North Geelong to name its under-14 football best and fairest medal after Troy Elzinga

Elzinga, who passed away age 40 in 2019, was 14 when he won a senior and junior premiership in the same year, before going on to hold several positions at the club from senior men’s co-coach and women’s assistant coach.

The Magpies welcomed the return of an under-14s football team this year for the first time in a decade - with the newly coined best and fairest medal a unique and fitting nod given Elzinga’s success at the age.

In a statement on Facebook, the club said Elzinga embodied what they hoped to instil in their young players: “ determination, fearlessness, skill, a relentless team first mindset and even a bit of cheek when the moment calls for it”.

Troy’s sister Kelly Parker, who has played 400-plus netball games for the club, commented: “this is an absolute honour for our brother/son and family.”

“He bled black and white and absolutely loved everything North Geelong from playing, coaching and supporting his beloved club,” Parker wrote.

Club president Darren Vandenberg said junior co-co-ordinator Megan Watts had brought the idea to Vandenberg and the committee, who were quickly on board.

“Thursday night, we grabbed Carol, Troy’s mum or as we belovedly know her as ‘nan’, put her in a quiet room and just explained to her what we were doing,” Vandenberg said.

“She was so pleased, honoured, proud, a lot of tears, but it’s a wonderful thing.

“Everyone knows the Elzinga name at North Geelong is synonymous (with the club).”

The Elzinga family remain actively involved at North Geelong , Carol in the canteen after 25 years and sisters Kelly (netball), Briony (bar manager) and Jodie all part of the club’s fabric.

Meanwhile, Vandenberg praised the work of junior co-ordinators Watts and Sarah Bryant in resurrecting and building a sustainable Magpies’ junior football program in recent years, amid the tough socio-economic landscape in the northern suburbs.

“Jason (Habib) our former president had the foresight of putting in two wonderful junior co-ordinators being Megan and Sarah, and over the last 2-3 years they’ve really rebuilt our junior program,” he said.

“Each year we have been able to add in an additional under-age group, or this case, bringing in our first under-14s (in 2025) and hopefully in the next few years they’ll be an under-16s, as we make our way to having a complete junior program of U9s all the way to U18s.”

“There probably isn’t to a degree (enough kids to draw on in the Northern Suburbs), but we’re sort of bucking that trend and growing with numbers of juniors, let alone seniors wanting to play football and netball.

“To be a club of destination for young families and to be able to accommodate them it is such an important thing in our masterplan to continue to be a major club in the northern suburbs.”

Originally published as North Geelong to name its under-14 football best and fairest medal after Troy Elzinga