of increasing debt, low-to-no income, new social networks and the loss of a family support unit. With so many stressors at hand, it doesn’t take much for the bucket to overflow.

The Trobers can and should be able to help. We can and should be a beacon of normality for many of the young adults transitioning tertiary education.

The mental health of our fellow members is a responsibility of all us.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

Seeking support

If you, a club member or visitor is in need of support, the hardest step is often who to turn to. La Trobe University Football Club is an inclusive club that has a ‘no wrong door policy’ therefore if you are experiencing, or observe, any matter of concern, all members of the club can support you in getting assistance.

1. ASKING:

• The hardest step when seeking support is asking for help. Because of this, La Trobe University Football Club has a variety of channels to seek support
• Committee members, Coaching staff, Leadership group, Wellbeing Lead contact by phone (David McMaster 0430144634)
• Any of these club members will take the time to speak with you privately and maintain confidentiality.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe

2. PLANNING:

• The Wellbeing team have access to local knowledge and services to ensure the right additional support is accessed to provide ongoing guidance.
• This will be arranged in collaboration with you and any others you wish to be involved.
• This may include internal club support and external club support.3. ACTION:

• Together you will have plan for additional support.
• Steps will be supported to ensure safety andconfidentiality at the club.
• You are not alone: throughout the process the wellbeingmember will checkin and review the plan established.4. FOLLOW UP:• You are not alone: thought the process the wellbeing member will checkin and review the plan established.

There are no outsiders at La Trobe