Capital Football to Conduct a Review of the Mens State League

Capital Football advise the following:

Capital Football is conducting an extensive review of the ACT Men’s State League to ensure it is best placed to meet the challenges and investigate options and proposals to further improve the league.
The review will consider a broad range of issues from organisatons and individuals. A Review committee has been set up to consider all submissions and comments.
Closing date for submissions and comment is 6 August 2010.
The Review committee will review submissions with the intention to discuss the primary findings and recommendation options with clubs in early September. Ad hoc meetings with clubs will be conducted, as required, to address issues raised through the review process.
A Draft report will be submitted to the Capital Football Board and clubs for comment and consideration with a Final report to be submitted for the Board meeting in mid October 2010.
Clubs to be advised in early November of the recommendations agreed by the Board and the subsequent implementation plan.

In addition, Capital Football have released two documents for public ocnsideration:
1. Terms of Reference for the Review, and
2. Issues Paper (concerning the Mens State League - if you have issues that are included in this document, include them in your submission)

The documents referred to above are provided below - read on:
ACTFF (Capital Football) Men’s State League 2010 Review
Terms of Reference

A review of the ACTFF Men’s State League will be conducted in 2010 to ensure the League is best placed to meet the challenges of continued growth and to investigate options and proposals that might further improve the League.
The review will consider the broad range of issues that relate to the organisation and operation of the Mens State League (Mens Divisions 1 to 10), taking into account the need to maximise the utilisation of available referees and the finite number of grounds available to the League.

The review will not encompass issues in regard to the Premier League, the Masters League, ACTAS, high performance or representative player arrangements, financial arrangements (such as registration costs) or disciplinary arrangements.

The review will be conducted by the Men’s State League Review Committee (MSLRC) comprising George Lemon (chair), Charlie Rajak, Nick Isaacson (members of the Mens Standing Committee), Alasdair Grocock (Mens League Manager) and Ross Jones (independent member).

The MSLRC will consult with the clubs in the men’s State League and will also consider views that might be raised by the broader football community. The consultative process will commence in June 2010 with the circulation to SL clubs of an issues paper and an overview of the review process and timeline, at which time
submissions and comments will be invited.

The review is scheduled to be completed and submitted to the Capital Football Board in November 2010. This timing will allow adequate time for any recommendations adopted by the Board to be implemented well in advance of the commencement of the 2011 winter football season.

George Lemon Chair
Alasdair Grocock Mens League Manager
 
ACTFF Men’s State League 2010 Review
Issues Paper

Capital Football is reviewing the organisation and operation of the Mens State League to facilitate the continued expansion of the League and to consider proposals that might improve the League.

The review will be conducted by the ACT Mens State League Review Committee (MSLRC) in consultation with senior football clubs of the ACT and region. The first phase of the consultation process is an invitation to all senior clubs to prepare a submission, or provide comment, on issues that might be considered, including suggestions of options to address issues raised or that might otherwise stand to improve the League.

Just some of the issues that might be considered by the review team are outlined below:

Number of State League Divisions 1 and 2 teams

• In 2010 there are 7 Division 1 and 8 Division 2 teams compared to the more ideal 10 teams in all other Mens State League divisions, with the exceptions of Division 5 (19 teams) and Division 9 (9 teams)
• The current requirement for a club to enter both a Division 1 and 2 team to participate at these levels is seen by some clubs/teams as an entry barrier to these divisions
• One of the rationales for the requirement is that Division 2 teams are considered by some clubs as the Division 1 reserves and, where this is the case, it is beneficial to have the 2s play before the 1s at the same ground, particularly where travel (eg to or from Cooma or Goulburn) is involved

Teams in lower Divisions are often stronger than those in higher Divisions

• The general expectation is that the stronger a team, the higher the division that team will play in and, although there will always be anomalies, it is apparent that some lower divisions are generally stronger than higher ones (for example, Division 3 is considered by many to be stronger than Division 2)
• The difference in performance between top or bottom of the table and the other teams in some divisions is greater than desirable (eg Division 6)
• Although the Mens Standing Committee and Mens League Manager can move teams into higher or lower divisions where the need can be justified, further consideration of other mechanisms to place teams in appropriate divisions might be considered, including promotion/relegation Promotion/relegation would not address the placement of new teams into an appropriate division
• Game start times have been seen in the past as a significant impediment to promotion/relegation (see separate issue)

The number of teams in Division 5 (19)

• The 19 teams in the 2010 Div 5 have effectively been split into two competitions with finals to be played by the top two teams in each ‘sub-competition’ of the Division
• Determining the minor premiership winner is problematic
• The costs and benefits of split divisions requires further consideration

Game start times

• Mens State League games are played on Saturday afternoons with games commencing at either 1:00pm (Divisions 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10) or 3:00pm (Divisions 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9)
• Providing referees for all games is problematic and organising grounds for so many games is becoming tricky
• There is limited scope to add a third game start time on Saturday unless evening games, under lights, are introduced
• There are fewer Capital Football games on Sunday and moving some divisions toSunday could be considered, although it might encourage some players to regularly play in two Divisions (ie Sat and Sun) and the impact of this requires assessment
• Due to other commitments of many players, it appears preferable that the game start time of each division should be constant throughout the season (ie they should not change from week to week as is the practice for Premier League)

Season commencement

• The 2010 Mens State League commenced in early April and will be wrapped up by mid September
• The benefits of bringing the start of the season forward needs to take into account the impact on teams wishing to participate in the pre season Federation Cup

Some teams might prefer to play social football

• The Mens State League comprises over 100 teams ranging from the more social teams to those that are keenly competitive
• Splitting the League into a social stream and a competitive stream, with the competitive stream playing under more standard laws of the game (eg substitutions rather than interchange) might be an option
• Alternative streams might also be considered, such as a club stream (eg a sub-league comprising clubs that can field three teams - an A, B and C team – that might all play on Sunday) although such a split might divide the higher level teams into two streams to the detriment of both streams

Divisions with two or more teams from the same club

The implications of allowing two or more teams from the one club into a division (as might occur with the introduction of promotion/relegation) requires further assessment

Higher degree of integration with the Premier League

• It might be expected that some senior clubs that do not currently have Premier League teams might aim to enter the Premier League at some stage in the future
• The review might consider any changes to Mens State League arrangements that would address any identified barriers to progression

Kanga Cup 2010 Is About to Start - 4 to 9 July 2010

The Kanga Cup for 2010 will be run here in Canberra from 4 to 9 July 2010.

All the information is on the Kanga Cup website - Draws / locations / timings

Go here for all the details http://www.kangacup.com/

Get yourself and your children to the game, if they are not playing. To the ACT teams that competing - well done.

There will be a lot of good football played next week across the age groups.

Make sure you see the Under 12 South Korean team play - they are a revelation and give us a clear idea of where Capital Football and our Junior clubs must take football development going forward.

I wonder how many teams will play 1-4-3-3???

Central Coast Mariners To Play in Canberra Against Belconnen United and Canberra FC

The matches will be played as follows:

Monday 5th July

Canberra FC v Central Coast Mariners
(Deakin Stadium), kick off 18:30
ADMISSION: Free

Wednesday 7th July
Belconnen United v Central Coast Mariners
(McKellar Park), kick off 18:00
ADMISSION: TBC


This is an excellent opportunity for these two clubs to develop their players against what you might reasonably expect to be a more robust standard of opposition than would be encountered from week to week in the CApital Football Premier League. Should be terrific!

Think Globally, Act Locally For Football Development in the ACT

Craig Foster did a short interview on the World Cup today on the Radio National Breakfast program.

I have extracted a particularly relevant section of the interview for our local football scene. Craig makes observations that make plain sense around the development of our junior players. We have a National Football Curriculum, we have a model for development provided by the Dutch, which is excellent. But it can be improved upon and its no secret that Spain (and Barcelona) are the most prominent exemplars of the style of play we would hope our "technical revolution" will produce going forward.

The interesting feature of this section of the interview is Craig's refernce to the number of high level qualified coaches in several prominent football nations. We are a long, long way off that mark. Coach education and training is vital to all levels of development in the game. The national curriculum will fail if the coaches are not there in the numbers needed, at the appropriate level of qualification and all on the same page!

This is well worth a listen - won't take long.

Download Podcast here:

The lesson from England's demise - a local perspective!

Sourced from SBS World Game - Graig Foster's Blog - http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/craig-foster/blog/1011355/The-lesson-from-England's-demise 30 June 2010.

