TONY Thorpe has a dream "to make Bathurst football better", and he is hoping that within the coming months, this dream can become a reality.
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With the Matildas effect still radiating across the country, and the number of football players in communities growing at astronomical rates, Mr Thorpe has a plan in motion to improve things even further.
The member of Macquarie United Football Club, which recently celebrated 40 years of service in Bathurst, has put 90 hours of blood, sweat and tears into an application for a federal grant.
The grant, known as Play Our Way funding, is offering a total of $200 million over three years.
And Mr Thorpe is hoping that Macquarie United can snag a few thousands of dollars, for a variety of projects.
But if the money comes through, Mr Thorpe said it would be a benefit to Bathurst as a whole - not just Macquarie as a club.
"We're trying to get an opportunity on the ground that actually sees change," he said.
And these opportunities come in a variety of measures, all of which Mr Thorpe has considered in his grant application.
The first, is through a barbecue trailer.
This barbecue could be used by the club, and Bathurst District Football, as a way to take some pressure off the canteen at Proctor Park during peak times, and assist in raising funds.
This could then be loaned out to other sporting clubs or community groups for other fundraising initiatives.
The second item that Mr Thorpe applied for, was technology for the club in order to improve sporting features in Bathurst.
Technology to improve Bathurst Football
The third item in the application, was that of a projectile ball machine and a football rebounder.
"For tennis and cricket, they have these things called ball machines, which project the balls, like a tennis ball or a bowling machine, and for football, they do have an equivalent, which we have applied for," Mr Thorpe said.
"And, a rebounder is like a net ... but it's tensioned, like a trampoline."
And the final part of the grant, was to receive funded Super Skills technology.
"Super Skills is a data analytics amenity ... where we would put dribbling challenges, passing, shooting challenges, which get measured against your smart phone, and the idea is that as a result, you get a score," Mr Thorpe said.
"What we're trying to do is actually set Bathurst up with an opportunity where the coaches, and the kids can own the information that they produce.
"And then the coaches can look at it and see how the kids are improving in this space, and then can take it into consideration with training sessions."
Mr Thorpe believes all of this is to help create a lasting legacy for Bathurst football, and to put Bathurst on the map for creating very talented players.
Though Bathurst has already seen the likes of Cushla Rue join the national ranks, and Jasmine Mitchell rise to state titles for three years in a row, there is still work to be done.
"We want to make Bathurst football better ... that's what it's all about," Mr Thorpe said.
