I've been reading in the field of canonical criticism lately. When one begins to research in this area, Brevard Childs and James Sanders are at the top of the reading list. There are a number of other fine scholars who have done work in this field, however. One fine book that I recommend is by Robert Wall and Eugene Lemcio. It is called "The New Testament as Canon: A Reader in Canonical Criticism." Wall and Lemcio are both New Testament professors at Seattle Pacific University, a school affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. Their work in canonical criticism takes the Bible as the book of living, breathing communities, communities that are trying to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Biblical interpretation has often been separated from the life of faith, but the approach in this book sees in the Bible myriad voices that often stand in tension with one another, informing communities of faith in a variety of ways. The tensions between these voices are resolved, they hold, not by creating a "canon within the canon" or simply rejecting one voice in favor of another, but by working through the implications of each within the life of a faithful community. For pastors who have academic interests, this would be a very useful book.
I think that canonical criticism could be a very fine method for working through issues related to the Bible and disability. We have in the Bible texts that one would not think of as helpful for people with disabilities. Likewise, there are texts that people of faith who have disabilities may find hopeful, liberating, and saving. There are tensions in the Bible around these topics, tensions that we need to work through not simply abstractly as scholars, but also as communities of faith who come to know God through scripture.
Listen now! Free mobile streaming music through library databases
Smart phone users, rejoice! Alexander Street Press, publisher of our streaming music databases Classical Music Library, Jazz Music Library, and Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries, has made their spectacular collections of high-quality streaming music available to the mobile user. By scanning QR codes, such as those in this blog post, you can launch right into specially selected playlists (for instance, the QR code at left links to a playlist for French Bastille Day; QR code below right links to an e-album of music from the movie Pride & Prejudice).As you browse the database
, look for the cell phone icon: 
. Clicking that icon from your smart phone will bring up the mobile player, while clicking from a computer will automatically generate a textable shortlink and scannable QR code for the album or playlist. Don't forget that these great databases allow you to create your own playlists, too! The only apparent drawback is that (unlike listening on your computer) mobile access only allows you to play one track at a time and can't run a group of songs in continuous playback -- but if you figure out how to do that, please let us know!The service is currently available from the three above databases for all Android and iPhone devices, including the iPod Touch and iPad. Later in 2010, you can expect more streaming access! The publisher is planning to add its nine video collections, including American History in Video, Dance in Video, and Ethnographic Video Online.
If you want to learn more about QR codes, try watching this short, helpful video from CNet.
The Futsal Premier League 2010
The Capital Football "JOMA FUTSAL PREMIER LEAGUE 2010" competition is not far away and Capital Football are calling for Clubs to register teams and players for the forthcoming season. Registration open on 1August and close on 31 August 2010. Get moving!
You can get all the information you need on the Capital Football website at:
http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/userfiles/file/Futsal/Senior%20Premier%20League%20Registration%20Pack%20-%202010(1).pdf
The following extracts from the Capital Football documentation are a useful start point. The scope of the competition is expanding to Mens and Womens Youth teams. Just fantastic!
"Introduction
Capital Football extends an invitation to new and continuing Futsal Premier League (FPL) club teams to apply for the upcoming 2010 FPL.
Capital Football is again releasing the Information and Registration pack early to ensure teams are given every possibility to meet each of the criteria set in the application process.
Following a similar format to 2009, Capital Football’s FPL will be staged at Australia’s Premier Sporting Facility, the AIS, with Mens games being held on Thursday evenings, while the Womens league will continue on Friday evenings. An international sized court for all games will reflect FFA National Championship standards, while the leagues again will be used by selectors as the principal means to identify potential players for mens and womens ACT squads to compete at the National Futsal Championships. Note that due to the unavailability of the AIS on some dates, some rounds for both mens and womens competitions will be scheduled on Wednesday evenings.
In 2010 Capital Football will also offer an underpinning youth category (u’19) for mens and womens divisions, with the aim to create an improved pathway between high level junior and senior competitions. Youth leagues are scheduled for Sunday afternoons but are subject to change pending nomination numbers across all divisions.
The 2010 Futsal Premier League will again emphasise the requirement for entities to apply within the framework of Capital Football Member Clubs, but in addition, support will be provided to parties interested in formalising an affiliate Capital Football member Futsal Club.
Capital Football also takes this opportunity to welcome back Joma as an official FPL partner for 2010."
Competition Overview
FPL Women - 24 September – 17 December - 6:00pm – 10:00pm Fridays - AIS, Bruce.
FPL Men - 23 September – 16 December - 6:00pm – 10:00pm Thursdays - AIS, Bruce.
FPL Youth Women (Years 1991 and younger) - 10 October – 27 February - 6:00pm – 08:00pm Sundays - Gold Creek High School.
FPL Youth Men (Years 1991 and younger) - 10 October – 27 February - 6:00pm – 08:00pm Sundays - Gold Creek High School.
You can get all the information you need on the Capital Football website at:
http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/userfiles/file/Futsal/Senior%20Premier%20League%20Registration%20Pack%20-%202010(1).pdf
The following extracts from the Capital Football documentation are a useful start point. The scope of the competition is expanding to Mens and Womens Youth teams. Just fantastic!