This is a very interesting piece of observation / analysis. It has implications for what we are doing at the local level in the context of the National Football Curriculum. Take the time to read it.

There is a valuable lesson(s) for Australia from England’s World Cup failure, and it is in the different ways we handle our tournament exit.

The lesson from England's demise

by Craig Foster
Most of England’s press and former players will blame Fabio Capello, and call for a more ‘English’ approach, and we can be assured that their next coach will be another home-grown product.

This is why they will likely struggle for quite sometime now, because Capello is not the issue, their football style is, and this predictable reaction will entrench their cultural deficiencies, rather than seeking to overcome them.

England remains the only World Cup winning nation to hire a foreign coach and for the country that invented the organized game, this is an admission of failure that their football doesn’t work internationally.

Capello could not change their style to a more modern version and when under the most pressure, it is natural that they regressed to a fairly predictable style where players rush forward and look for crosses, while Germany’s youngsters immediately come together to play in small groups to break a team down with combination play.

England were robbed by a shocking decision on Lampard’s disallowed goal, but the problem for English football is that if they focus only on this officiating error, they will miss an opportunity to progress, because the difference in football played by Germany, a far more successful football nation, was clear for all to see.

Even the most passionate English fan would have to admit this.

The reality is that we have moved away from the outdated football of England, which we used to play under British coaches. Thankfully, today we no longer import from England, because their methodology has again proven to be a long way behind.

But the core difference is in the way we move forward from here.

After our loss to Germany, we called for our team to play with an Australian mentality, an attacking and aggressive approach, because this is what makes us the world’s best sporting nation, per capita. But we never called for an Australian style, because we are employing international coaches to change it.

England, conversely, will call for both.

Put another way, Australia is tied to our cultural approach to sport, because it is a very great strength, but we are not tied to the way we have always played football, rather we are actively trying to modernize it.

This is why we cannot have an Australian coach for some years, because they are not yet capable of taking us to the next level of improvement, so be very wary of calls for an Aussie to take over because this confuses the value of our mentality with the tactical quality required to express it.

And is the same mistake England will make.

Australia must be aggressive and attack, or at least be forced back to defend, and we pay several million dollars a year to a foreign coach to structure our team to do so in an intelligent way.

This is why we said that Australia must play with the head and heart, in equal measure, because strength of character and strong mentality are extremely valuable traits, as the Germans demonstrate time and again (and theirs is closest to Australia’s), but must be allied with football intelligence and tactical structure to control a game.

This is what England ultimately lack, because their players are not taught correctly, their coaching is well behind the best, and the EPL promotes a kick and rush style of ‘second ball’ football. This is why in the last few years I have talked about the A-League moving away from an EPL, British style, and becoming closer to the Bundesliga in tactical quality, and intensity of play.

This is the benefit of being a young football nation, we can change quickly and easily, and do not have the burden of a hundred years of history to hold us back, which is what England are constantly trying to overcome.

And this is also why I have congratulated Socceroos fans not just for being highly critical of the approach against Germany, because we all regulate standards and expectations through our collective, cultural response, but also for recognizing that our football needs to progress.

Above all else, Australia knows sport, and thus our fans have an advanced understanding of the necessities of sporting achievement. We are flexible and hungry to advance, not tied to the past.

English fans are renowned for their great passion and support for their favoured clubs, but the one area where they hold their own football back is because they don’t want change.

They support and believe in an all out fighting style that is tactically shallow, and cannot move forward. Whereas a player is congratulated for a piece of skill elsewhere, in England they clap a fierce tackle or a corner kick, the level of understanding is simply not as high as in Italy, France, Germany, or South America.

For a thorough analysis of the differences between the Italian and English football cultures, including the media and fan responses, read “The Italian Job” by Gianluca Vialli. It explains why Italy has won four titles very clearly, because the culture is demanding, educated and tactically deep.

International styles and philosophies are an important part of the cultural diversity of football, and for this reason I am pleased to see England go back to what they are, rather than hire an Italian to change them, but success for Australia will come from developing a new style based on possession, short passing and constant player movement, individual technical quality and improvisation, and sophisticated tactical understanding that is flexible enough to play quickly when needed, slowly when required, and can solve all the problems a nation must confront to win a World Cup.

So please, never confuse the great lesson of our 2010 World Cup, for our mentality and cultural strengths to be understood and capitalized on, as Hiddink was able to achieve, with a cry to play the same way we always have, because it is nothing of the sort.

We are, in fact, desperately trying to modernize the way we play, as quickly as we possibly can, whilst never forsaking the cultural gifts we are born with, as Aussies.

This is why our next choice of coach is so important, and why going back to an Australian would be regressive (at least for another 5-10 years).

That’s why Australia will ultimately be successful, because we are aggressive about learning and improving, and why England now have a huge cultural dilemma on their hands.

So I say well done to the Australian football community, you have all shown an ability to absorb cultural change quicker than probably any country has ever done before.

Typically Aussie, I’d say.

How to Coach Young Soccer Players on Positions

This is a really practical tip for preparing young players for positional play. And it works!

Guide your players, don't kick every ball yourself

Courtesy of www.footy4kids.com

Guide your players, don't kick every ball yourself

"The discovery method is a teaching technique that encourages students to take a more active role in their learning process by answering a series of questions or solving problems designed to introduce a general concept." (Mayer 2003)

Many coaches have an 'instructor' style, constantly telling players what to do and when to do it. This is not the best way to teach children how to play soccer (or anything else for that matter). It's much better to act as a 'facilitator' and help your players find their own answers to soccer problems.

Take this easy passing game as an example.



Pass, dribble, move

Objective: To encourage players to pass correctly.
Skill level: Beginner to intermediate.
Number of players: The whole squad.
Set up:

Create a 20 yards by 30 yards playing area with one dozen cones spread equally around the edge. Divide your players into pairs with one ball between each pair.

How to play:

Players dribble within the playing area, passing to their partner. After every pass, the passing player runs around one of the cones and back into the playing area. The receiver is limited to a set number of touches. On the second or third touch (depending on how experienced your players are), they have to return the pass regardless of where their partner is.
You can make the game competitive by challenging your players to make a set number of passes or see which pair can make the most number of successful passes in two or three minutes.

What does the instructor do?

The instructor will tell their players to pass towards feet or space if their partner is running towards them, and to pass into space if they are running away. The instructor may also tell their players that they know their partner is ready to receive a pass if they are making eye contact with them. They will tell their players not to pass the ball so hard that their partner can't control it.

While the instructor's players may look like they are passing correctly, they are not learning why they are doing it. So the exercise is largely wasted. The instructor's players aren't learning anything except how to follow orders.

It's little wonder these coaches get frustrated and send me emails saying, "they can do it in training, so why can't they do it on match days?"

What does the facilitator do?

A coach who is using the 'guided discovery' method will ask questions such as:

"If your partner is running towards you, where should you pass the ball?"


"If your partner is running away from you, where should you pass the ball?"


"How do you know your partner is ready to receive the pass?"


"Why do you think your partner couldn't control that pass?"


"Which foot should you use for your first touch?"


"What part of your foot should you pass with?"

And so on.

There may be no right or wrong answers to these questions. But by asking a question and waiting for an answer, instead of simply telling them what to do, you are forcing your players to think the problem through. It also means you won't continue talking until they have come up with the answer.

There will be times when your players are unable to come up with an answer. If that happens you will need to tell them, and it's fine to do that. However, if the game and questions are well thought out, your players should be able to answer by themselves.

You may find your players are resistant to this kind of learning. Many are used to being told what to do and expect it, so you need to be patient. But the pay-off is worth it.

If you can create a team of youngsters who can come up with their own answers to problems on the field, you will have a strong, confident team that will learn quickly and solve problems on match days without any intervention from you.

Never Really Know When You WIll Cop A Red Card!!

Just couldn't resist this one that's doing the rounds on the internet at the moment.

It's been a misreable time in Federal Politics for some this last week and not the happiest of times for our Socceroos.
Harry K is in good company. Difference is that none of his team mates were smiling when it happened.

I'm staying with Football, there's enough tiresome politics in the game in the ACT.

Politics imitating Sport??

Australian Under 13 Coach Talks the 1-4-3-3 and Medical University of South Carolina Provides An Introduction To The ACL Injury / Treatment

This program is broadcast on Tuesday, 29 June 2010 at 7:00PM on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) through the Australian Community Radio Network.

