Twice a year, the Melbourne Football Club runs an industry leading work experience program for secondary aged students. Applications open in January each year on melbournefc.com.au. Work experience student, Jake Jones, kept a diary of his time at the Club.

WORKING with the Melbourne Football Club (MFC) was an experience to remember. The MFC staff offered 25 secondary students the experience of a lifetime.

During the three days, the MFC produced a dynamic itinerary that involved a vast range of activities. The work experience group quickly got to know each other, swapping stories and making new friends. Although we all came from different suburbs, cities or states we found a lot of common ground. You would be surprised how far some of the participants travelled to attend this program; one participant came as far as Noosa in Queensland.

Over the three days, I gained an insight into the great amount of work that is put in behind the scenes of a professional football club. On the first day we were introduced to a lot of supporting roles within in club and given a tour of the MCG from the Melbourne legend himself, Russell Robertson. After lunch we helped out with the junior members clinic, working hand in hand with the players to ensure the junior Dees had the time of their lives.

Our second and third day of work experience offered an even deeper insight into the Club with interesting talks from coaches to information technology staff. I personally enjoyed learning about many different roles and getting to meet the people that help drive the team on a day to day basis.

Work experience was a whole heap of fun. I enjoyed every minute working for a club so rich in both history and pride. The whole MFC team are holding their heads high, even in these tough times, to support and drive their club into the future. This made the experience very enjoyable and educational.

My work experience at MFC could not have been timed better, coming off both a win for the senior team and the first ever AFL official woman’s match between Melbourne and Western Bulldogs; what an amazing piece of history to be a part of.

I strongly recommend to anyone interested in working at a football club to apply for next year’s MFC work experience program. No matter where your interests lie, the program will give you a unique insight into a vast range of jobs within a football club from media to physio and everything in between.

I thank the Demons for giving me and so many others a chance to experience a firsthand insight into everything that a football club has to offer.