One Got Past the Keeper

The true story of Fertile FC: A six-a-side football team's journey into fatherhood.

One season they were a bunch of blokes, drinking and cheering their way through six-a-side soccer; the next season they were all fathers or expectant fathers playing as Fertile FC and going home straight after the game to nurse mother and child.

United in a desire not to come last, this assortment of men now found themselves united in something much bigger the challenging transition into fatherhood. Recounted in engaging, self-depreciating voices, the men write openly and honestly of the excitement, worries, hopes and fears that come with the looming responsibility of becoming a good team player in a completely new team.

They found themselves in a range of contemporary family constellations and birthing experiences. There is a young first-timer, one 48-year-old first-time father, one father having his second child, one with a step-child, and one dad already with children to a different partner. They recount natural home, water and hospital births, a birthing centre birth, a breech and caesareans.

Each chapter is one man s narrative about how he met his partner and contributed to the pregnancy and birth of their child; and what it was like afterwards. The only experts here are the actual men who went through it. Running alongside is their shared experience of their six-a-side football team, which in season one entered a social soccer competition as beginners, in season two became fathers, and in season three became champions.

About the Authors

The men of the mighty Fertile FC are Neil, Rick, Nick, Jim, Ross and Yari. Neil G. Young narrates the opening and closing chapters. The other chapters are written by each of the men as they tell their stories in their own unique voices, filled with wit sometimes, humour always and sadness, sometimes too.

Neil Young was most recently a contributing writer and then staff writer for the comedy TV show 'Life Support' on SBS Television. He is the writer and director of many short films including the award winning 'How to Win Friends . . . and Kill People', which was selected for screening at the Sydney Fringe Festival and translated into seven languages. He trained as an actor and over the last 20 years has worked in film ('Narnia', 'Island of Dr Moreau'), stage ('Peter Pan', 'Postman Pat') and television ('Wildside', 'Home & Away'). Neil has done plenty of public speaking, facilitating of meetings and running workshops. He was also CEO of Uncle a mentoring program for boys with absent fathers, based in Byron Bay where he forged links with many men s organisations including The Fatherhood Project.