We continue our very informative discussion with Nicola Williams, Coach of the Australian U13 Girls team. Nicola speaks directly to the roles / responsibilities of the players in the 1-4-3-3 system of play, that is now mandated by the FFA for use by all representative coaches. This is the system all teams at the National Junior Championships and the NTC Challenge (eg ACTAS) must be coached to play and play it.
Then we have a very informative interview from the Medical University of South Carolina on the subject of ACL injuries. A Dr Geier, an orthopaedic surgeon, gives an excellent introduction to all aspects of the matter. Essential information, particularly for parents of female players, who, as Dr Geier points out, research indicates that female players are more prone to this season ending injury than male players.

Download Podcast here:

Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 10

Round 10

Woden Valley 2 (Kole Aitken 37’, Kehnan Walsh 87’) Goulburn Strikers 1 (Sam Taylor 70’)
Monaro Panthers 2 (David Baillie 3’, Nathan Walker 75’) Tuggeranong United 1 (Mark Shields 10’)
Belconnen United 1 (Dustin Wells) Canberra Olympic 1 (Trent Flanigan)
ANU FC 1 (Tim Womack 74’) Cooma Tigers 3 (Goran Josifovski 46’, Ian Elliott 58’, Scott Barsley 77’)
Canberra City 0 v Canberra FC 3 (Marcin Zygmunt 29’, Michael Spaleta 83’ (pen), 90’)

Womens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 12

Round 12

ANU FC 4 (Emily Nicola (2), Cassie Schilg, Anna Bennett) Brindabella Blues 1 (Ellen Hearder)
Tuggeranong United 1 (Julie Ibarra) Woden Valley 3 (Ashleigh Palombi (2), Grace Field)
Belwest Foxes 4 (Hope Wilkins (2), Sam Price, Tahlia Stanley) Belconnen United 2 (Katie Woodman, Sabrina Spinapolice (pen))
Weston Creek 2 (Kylie Harris 10’, Aleisha Tupper 21’ (pen)) Canberra FC 1 (Nicole Somi 81’)

Which Comes First - Player or the Team??

I listened to this subject being discussed on the sidelines last weekend. Opinions were divided! So I went to the Georgia Soccer Association in the USA for this extract form there "Club Player Development Manual".  http://www.gasoccer.org/secondary.aspx?id=758&coll_id=21
I reckon they have got it right.

"It is important to note that, regardless of their specific philosophy, youth clubs have a universally expected duty to do what is in the best interest of the individual player and to do its best to allow all the players to enjoy their experience with soccer. Too often, club officers and coaches adopt team building concepts’ that are borrowed from the professional game even though they are not appropriate for youth. The main difference between youth play and professional play is the concept of “who comes first – the player or the team?”.
At the professional level, the team obviously comes first. The professional team has a clear hierarchy of starters and ‘bench warmers’ and squad players, etc. The subs are paid handsomely to sit on the bench and be called upon if and when needed. Everyone on the professional team is expected to put the team first and to sacrifice himself for the sake of the team. The result is all that matters at the pro level.

But at the youth level, the player must come first!! Every decision made by the club and the coach should be in the best interest of the individual players. Examples:
1) A youth player should not be kept in goal against her wishes just because she is the best keeper and ‘the team needs her’ to win the game.
2) Coaches should not hold on to good players at a lower playing level just to help the team to win games. The better player should be allowed to move up to the next level in order to help him reach his potential, even if it means that the team he leaves behind will be weakened.
3) Every player must play in every game, not left to sit on the bench for the entire game because the team must win.
4) When players are invited to play for the Regional or National Team, their club coaches should allow them to go even if there is a conflict with a club activity. It’s not fair to the players to ask them to give up such opportunities in the name of team loyalty. The team is there to serve the player’s ambition, not the other way around.

Some adults will argue that soccer is a team game and, therefore, team building concepts such as sacrifice and ‘do what’s best for the team’ should be taught to our kids. Indeed, some team building concepts are appropriate to youth play. The concepts of cooperation between teammates, helping teammates, learning to trust others, and being respectful of teammates are certainly team building concepts that should be  introduced to young players. But the concept of ‘sacrifice for the team’ is not appropriate for youth sport.

We cannot in all good conscience ask young players to sacrifice their future potential just to bolster the team’s ‘win’ column. We cannot deny young players the enjoyment of playing, since soccer is their leisure activity, and every player deserves to play."

Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 12

Round 12

Sunday 27 Jun 10

2:00PM Tuggeranong Utd WFC v Woden Valley Kambah 2-1
2:00PM Belwest Foxes v Belconnen Utd Kaleen Enclosed 1
2:00PM Brindabella Blues v ANU WFC Calwell 2.3
0 2:00PM Weston Creek v Canberra FC Kaleen Enclosed 2

Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 10

Round 10

Saturday 26 Jun 10
6:00PM Canberra City v Canberra FC Hawker Football Centre


Sunday 27 Jun 10
3:00PM ANU FC v Cooma Tigers ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Monaro Panthers v Tuggeranong Utd Riverside Stadium
3:00PM Woden Valley v Goulburn Strikers Woden Park Enclosed
4:00PM Belconnen Utd v Canberra Olympic McKellar Park

Maximise space to teach team shapes

Courtesy of www.footy4kids.co.uk

Maximise space to teach team shapes


Demonstrate the need for space (with thanks to Bob Christensen)

First, you need to show your players that it is easier to play soccer surrounded by space rather than other players. You can do this by setting up a very small pitch (about 20 yards by 10 yards), splitting your squad into two teams and getting them to play soccer in it.

After they have played for a few minutes, stop and ask your players if it is easy playing soccer in this space? If not, why? Someone will say it is too crowded.

Similarly, create a circle about eight yards across, spread your players around it and ask one of them to stand in the middle. Tell the players around the circle to pass to each other across the circle, keeping the ball away from the player in the middle (the 'defender').

Ask them if it is easy or hard? Then make the circle bigger and try again. Is it easier now there is more space between the players?

Make the circle really big (about 30 yards across) and repeat the exercise. Discuss why it is now easy for the 'defender' to intercept the passes. The answer is because the outside players are too far apart.

Gradually make the circle smaller again until your players discover the distance between them that makes it hard for the 'defender' to intercept the ball, but not so far apart that they can't pass accurately to each other. This is the distance you ideally want your players to be spaced apart during matches.

Shape is the key, not fixed positions

Now you have demonstrated to your players the need for space between them to play soccer effectively, you might be tempted to place them in traditional positions - defender, midfielder and attacker.

Planting players in these positions may work in the short term. But I suggest you would be better getting your players to understand the concept of 'shape' first. It's not difficult - providing your players understand why they need to have some space around them.

The most common and effective shapes in soccer are the triangle and the diamond. As your players move around during matches and practice, you should be able to see these shapes everywhere.

But lets begin with just one triangle.

Take three of your players and stand in front of them holding a ball. Ask them to form a triangle shape with two 'defenders' at the back and one 'attacker' in front. They need to be spaced the ideal distance apart (see above).

Ask them to look around and recognise the shape they have made. Now hold the ball out and move slowly around them, getting closer and further away. Get your players to keep their triangle shape pointing at you as you move around and make sure they remain the correct distance apart.

Once they have mastered the triangle, create a diamond shape by adding a fourth player behind the two defenders (in a sweeper position). Again, move around with the ball while your players maintain their shape. As you move, different players become the point of the diamond but the shape is the same.

Now put the ball on the ground and dribble it slowly around the players. See if they can stay in the diamond formation. If they can, congratulations! Your team has a 'proper' shape.

Interview With Australian Coach of Under 13 Girls Team 2010 - Nicola Williams

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday 22 June 2010 through the Australian Comunity Radio Network.

Nicola Williams is a very contemporary Football Coach and an experienced educator / teacher. Just what you need at the Under 13 age group.

Nicola talks about the recent Under 13 Girls National Junior Championships, technical assessment at the Nationals and the implementation of the 1-4-3-3 system of play. And what about the Football initiative in some high schools in WA?

This is a really good interview!

Download Podcast here:

Upcoming lectures at UTS

We have some very nice lectures coming up at United in spring 2011. On March 27-28 we will have the first of what is planned to be an ongoing church renewal conference called "Light the Fire!" and the keynote speaker will be Leonard Sweet. We'll also have Walter Brueggemann later that spring--May 11, to be exact--as our speaker for the Heck Lectures . This series generally involves two lectures and a panel discussion. (I would provide a link to a website on Brueggemann, but there are so many it's hard to choose one.) If you think you'll be in the Dayton area on these dates, I hope you'll take the opportunity to hear one or both of these very fine lecturers. Let us know you're coming, though, by registering in advance.

