To use a football cliché, Joanne Hart-Parker ticked all the boxes in the Heathmont Football Club’s search for a leader to replace their outgoing president two years ago. That she happened to be female was incidental. In fact, in Hart-Parker’s view, being female in a traditionally man’s domain has its advantages.
“Females sometimes look at a situation from a different perspective to a male and I’ve found the last two years that’s been beneficial and helpful for some decisions that had to be made,” she says.
“You try to get your point across – that, yes, you haven’t played football but administration-wise you can also come up with some ideas.”
Hart-Parker began a 25 year relationship with Heathmont as the woman behind the man, when her former husband was secretary and then president of the club. She enjoyed stints as treasurer and president of the juniors during their son’s playing days, all the while remaining a regular fixture at the seniors, giving a helping hand in whatever capacity she could.
When she was approached by club committee members to step up as club president prior to the 2007 season, she vowed to accept the position only with full support. Senior players canvassed club members, and a positive response saw Hart-Parker take the wheel.
A self-proclaimed football tragic, Hart-Parker’s love affair with football began way before her foray into grassroots footy. In her youth, the St Kilda fanatic and her sisters would regularly attend the annual VFL match between the Saints and South Melbourne. Her introduction to community football opened up another element to the game that she has grown to love.
Twenty years’ experience working in the corporate world in secretarial and personal assistant roles has complemented her football nous. When she was president of the Heathmont juniors, she introduced trainers and a football operations department – aspects that are commonplace now, but ahead of their time 10 years ago, particularly at junior level.
When Hart-Parker became senior club president, the club was experiencing a bit of a low patch, struggling to be competitive after being transferred up a division. She instigated a five-year strategy, introduced new coaching staff that galvanised the playing group and established a youth focus.
“We had to get the guys’ confidence back up so we went back to fourth division with a goal of redeveloping our youth because we had very strong juniors coming through,” she explains.
“Our aim was to knock on the door of finals. As it happened, we played in the grand final, not for a win, but the off-field benefits were obvious.”
A year later Hart-Parker became the Eastern League’s first female president to take a club to a senior flag.
Driven and goal-orientated in the realm of football operations, Hart-Parker is equally as passionate about encouraging female involvement. There are women on the football committee and the Heathmont Honeys ladies club and the Eastern League’s Ladies of the East provide social and networking channels.
Hart-Parker fondly recalls the heydays of the 1980s when there was no Saturday trading, and children, girlfriends, mums, sisters and wives were regulars at the club.
“When the girls start coming down it changes the whole dynamics of the club. The guys are better behaved and it makes a much more pleasant atmosphere,” she says.
While female influence is a positive force in Heathmont’s future, it is its president’s lifelong passion for the game that looks set to ensure its success.
“I love the involvement, I love seeing the development of the playing group. I love to see we’re going in the right direction, some of the plans are actually starting to come to fruition,” she says.
“It’s a great group of people, a community.”
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
