{"id":579965,"date":"2026-04-02T04:09:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:09:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579965\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T04:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:09:18","slug":"tasmania-devils-stars-launch-football-clinic-program-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/579965\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmania Devils stars launch football clinic program for kids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two Tasmania Devils stars have launched a football clinic program aimed at giving aspiring young Tasmanian players access to elite-level coaching during the school holidays.<\/p>\n

Caleb Mitchell and Jai Menzie have created Tassie Rising Stars, which will bring their expertise to regional venues across the state to coach kids aged 8-14.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically providing a platform for kids to get the best coaching they can as early as they can,\u201d Mitchell told Pulse.<\/p>\n

The program will feature specialised coaching from the two founders and other Devils VFL players, with each coach focusing on their strengths.<\/p>\n

\"\"Sam Siggins will demonstrate goal-kicking techniques to young players. Image \/ Seb Kitchener<\/p>\n

Sam Siggins will lead goal-kicking sessions, while AFLW player Megan Gaffney will cover tackling and contested ball skills.<\/p>\n

Mitchell, who relocated to Tasmania after being delisted from the Sydney Swans, said the clinics would give kids a direct connection to the Devils.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jai Menzie and Caleb Mitchell have launched their Tassie Rising Stars program. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

\u201cAllowing them to see some of their favourite players and be coached by them is something that as a kid I know we\u2019d both be really wrapped with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

For Hobart born-and-bred Jye Menzie, the program addresses a gap he experienced growing up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no real program here put in place to get to that real AFL level,\u201d he told Pulse.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The] Hawks might have come down every now and then and done a clinic and I was footy mad, so I\u2019d go to them every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Jai Menzie and Caleb Mitchell play for the Devils in the VFL<\/p>\n

The first clinic will be held at Lauderdale on April 20, with sessions also planned for Cornelian Bay, Devonport and Brighton across the school holidays.<\/p>\n

Menzie said the program could help develop future Devils players as the state prepares for entry into the AFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to teach them at the early age \u2026 whatever we can to help them in that pathway to get to where they want to be,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The launch comes after the two founders played in the first Tasmania Devils VFL games over the last two weekends, with crowds packing North Hobart Oval and Launceston\u2019s UTAS Stadium.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jai Menzie and Caleb Mitchell have launched their Tassie Rising Stars program. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

Menzie described playing at his home ground of North Hobart in round one as \u201can epic feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see that ground packed out, I\u2019d never seen anything like that in my lifetime,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cTassie people in general have been crying out for this for so long and now we finally have it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Registration is now open through the Tassie Rising Stars website, with limited spots available for the three-hour sessions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two Tasmania Devils stars have launched a football clinic program aimed at giving aspiring young Tasmanian players access…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579966,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-579965","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579965","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579965"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579965\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579965"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579965"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579965"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}