Womens Premier League Table - at end of Round 11

Table at end of Round 11 - Goal Difference and Points

Belwest Foxes             +50   33
Woden Valley             +30   21
Belconnen United        +27   18
Canberra FC                -9    16
Weston Creek             +1    15
Tuggeranong United     -4    12
ANU WFC                -19      5
Brindabella Blues       -77      0

Mens Premier League Table 2010 - at end of Round 9

The Mens PL Table at the end of Round 9 - Goal Difference and Points

Canberra FC             +27  21
Belconnen United      +11  19
Cooma Tigers             +6  15
Canberra City             +3  13
Monaro Panthers         -3  13
Canberra Olympic       -3  11
Goulburn Strikers        +4   9
ANU FC                    -10   9
Tuggeranong United   -18   8
Woden Valley            -17   6

Womens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 11

Woden Valley 1 (Catherine Brown) Belwest Foxes 3 (Hope Wilkins (3))
Tuggeranong United 1 (Julie Ibarra) Weston Creek 1 (Kelly Donnelly)
ANU WFC 1 (Cassie Schilg 5’) Canberra FC 1 (Aurelia Bullot 33’)
Belconnen United 14 (Caitlin Munoz 5’, 36’, 43’, 57’, 75’, 82’, Amy Spence 21’, 80’, 88’, Katie Woodman 34’, Maja Blasch 60’, Bronwyn Studman 70’, 77’, Ilahna Aitchison 86’) Brindabella Blues 0

Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 9

Belconnen United 6 (Danny Macor 7’, 55’, 60’, 71’, Dustin Wells 19’, Tai Smith 37’) Monaro Panthers 1 (Geoff Howarth 69’)
Goulburn Strikers 1 (Nicky Rogers 20’) Canberra FC 1 (Alex Castro 69’)
ANU FC 0 v Tuggeranong United 2 (Alex Weber 8’, Mark Shields 46’ (pen))
Cooma Tigers 2 (Goran Josifovski 46’, Serdan Bircan 84’) Canberra City 1 (Misko Naumoski 53’ (pen))
Canberra Olympic 0 v Woden Valley 2 (Daryll Hall 24’, Kehnan Walsh 63’)

Coach for Australian Girls Under 13 Team Talks About Selection, What They Are Looking For and How The Technical Assessment Process Worked and the 1-4-3-3 Playing System At The Under 13 Girls National Junior Championships

On Tuesday the NPL will broadcast the first part of an extended interview conducted with Nicola Williams, Coach of the Australian Under 13 Girls team. It's a terrific interview.

They are doing some outstanding things in WA and Football West for Football and Futsal. Recall the interview the NPL did with the Coach of the Football West Under 13 Boys in 2009 (Warren Grieve) - they had it all and a lot of them ended up being selected in the Australian Under 13 Team.

They play it out from the back in WA - they don't hoof it long!

You will quickly understand why Nicola is the Coach of this Australian team. She is very impressive. I'm hard pressed to recall many rep coaches who can speak so confidently and with such clarity about Football. Too many talk in cliches! She gives the best general introduction to the 1-4-3-3 playing system I've heard and I have listened to a few try to talk it through, but none as clear as Nicola Williams.

Nicola has lot to say about the Nationals, standard of play, technical assessment, the value of the All Stars match and what she is looking for when selecting players. Some good advice too for us community  coaches. Nicola followed up the the players final selection process at AIS with detialed instructions to each player by way of preparation before they tour Vietnam. Very organised. Very smart!

Oh yes, Nicola is a teacher in WA at a high school that specialises in delivering Football as the primary co-curricular sports option (one of six!!). I told you they were going ahead in WA. Must be all that distance away from the FFA headquarters!

Next Tuesday the NPL will broadcast Part 1 of the interview, with Part 2 (the 1-4-3-3 playing system) to follow. By popular request, Part 2 will be put up on the blog next Tuesday as well as Part 1. Can't say fairer than that!

Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 9

Round 9

Saturday  19 Jun 10

6:00PM Belconnen Utd v Monaro Panthers McKellar Park


Sunday 20 Jun 10

3:00PM ANU FC v Tuggeranong Utd ANU North Oval 1 
3:00PM Goulburn Strikers v Canberra FC Cookbundoon
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Canberra City Nijong Oval
5:00PM Canberra Olympic v Woden Valley Hawker Football Centre

Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 11

Round 11

Sunday 20 Jun 10

2:00PM Belconnen Utd v Brindabella Blues Kaleen Enclosed 1
2:00PM Woden Valley v Belwest Foxes Woden Park Enclosed 
2:00PM Canberra FC v ANU WFC Deakin Stadium
2:00PM Tuggeranong Utd WFC v Weston Creek Kambah 2-1

Soccer boots: function not fashion

Sourced from http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com/

Soccer boots: function not fashion

Soccer boots appear to change with a predictable frequency that has more to do with looks than a player’s functional needs or preventing injury. Your average pub or Sunday league player is more likely to buy a pair of boots that are worn by the latest premiership sensation than a pair that is right for their feet. If they stop to consider some of the following basic facts, function might start to take priority over fashion:

* A player will typically travel up to 12km during a match, making more than 500 ground/foot contacts per kilometre
* The average player spends 50% of the match running and has up to 300 contacts with the ball.

So what should budding Beckhams look for in a football boot? Mike Healy writing in Medicine Matters (‘Considerations in football boot selection’, Medicine Matters2005; 11:10-13, pub UEFA), points us in the right direction.

Fit and comfort

Feet fall broadly into three categories: flat, high- arched or neutral. They also have three width variations: wide, narrow and standard. Players tend to opt for a boot that is a size smaller than their ‘true’ shoe size in order to enhance ball control and feel. However, the ideal fitting boot should have a gap of 5-10mm between the tip of the longest toe and the tip of the boot. If the boot is too ‘roomy’ foot stability will be impaired and the player’s ability to accelerate and decelerate will be compromised. Heel and instep fit is important, as is a padded tongue. High heel tabs should be avoided to reduce the risk of Achilles tendon injuries.

Support, stability and motion control

The boot must provide a secure base of mechanical support and stability for the rear-foot at heel strike and at the mid-foot and forefoot as the foot is progressively loaded. The composition of the sole plus the general fit governs the degree of control. Most boots tend to force the foot to act as a single unit, limiting natural movement. Good heel fit will help control rear-foot movements and will provide stability on the foot during ground contact and ‘push-off’. If the boot lacks heel support the foot can over pronate, increasing rotation of the tibia and femur and the risk of injury. Other areas to look for are the arch support and high lacing systems, which will improve mid-foot stability and optimise foot function.

Cushioning (shock absorption)

Impact forces in excess of three times body weight are transmitted through a player’s musculoskeletal system with each strike of their heel. These forces are magnified further when landing from a jump. Football boots should distribute the impact load, disperse pressure, prevent focal compression and dampen impact forces. Unfortunately, according to Mike Healy, most boots are usually flat, offer little shock absorption and struggle to accommodate each and every foot type.

Traction

Grip is important; the outsole, stud type and stud configuration must allow for good surface penetration (grip). Factors influencing grip are:
i. the composition and arrangement of the outsole and studs
ii. the type and condition of the playing surface
iii. the weight of the player wearing the boots.

While some grip is good, too much grip can increase the potential for injury, particularly when decelerating and changing direction. If the standing foot is unable to escape from, or pivot in, the turf, lateral and rotational forces can impose shearing and torsional loads on the foot and joints of the lower limb. Healy suggests that this could be one explanation for a metatarsal fracture, and we can all name at least one international football player that has suffered from this type of injury.

Injury prevention and protection

Poor boot selection can predispose a player to unnecessary long-term injury. Boot selection should not be based on design, brand or sponsorship, but rather on proper fit, performance enhancement and injury prevention.

Farpost Interview With The Coach of Mens Premier League Goulburn Strikers

The Farpost conducted this interview with the Head Coach of the Goulburn Strikers, Carlo Alifi. Carlo discusses his teams progress in its first season in the Captial Football Premier League. Smart Coach and a clever Club doing well in its first year in the Premier League and only likley to get better.

Download the Podcast here:

Farpost Report On Western Creek v Woden Valley Premier League Games, World Cup Predictions and the 1-4-3-3 in the Premier League

The Farpost is brodcast every Sunday afternoon on 2xxfm on the Australian Community Radio Network. Terrific show and all about Football! Doesn't get any better!

