Footscray police showed plenty of heart but failed to topple their young opponents in the Recwest soccer tournament.
Acting Senior Sergeant Amma Bridgeman, from the Westgate proactive unit, said last Wednesday’s round-robin competition in Braybrook as part of Operation Kicking Goals was a great opportunity to engage with young people in an open, fun and simple way.
“A lot of people in the community, especially the young ones, only come in contact with police when something has gone wrong and we want to change that,” she said.
“We want to teach young people that police aren’t the bad guys and that we’re always there if they need help. That’s where events like this are really helpful.”
Inspector Tony Long said the police team, the Footscray Maulers, gave their all but failed to make the finals of the round-robin event.
“It just goes to show a group of eager competitors are no match for groups of young people who have been playing soccer together as teams right across the season,” he said.
“The young people and the police members present spent plenty of time talking and getting to know each other, which should have a positive [outcome] down the track.”
