By David Sutherland

CALVIN Dean is one of those selfless volunteers who represent the lifeblood of community football.

For over forty years he has served Australian Football in the Northern Territory, and although his duties have lessened somewhat since he retired from the board of AFL Central Australia he continues to show remarkable enthusiasm for assisting local clubs in any way he can.

Calvin’s involvement with Aussie Rules in Central Australia began in the late sixties when he started helping out at training at the Pioneer Football Club in Alice Springs. Pioneer FC was one of the founding clubs of the Central Australian Football League, which was formed in 1947.

But helping out at Pioneer FC certainly wasn’t Calvin’s first encounter with our indigenous game.

Calvin went to Footscray Technical School in the 1940s and developed a love for Footscray Football Club (he is still a proud member of the Western Bulldogs).  He carried this passion with him when he moved to Central Australia and made his initial contact with Pioneer FC.

“I worked with a lot of the blokes that played with the club and I would help out at training initially,” says Calvin. “I became secretary of the club in 1973 and held the position until 1978.”

His enthusiasm for the local footy competition led to voluntary positions at AFL Central Australia. Over the next four decades he served for a number of periods as a committee and board member of AFLCA, nurturing the competition with the same passion as he helped nurture the young talent that played in the area.

“Seeing young kids start their football in this town and then go all the way has been a real highlight,” he says. “Guys like Matty Campbell, the Bowdens, Daryl White, the McAdams. It was great to see young Matty start here and make it all the way to the AFL.”  

Calvin says there is great love for Australian Football around Alice, although many of the keenest footy followers live out bush and aren’t regularly involved in the town-based competition.

He believes that the standard of local footy may not be quite as high as it was at its peak in the seventies, but acknowledges the allure of the Big Smoke for talented local players.

“Most of the better players now travel south to play, whereas in the past they stayed here,” he says. “Not only for footy but education and work.”

Although Calvin retired from his official position at AFLCA last year, he still retains great passion for the football played in Central Australia.

The 75-year-old’s tireless enthusiasm leads him to continue to help out when he can, assisting clubs with organising teams on the weekend, washing jumpers, managing team sheets and cleaning change rooms.