The Nearpost Local made a report from Woden Enclosed at the conclusion of the Western Creek v Woden Valley Premier League games on Sunday. We get to cover some interesting topics in Football that affect our local football development. Worth a listen, if I do say so myself.

Download Podcast here:

Football United, English FA Development Model, Director Co-Curricular Radford College Gives Some Good Advice When Your Junior Team Is Losing

This program is broadcast on  2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday at 7:00Pm, through the Australian Community Radio Network.

Do you know anything about Football United? We speak to the CEo, Anne Bunde-Birouste from the UNSW about this terrific community football orgainsation that uses the power of football to help improve social cohesion and harmony in communities with high proportions of refugee, immigrant and indigenous people. They are coming to Canberra to play the politicians, on their way they play in Goulburn, hosted by the wonderful football community in the Goulburn region, then its off to the FIFA Festival of Hope tournament being run at the same time as the World Cup in South Africa.

The English FA is undergoing its own football development revolution called "Changing Focus". They have a simple and effective model for development for all the "Four Corners Model". This is definately worth a listen. does your Club, school team, Capital Football HPP or ACTAS compare well by comparison??

Then we hear from the Director of CO-Curricualr at Radford, George Huitker, from an interview we did about two years ago on the subject of parents at Football and what can done for team that lose a lot. This extract from this highly expereinced coach and teacher is aimed at the sort of parents that form a part of the group of parents of the Under 13 Boys School team I am watching this season. They lost this weekend, but reduced the loss by half from previous games - now that is definately a winning approach. Well done the coach the lads!! Pity some of the parents shot through for the weekend (including a couple who made lots of noise about losing), leaving the team down to a bare 11 players, no subs. They played 1-4-3-3 and played in good style most of the game. I'll bet those other boys really wanted to be there and play. Some parents just seem to take longer than others to work it out. Some never do!

Download the Podcast here:

Welcome, Summer Students!

The Albertsons Library offers you a comfortable place to study and an array of resources to power up your research endeavors.

Here are some of the things we have in store for you this summer:

• A growing collection of research databases. Access articles from thousands of journals and magazines, such as Gale's 17th to 18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and Environment Complete, to Studies on Women and Gender Abstracts and Web of Science.
• Extensive interactive subject guides in Public Administration, Economics, Materials Science & Engineering, and many more via the library's LibGuides system.
• Have a smart phone? Check out our mobile library site.
• A Starbucks coffee shop on the first floor.
• Computer commons equipped with Microsoft Office 2007.
• Extensive book and article search via our catalog interface.
• Want a Mac or Dell laptop? Check them out from the library's Circulation desk and use them in the library.

You can also follow us on Twitter, see our Facebook page, enjoy our pictures in Flickr, or view quick research tutorials in YouTube.

Let us know if there are other ways we can help you succeed here at Boise State University and beyond.

Training with an Eye on Detail

This is sourced from NSCAA National Standards Project

This observation caught my eye:
"The emphasis is now on the smallest of details within the individual player’s techniques. The players work on a certain technique for long periods of time. Lots of coordination training takes place, first without the ball. All the players received large doses of balance activities, beginning with the proper running styles in a very relaxed manner....
The training we observed was highly organized, realistic and dependent on the coach’s knowledge and ability to instantly see and correct the smallest detail or fault. Each player was involved in each part of the session and was constantly moving."




Training with an Eye on Detail

At Sporting Club of Portugal, coaches pay close attention to precise movements
By Roby Stahl


The emphasis in the Sporting Club of Portugal (SCP) youth program is on the identification and recruiting of players and development both athletically and academically once they are in the SCP program.

Sporting Lisbon has teams from 13 years of age until 18 under the heading of infantile and juniors. Once a boy reaches the age of 18 a decision must be made. Either he is promoted to the B team, loaned out to another club to develop or is released. Following the French model, academic opportunities are provided at a nearby school if the player lives at the Academia, the $13-million facility that houses training for all the teams from U-13 to professional and includes a hotel with 46 rooms. Players under the age of 13 are brought into the SCP program, but do not train at the Academia. They train at various locations around Lisbon. Occasionally they will go to the training center in order to see what lies ahead of them if they continue to develop.

The youth setup is directed by Jean Paul. Under him each team is assigned two coaches, many of whom are former SCP players. Working as trainers are players such as Hilario, who played as left back in Portugal’s semifinal appearance in the 1966 World Cup, and Jordanov, center back in Bulgaria’ semifinal spot in World Cup 1994. All the trainers could play and demonstrate at a high level.

The emphasis on youth training has changed since Lazslo Boloni arrived in 2001. The emphasis is now on the smallest of details within the individual player’s techniques. The players work on a certain technique for long periods of time. Lots of coordination training takes place, first without the ball. All the players received large doses of balance activities, beginning with the proper running styles in a very relaxed manner.

In the U.S. we tend to concentrate on explosive-type activities. That comes later in the learning process for the SCP players. The coaches are very good at taking small portions of the game and then breaking them down into the precise movements needed to improve techniques. This training begins at age six, while the player is still flexible in his or her learning process. These are very simple but important exercises. Even the stretching at the beginning of training and after activities is quite soccer-related in terms of movement.

As the player’s technique improves and he or she grows older, so does the focus on the understanding of the simple procedures that are necessary to play soccer. The focus now shifts to understanding the player’s roles during 1 v. 1, 2 v. 1, 2 v. 2, 3 v. 2 and 3 v. 3 play. This sounds rather simple, but these points are central to the player’s success through his or her career.

The training we observed was highly organized, realistic and dependent on the coach’s knowledge and ability to instantly see and correct the smallest detail or fault. Each player was involved in each part of the session and was constantly moving. As an example, juggling activities while moving were included. Once again the emphasis was on balance and coordination. Even throw-in techniques were incorporated into the training session.

The youth program is paying dividends, as several of the youth players have been or will be sold to other teams. Hugo was just sold to Newcastle of the English Premier League for $13 million. Two other players, Quaresma and Christiano Ronaldo, ages 18 and 19, respectively, will be sold to top clubs for $10-$20 million.

This is a two-edged sword for SCP. The money is necessary to finance the new Academia and the new stadium that is being built in time for Euro 2004, yet it is hard to compete with Portugal’s best teams when you are always selling your top young players.

Sporting Lisbon has a proud tradition as one of the top clubs in Europe. SCP won the league and Portuguese Cup in 2001-02, but stood in third place during our visit. The coaches and players were under tremendous pressure from fans and media, as every move is reported daily. Last year two players, Jardel (Brazil) and Joao Pinto (Portuguese National Team) scored 61 goals between them. This year, both have missed games due to injuries and/or suspensions. It is important that SCP finish in the top two in order to automatically qualify for the Champions League. Qualification brings in large amounts of money. Boloni is very intelligent and reserved. His training sessions are brilliant and always relate to small, precise sections of the game. All of his tactical training is done through the use of small-sided games, building up to full-sided games.

Usually the attacking players had functional training while the rest of the team was working on tactical ideas. Boloni believes that they do not need to be involved in much of the work in the middle and defensive thirds of the field. He does have some strong ideas about their participation in the attacking third, however. Of course, the focus was on their tactical understanding in attacking schemes and options.

All activities ended up going to goal. I have never seen professionals work as hard as the members of SCP did during their explosive training sessions. The fitness staff was more than willing to share ideas.

All the players are tested and then put in four groups. Training was on a two-week schedule with three precisely planned activities depending on the group the player was in. For example, the older players did not do as much explosive work as the younger players, working instead on strength training. Emphasis was on explosive training (Force Max) for the legs and arms, strength training for overall and explosive training for the legs only. The last grouping worked outdoors. Each activity during the plyometric sessions ends with a ball function activity derived from the game, always performed at top speed. The players are tested every eight weeks, with their individual training program plans based on that testing.

The players can play at high speed, but they have the ability to be relaxed on the ball under pressure. Tactically they are not as sophisticated as their professional counterparts of other European nations. Boloni is bringing this dimension to the team. SCP is following the lead of many other European teams by going to a multi-level play environment in the Academia. The emphasis is on technique and on doing it correctly. The coaching staff does not allow any “loose” play by the younger players. The smallest detail is examined and put in the proper place by the coaching staff. There are many soccer academies in Europe, but SCP is definitely in the elite group.

Capital Football - Football Fun School Holiday Clinics

This is sourced from the Capital Football website.

"Football FUN"

Number 1 for Fun - Number 1 for Football

Capital Football is proud to present the "Football Fun" School Holiday Clinics program. THE CF Football Fun holiday clinics program has been launched to give all kids in the ACT a fun and exciting school holiday learning experience in a high paced, energetic and football centred atmosphere.

Capital Football will be running "Football Fun" clinics throughout Canberra and its surrounds each school holidays utilizing a curriculum that has been built from the ground up by our professional staff using the purpose built CF Football Fun Curriculum as its foundation, and Fun as its ultimate mission.

July
Monday July 12- Thursday July 15 Hawker Football Centre Half Day/Full Day - Open
Monday July 12-Thursday July 15 Kambah 3 Football Centre Half Day - Open
Monday July 12-Thursday July 15 David Madew Oval, Jerrabomberra Half Day - Open

Read on for all the details.

Program

The Football fun program teaches football fundamentals through fun competitions and games. Daily tournaments and skill challenges are featured with the Football Fun Skills Competition at the end of the week giving all players a chance to test themselves in a series of challenging Football activities.

All Football Fun school holiday programs consist of 12-28 hours of action packed instruction and football activities per week. Techniques are refined in game related activities, transferred to functional practices and applied in our daily small sided games tournaments. The program is available for boys and girls and is suitable for all levels of player ages 6-12. Clinics may also feature giveaways and special appearances by Canberra United W League players.

WHO
Boys and Girls Ages 6-12

WHEN
9.00am-12 Noon or 9.00am-4.00pm

Program Fees


Half day - $120.00/week
Full day - $250/Week
Family Discounts - Half day $20.00 off each additional registrant; Full day $50.00 off each additional registrant
Daily Rates - Available on request

All Participants receive

12-28 Hours of Instruction (4 Days x 3 Hours or 4 days x 7 Hours)
Games based Instruction based on the CF Football Fun Curriculum
Clinic Certificate
Free Mini Ball
Qantas WC 2010 Socceroos Poster
Great Facilities
Drinks Station
Qualified Coaches
Maximum Fun

COACHING Staff


Football Fun School Holiday clinics program is a Capital Football Game Development initiative. All Football Fun Staff coaches hold current Australian or AFC accreditation or their international equivalent, have a minimum of three years of practical coaching/teaching experience and are fully trained and qualified to deliver our unique and innovative game oriented curriculum

More Information

Game Development Manager
Pat McCann
Email  coaching@capitalfootball.com.au
Phone: 61757116

My Son's Team Is Getting Hammered!!!

This one should resonate with many. The elements of this story present every week in junior football. I like the options the author provides to the parent - The easy option, or, the noble option.

This is sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/ (Steve Watson)


My son's team is getting hammered


"Hi. The problem I have is that myself and a friend started one team of U8s, but over time we ended up with a squad of 18 players as more and more kids joined from school.
"We decided that we would split the players into two teams and manage one each. As my friend had started the original team, it was agreed that I would take newcomers, along with my son (who ultimately is the reason why I do it), to the new team.
"I feel terrible saying this, but we have ended up with one very weak team and one very strong team (mine is the weak team). While I still enjoy training the players and being involved with my son's soccer life, we are getting hammered every week.

Getting frustrated

"I can see him losing his enthusiasm because he is more advanced than the others and wants to play at a higher level. He is getting frustrated with losing, particularly when the other team is doing so well.
"If I move him, I will be unable to commit myself to managing my team and feel I would be deserting the players. To some extent, I will also feel like a failure. But I don't want to hold my son back.
"Help!
"On a soccer note, my team can score goals, but defensively we are terrible. Any help you can give with regard to getting the defense sorted would be great. I was a striker as a boy, and I suspect my lack of knowledge on how to defend may be an issue."

My answer:

As you already know, there's no easy answer to your dilemma.
I can understand your son wanting to play at a higher level (even though the term is a bit silly when applied to eight-year-olds) and if you do move him you won't be able to coach your current team any more. This is presumably because you'll be watching your son play at the same time as your current team play their matches.
As I see it, you've got two options. One is noble, the second may be easier.


The noble option

Keep your son in your team. Then work hard on getting all your players up to scratch. Focus on their ball skills and defending (more about this later). You can also try to attract a couple of new players to strengthen your squad.
One way of doing this is to go into your local school and offer to run a taster coaching session for the relevant year group. If they agree (and if you play the school/community links card, they should) play some easy, fun games for 40 minutes or so and then hand the kids an invitation to join the team.
And don't forget the girls! At your team's age there will probably be several girls who would love to play soccer for a team. Some of them will be as good, or better, than the boys. I know this for a fact - more girls than boys turned up for a session I did at my local school a couple of years ago and, before I knew it, I had a pretty good girls team!

The easy option

Move your son to the other team. If you do this you'll have to try to find a parent to take over the coaching duties of your team. That won't be easy and the likelihood is the team will fold.
If you can live with that possibility, then you may well choose this option. But I would urge you to give the noble option a go first. You'll feel better if you try extra hard to get your current team up to speed before abandoning them, I promise!
Regarding defending, you should focus on getting the basics absolutely right. Follow these simple tips to teach your players the core defensive skills. I call it 1-2-3 defending. You can also use the attack v defense game in this newsletter to improve your defenders' positional awareness and communication.

Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 9

There is no scheduled Mens Premier League Round for the weekend 12/13 June 2010. Check your Club for date / times on any postponed games from previous rounds.

Round 9

Saturday 19 Jun 10

6:00PM Belconnen Utd v Monaro Panthers McKellar Park 


Sunday 20 Jun 10

3:00PM ANU FC v Tuggeranong Utd ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Goulburn Strikers v Canberra FC Cookbundoon
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Canberra City Nijong Oval
5:00PM Canberra Olympic v Woden Valley Hawker Football Centre

Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 10

Round 10

Sunday 13 Jun 10

2:00PM Woden Valley v Weston Creek Woden Park Enclosed 
2:00PM Brindabella Blues v Belwest Foxes Calwell 2.3 
2:00PM Canberra FC v Belconnen Utd Deakin Stadium
2:00PM Tuggeranong Utd WFC v ANU WFC Kambah 2-1

Womens Premier League Results - Round 9

Round 9

Belconnen United 3 (Sabrina Spinapolice (3)) Tuggeranong United 1 (Julie Ibarra)
Belwest Foxes 4 (Hope Wilkins (2), Elizabeth Pearson, Cian Maciejewski) Canberra FC 2 (Aurelia Bullot, Nicole Somi)
ANU WFC 0 v Weston Creek 3 (Aleisha Tupper 23', Rachel Crittenden 26' (pen), 62')
Woden Valley 11 (Ashleigh Palombi (8), Jaline Hoek, Isabella Boag-Taylor, Emma Thornton) v Brindabella Blues 0

Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 8

Round 8

Canberra FC 4 (Alex Castro 34’, 43’, 50’, John Glass 58’) Belconnen United 1 (Danny Macor 52’, Tai Smith 64’)
Woden Valley 0 v Cooma Tigers 5 (Daniel Gecic 17’, 62’, Marcial Munoz 43’, Scott Barsley 59’, Goran Josifovski 75’)
Monaro Panthers 3 (James Barac 11’, Goran Veljanovski 77’, 89’) Canberra Olympic 1 (Yianni Karabalis 2’)
ANU FC 3 (Tim Womack 18’, 50’, Izach Clements 37’) Goulburn Strikers 2 (Josh Phelps 52’, Brody Willis 55’)
Canberra City 5 (Misko Naumoski 6’, 59’. 84’, Obi Shadmann 21’, Tim Mathas 56’) Tuggeranong United 0

Players FC Do Football For the Kids In After School Care - Its a Smash Hit!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm, 98.3mhz on Tuesday at 7:00PM. through the Australian Community Radion Network

In this program we speak to Anthony Hatton, of the club called Players FC. We’ve spoken to Anthony last year about his Club and football philosophy. Anthony Hatton is, to coin a phrase – “An Ideas Man”! He does a lot for Junior Football development, runs a football club that focuses on junior players, is the coach of the Girls Grammar U18 Div 1 team and is pioneering terrific junior football initiative – Players FC are delivering Football development and lots of fun to after school care in the ACT Primary Schools. Told you he was an ideas man – he is also an action man. Want it done, give a smart busy man the job – that’s Anthing Hatton and Players FC. Your primary school should pick up on this program – the kids love it.


An extra-ordinary thing happened in the Womens Pl match between Woden Valley and Brindabella Blues. A young player from Woden scored 8 goals – yes 8. And her younger sister scored 7 in the PL18s game. We’ll speak to Woden Valley Women’s PL coach , Ed Hollis – he must still be in state of amazement. Can you recall when something like this last happened in the PL?

Download the Podcast here:


Hope your weekend of football went well. Mine was a mixed bag! Good coaches winning, good coaches doing it tough, a poor junior coach, winning teams and teams doing it tough. Whinging players, players enjoying football, parents happy their children are playing and unhappy parents. Makes me dizzy! Please read on!!

My Saturday started with an Under 13 Open game between Majura and Woden Valley. The game was played on a lousy surface but in good style and to a good technical standard. Both coaches played 1-4-3-3 and did it pretty well. It was pleasure to watch. Parents were supportive and both coaches spoke to their teams in terms of encouragement and with patience, the team after game talks were all good news. I quickly forgot who won and thought on aspects of each teams’ game that had impressed. It was a good place to be.


I then went on to watch a PL 16 game and saw an archetypal junior coach from football’s garden of misery, running a team that was being well beaten. His conduct was an embarrassment, his style more akin to bullying, harassment and verbal abuse of his players. When the other team scored it triggered unpleasantness. Had he looked closely I fancy he might have noticed that some of the players seem to have paid him the sternest rebuke – they were ignoring everything he said – though it must have hurt. He abused the ref and directed some unpleasantness at the opposing teams coach (who wisely withdrew). The parents were mute during his outbursts, and from the strained looks I concluded they had been there before and knew what was coming. A parent of a boy in the team told me they had struggled to get enough players each week. I can understand why. The same parent told me that this coach was a teacher at the school the team had come from – now that did surprise me, but it explained why the parents were so quiet.

A colleague in football remarked as we walked to our cars, saddened by what we had witnessed “Surely he can see this is no good?”. I though of my fathers favourite repost in such circumstances “There’s no known cure for stupidity”.

Helen's memories about meeting and falling in love

In the chapter on "Love and Marriage" in The Story of a Lifetime: The Personal Memoirs of Helen Sullivan McIntyre, Helen shares some interesting tidbits!

How did you meet your future spouse?

I remembered him from Grammar school.  Then when he was about 14 he sold papers at Laramie and Madison.  I would walk by on my way to the Jewel and he would always say "Hello."  After I started high school, he disappeared for a while. When I was about 17 he appeared again.  That was when we started to go to parties.  From then on it was always Larry.

Describe what your future spouse was like and tell something about his or her background.

Typically Irish, nice looking, full of fun, great personality but actually too short for me but I didn't care after a while.  His Mother was Ellen McIntyre, a nice little gray haired friendly lady.  His Father was Thomas McIntyre, on the quiet side.  Both had thick Irish brogues.  He had 3 sisters Mary, Blanche and Pat.  A brother Tom who eventually became a Dominican (sic) priest.  They lived at 4737 W. Gladys ave in Chicago.

What was your engagement proposal like?

One night I was over at Larry's house at 4737 W. Gladys ave.  I guess his Mother had invited me over for dinner.  It was a warm evening so we sat out on the small porch outside the living room.  It was on the second floor.  He kissed me a few times, then he said he wanted to marry me only he wasn't making enough money at the moment but he would work hard and get ahead and the we'd be married.

Give the date of your wedding and tell about the ceremony, the place, attire, decorations, etc. How old were you and your spouse?

November 26, 1937.  I was 23 and Larry was 24.  We were married at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. It was a quiet wedding.   My Mother didn't care for Larry because he drank too much and she didn't want me to go out with him, so we got married without telling everyone.  Mary Alice Hopkins and Jim Cullen stood up for us as best man and bridesmaid.  After the ceremony we all went up to Larry's sister's Mary Kenney's house on Menard and had a little party.  I remember I wore a blue wool dress, small black velvet hat with a veil and back suede pumps.

Do you have a favorite story about being newlyweds?

No, except that we didn't tell anyone at first about us being married.  Then like a dope I sent a Christmas card to Larry at his house; it said "To My Darling Husband".  Mrs. McIntyre found it and that was the end of our secret marriage!

Recalibrate Your Junior Football Compass - Value What You Have Now!

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

This item from Steve Watson of footyforkids puts things in perspective. makes the rattle and whinging around an Under 13 Boys school team (see earlier post) in the ACT look as silly as it is. We are lucky. Value what you have. Not perfect, can be made better, but so much more than many on this planet!

I didn't know how lucky I was. Until I took a trip that put soccer into perspective
Steve Watson

I recently visited Kenya for a short holiday with my family. We did the usual tourist things - went on safari, sunbathed on the beach and went snorkeling. But I also took along a dozen balls and a number of coaching handbooks to give to a school for orphaned children on Kenya's south coast.

Getting to know the orphan boys in Kenya by talking about soccer.

A warm welcome

I was greeted by the whole school - about 200 boys and girls aged from four to fourteen. They sang some songs and read poetry to me before the head teacher took me on a tour of the facilities.

Facilities is, perhaps, the wrong word. The classrooms were open huts with earth floors, upon which were a few scruffy desks. The small room that the younger children retired to for one hour every day was unbelievably hot and stuffy. The toilets were open holes in the ground.

The children slept in mud huts and none of the beds had mosquito nets. I was told the children rarely caught malaria, which was fortunate as treatment costs the equivalent of $150 - a vast sum in a country where unskilled laborers earn just $10 a month. It's not hard to imagine what happens to most of the orphans who are unlucky to catch this killer disease.

But despite this apparent hardship, the children appeared happy and were very keen to show off their soccer skills.

The pitch was like a bomb site

So the head teacher picked two teams (boys only - girls were not allowed to play) and we went to the pitch. It was a small patch of bumpy, hard-baked earth studded with big rocks. The goalposts were made from tree branches.

As soon as the whistle blew, the children were soon showing me some quite amazing ball skills. They were controlling the ball with one touch, passing across the pitch, dribbling around the opposition players (and the rocks) and shooting with great power. This was made even more impressive when considering none of them wore boots or trainers.

I shuddered as they slide tackled each other on the concrete-hard ground and cringed when they kicked a rock instead of the ball.

Many players played with bare feet on a pitch covered in small rocks and stones.

The children played non-stop for 40 minutes or so before the teacher called a halt. I didn't see one foul or hear one player complaining "no-one will pass to me" or "the teams aren't fair". They played very competitively, but never stopped smiling.

I asked the teacher if the children were taught how to play soccer. He told me they had a 'coach' and even a team that played other schools within walking distance. The coach, he said, would be very grateful to receive the coaching books I had brought with me.

I gained the impression that soccer was more than a game for these children. It was a way of expressing themselves - the only way they could enjoy success and escape the harsh realities of everyday life.

Providing these children with a simple thing like a ball was a humbling experience.

Humbling

My visit to this Kenyan school was humbling and I hope to return there with some more balls, some kit (the children are big fans of English Premiership teams) and portable goals. Maybe even some trainers.

Count your blessings. Be grateful for green grass, cones and kids who have eaten properly. Not everyone is so fortunate.

Junior Football Parents And Coaching - A Very Local Experience In Junior Community Football _ Part 1

The Gathering Storm

Over the last two weeks, I had the misfortune to witness an Under 13 Boys school team implode! And we are only at round 5!

This disaster has its origin in junior football problems that are well know to many, and seem to evidence themselves in some form or combination every season at  Clubs or Schools.

But they are two different Football beasts - Clubs and Schools. They can produce remarkably different solutions to the same problems.

Football Clubs exist for only one purpose - Football. The Junior Clubs get the details right because they want the Club to prosper and the players to excel and enjoy the game. They are the heart and soul of community Football.

Schools that behave as Clubs in Football and enter teams in the Capital Football competitions have a great deal to offer the students. The opportunity to play with your mates at school, develop and enrich relationships that last a lifetime are powerful reasons to play for the school. In the case of the school team commented upon in this item, Football is a formal part of an excellent / diverse co-curricular program. The aims and objectives of the co-curricular program are good and central to the liberal and balanced education offerred by the school.

Community Clubs and Schools offerring football both have praisewrothy aims and objectives.

However, schools are always at risk of falling short if they do not think as a Club would think when offerring Football. Some schools  understand this requirement, including two schools who have for several years provided teams at the Under 16 and Under 18 years level to the Capital Football Premier League. They are well organised, engage with the parents, devolve authority and responsibilty (as does a community club), but maintain control over the critical pastoral care responsibilities. The school that fields the Under 13 team which is the subject of this article hasn't got here yet. That leaves the door open for the sort of problems that have emerged.

Clubs have passionate people for Football and plenty of parents volunteering to Coach / volunteer for varous management / support roles in season, because these Clubs only exist on the goodwill of the community. Parents recognise that if they don't put in, their children don't play. Even then its a year to year struggle. More power to them!

Schools that act as Clubs and enter teams in Capital Football competitions need passionate people in Football and they need  staff members who are strong advocates for Football within the school. If not, the Football co-ordinator in the school is simply a staff member who has no particular interest in football, but is dragooned into the job as part of their job. They do their best, but its not the same and not enough. Parents in schools need to be actively engaged to perform the functions that are undertaken on an ordinary basis in community Clubs. This can be a serious challenge for a school that is used to controlling everything and feels it may do it better than any other institution - they are not used to anyone outside staff. They prefer the parents "on theother side of the wire"! Alas, they can't have it both ways. Important information about running junior football goes unnoticed and unattended. Too often the parents know a little or a lot more about what is required at an orgainsational level than the school - particulary if their child (or a sibling) has played at a community Club in previous seasons.

These issues form part of the background context for this Local Football drama. As one famous international coach remaked to a reporter when asked what he thought mattered in his teams preparation for the World Cup - his response: "everything matters". Good teachers know that as do good community Club adminstrators and coaches.

This Under 13 boys team had lost every game this season, some had been big losses on the scoreboard, the players were finding it difficult, their had been next to no pre-season preparation time allocated by the school for the boys and Coach to prepare, the Coach was appointed by the school and qualified for the assignment, the selection process was organised by the school and conducted by an independent and well respected and qualified third party, recommendation was given to the school with regard to the most appropriate level of competition but not accepted, the the parents wanted a Div 1 team and got it, the parents became quickly disenchanted and vocal over the continuing losses and the likelihood of more to come (some parents far more so than others or is helpful), and not surprisingly, the language on the sideline from a few of the parents was not as you would wish for in the context of Coaching at any level of junior/youth football.

Its not an uncommon scenario in junior football. All too frequently, it is badly handled and at heavy cost to the game - the young players and coaches.

Reason, common sense and good judgement are abandoned in a flash by some parents who in other circumstances would in all likelihood be unsupportive of the behavior they exhibit in junior football. Some would say that a few of them are mugs in any circumstances. Maybe so. But the important issue flashes brightly - playing, having fun and the simple enjoyment of watching your son or daughter play is forgotten in the angst that is created because the team lost a game(s) of football.

What is it about junior football that brings the worst out in more parents than is healthy for the game?

I had to fill in for the coach of this team for a couple of sessions, while the Coach was away on a planned absence. While carrying the training gear back to my car, I looked back and there were the parents in a huddle, speaking among themselves and to the school representative. Some parents wanted out, others wanted to drop down a division, while some clear thinkers were focussed on what could be done to help the players, coach and keep it fun to play. The question of the moment for me was which way forward would they pursue and did they have the collective goodwill and common sense to do it? I had no idea.

Hard experience coaching at this school has left me wary of these situations. Common sense is not so common! But there they were, in a huddle, the Coach not invited to attend, the childern hanging around the sides, waiting to go home, having trained well and with good spirit once they got into it. Nothing wrong with the kids. The parents and school had got themsleves into a first rate mess.

Who would be the bloody Coach of this group of parents I mutterred to myself - because that's what you would be doing - always looking over your shoulder, rather than concentrating on the boys - maybe this Coach needs a medal. Do these parents, the ones that are making the noise, really think that any coach will trust them again? Perhaps that's too harsh I thought, I know some of these parents and they are good people, I know a few can be card carrying selfish and self interested pests, but they all agree on one thing - they all cherish their children and want the best for them. Strangely, that's where it all goes wrong. It had in this case, that's for sure. They hadn't improved anything for their chidlren in football, well not at this point anyway.

The school is no innocent bystander in this matter. They have a long track record of sub optimal performance when it comes to the delivery of a quality Football co-curricular program. Parents over the years have tried to fix the problem, failed to carry the day because there was simply not  enough of them to create an impact the school could not afford to ignore and to be frank, had been opposed or undermined by some staff. Parents of rugby playing boys were delighted and made it known where it counts at the school. Squeaky gates get oiled first in this school and that might be the lesson some parents in football have picked up on. But they seldom speak for football, just their boy(s). The Football Association lies like a dried out carcass in a drought. But that's another story.

One thing is certain, the school is not responsible for the behaviour of parents in this team - the parents can do a lot to help the boys and the Coach - they can do a hell of lot if they get organised and direct some of their frustration toward the school, in order to have the school recalibrate it's Football program compass. Its for the parents to demonstrate principled leadership. Alas, in large majority they are bystanders to the real problems, preferring to mutter dark thoughts on the sidelines, finger point at the Coach and perhaps harbour the secret fear that if they do speak it will adversely affect their children at the school.

How did everyone get so far apart? And why Football? It doesn't seem to happen in Rugby at the school and good luck to them I say.

I intend to write a little more about this saga - its instructive. Can the school and the parents dig themselves out of the junior football dung heap they have navigated their chidlren into, or will some just dig a little deeper? What will happen to the boys? How will the coach move forward? How will the school respond?

Resetting the Football Compass - Start With The Parents!
First thing - its never too late to try to get it right. You can't give up on the young players.
The following is sourced from www.kidsfirstsoccer.com/

Several Studies Have Identified the Following "Truths" About Children and Sports:
Reproduced from: Ewing, M. E. & Seefeldt, V. (1990)

• FUN IS PIVOTAL; IF IT ISN'T "FUN," YOUNG PEOPLE WON'T PLAY A SPORT.
• SKILL DEVELOPMENT IS A CRUCIAL ASPECT OF FUN; IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WINNING EVEN AMONG THE BEST ATHLETES.
• THE MOST REWARDING CHALLENGES OF SPORTS ARE THOSE THAT LEAD TO SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
• INTRINSIC REWARDS (SELF-KNOWLEDGE THAT GROWS OUT OF SELF-COMPETITION) ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN CREATING LIFETIME ATHLETES THAN ARE EXTRINSIC REWARDS (VICTORY OR ATTENTION FROM OTHERS). 

Suggestions for Parents 

• REMEMBER THE "BIG TRUTHS" AND BEAR THEM IN MIND WHEN YOU TALK TO YOUR CHILDREN (AFTER A GAME, ASK ABOUT "FUN," "SKILL IMPROVEMENT," "LEARNING EXPERIENCES").
• LOOK AT YOURSELF AS PART OF THE TEAM AND BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE COACH; AVOID SETTING UP A CONFLICT IN YOUR CHILD'S MIND BETWEEN HER OR HIS PARENTS AND COACHES. IF YOU WANT TO AFFECT THE COACHING, VOLUNTEER TO HELP.
• DEVELOP PERSPECTIVE: REMEMBER WHAT YOU COULD DO AT YOUR CHILDREN'S AGES; DON'T JUDGE THEM BY WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW.
• TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOUR CHILD WANTS FROM SPORTS - NOT ALL CHILDREN LOOK FOR THE SAME THINGS. DETERMINE IF HE OR SHE WANTS TO BE INVOLVED AT ALL.

What Can the Parent and Coach Do?

•  SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE IDENTIFIED THE FOLLOWING "TRUTHS" ABOUT YOUTH AND COMPETITIVE SPORTS:
• FUN IS PIVOTAL; IF IT ISN'T "FUN," YOUNG PLAYERS WON'T ENDURE THE HARDSHIPS AND SACRIFICES THAT ARE NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL AND SUCCESS IN THE HIGHLY COMPETITIVE WORLD OF Youth Sports.
• SKILL DEVELOPMENT IS A CRUCIAL ASPECT OF FUN; IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WINNING EVEN AMONG THE MOST COMPETITIVE AND MOST SUCCESSFUL ATHLETES.
• THE MOST REWARDING CHALLENGES OF SPORTS ARE THOSE THAT LEAD TO SELF-DISCOVERY AND SELF-KNOWLEDGE.
• INTRINSIC REWARDS (SELF-KNOWLEDGE THAT GROWS OUT OF SELF-COMPETITION) ARE MORE IMPORTANT IN CREATING LIFETIME ATHLETES THAN ARE EXTRINSIC REWARDS (VICTORY OR ATTENTION FROM OTHERS).