"Introduction
Capital Football extends an invitation to new and continuing Futsal Premier League (FPL) club teams to apply for the upcoming 2010 FPL.
Capital Football is again releasing the Information and Registration pack early to ensure teams are given every possibility to meet each of the criteria set in the application process.
Following a similar format to 2009, Capital Football’s FPL will be staged at Australia’s Premier Sporting Facility, the AIS, with Mens games being held on Thursday evenings, while the Womens league will continue on Friday evenings. An international sized court for all games will reflect FFA National Championship standards, while the leagues again will be used by selectors as the principal means to identify potential players for mens and womens ACT squads to compete at the National Futsal Championships. Note that due to the unavailability of the AIS on some dates, some rounds for both mens and womens competitions will be scheduled on Wednesday evenings.
In 2010 Capital Football will also offer an underpinning youth category (u’19) for mens and womens divisions, with the aim to create an improved pathway between high level junior and senior competitions. Youth leagues are scheduled for Sunday afternoons but are subject to change pending nomination numbers across all divisions.
The 2010 Futsal Premier League will again emphasise the requirement for entities to apply within the framework of Capital Football Member Clubs, but in addition, support will be provided to parties interested in formalising an affiliate Capital Football member Futsal Club.
Capital Football also takes this opportunity to welcome back Joma as an official FPL partner for 2010."
Competition Overview
FPL Women - 24 September – 17 December - 6:00pm – 10:00pm Fridays - AIS, Bruce.
FPL Men - 23 September – 16 December - 6:00pm – 10:00pm Thursdays - AIS, Bruce.
FPL Youth Women (Years 1991 and younger) - 10 October – 27 February - 6:00pm – 08:00pm Sundays - Gold Creek High School.
FPL Youth Men (Years 1991 and younger) - 10 October – 27 February - 6:00pm – 08:00pm Sundays - Gold Creek High School.
Side stitches - what causes side stitches - how to fix it?
Sourced from http://www.sportsinjurybulletin.com
I'll bet you never knew there was so much too it - and that it can be avioded. Interesting article.
Side stitches - what causes side stitches or exercise related transient abdominal pains (ETAP) and how to avoid and get rid of them
All of you are likely to suffer from 'exercise-related transient abdominal pains' (ETAP), which are more popularly known as a 'side stitches'. Nor do you have exclusive rights to this unpleasant affliction: soccer, and rugby players, swimmers, horse riders, runners, aerobics participants, and even motorcyclists are at high risk of developing stitches.
Stitches can force even the toughest athlete to stop a workout or drop out of a competition, but exercise scientists have been at a bit of a loss to understand what causes stitches to occur - and how to prevent them. One popular view is that stitches occur when unwise athletes try to exercise strenuously too soon after gulping down food or fluid.
Although this theory makes a certain amount of sense and corresponds with many athletes' real-life experiences with stitches, the reasoning falls apart on close inspection. After all, competitive cyclists have a low frequency of stitch problems, even though they often exercise very intensely while wolfing down large quantities of food and liquid. Likewise, cross-country skiers are relatively immune to stitching, despite the fact that they swallow large quantities of food and drink prior to long-distance treks.
Pain in the shoulder blade
To get a better purchase on how and why stitches occur, scientists recently studied 965 athletes is six different sports (running, swimming, cycling, aerobics, basketball, and horse riding). Over the course of a year of training and competition, 75% of swimmers had trouble with stitches, 69% of runners were afflicted, 62% of horse riders had ETAP, 52% of aerobics participants suffered, 47% of basketball players did so, and 32% of cyclists were affected ('Characteristics and Etiology of Exercise-Related Transient Abdominal Pain,' Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Volume 32 (2), pp. 432-438, 2000).
A very interesting aspect of this research was that 14% of the athletes indicated that they experienced shoulder- tip pain (i. e., discomfort at the bottom tip of one of the shoulder blades). This is an important clue for understanding the origin of stitches, because the tip of the shoulder blade is a 'referred site' of pain for the diaphragm - the key muscle of breathing. In other words, pain which seems to emanate from the tip of the shoulder blade may actually have its source in the dome of muscle which separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities - the diaphragm. Similarly, much of the abdominally experienced pain which we call a stitch may originate in the diaphragm as well.
Why would the diaphragm call out in anguish (i. e., create a stitch) as we carry out our favourite sporting activities? When we ride a camel across the desert (or run across the soccer pitch, carry out an aerobics workout, shoot baskets, or pursue a cricket ball), the internal organs in our abdominal cavities bounce up and down. Those internal organs - like the liver, stomach, and spleen - aren't exactly riveted in place. Instead, they're supported by flimsy ligaments hanging down from the diaphragm, and with each bounce, the organs pull downward on the diaphragm.
That's no problem if the diaphragm is moving downward, too (as when an athlete is breathing in air). When the bouncing occurs as the diaphragm is moving up (when an athlete is breathing out), on the other hand, it creates a lot of strain on that ample muscle. As Swedish exercise physiologist Finn Rost has pointed out, the tension created can probably force the diaphragm into a spasm, creating all kinds of pain and discomfort ('Stitch', New Zealand Medical Journal, vol. 99, p. 469, 1986). Frequently, the pain is intense enough to force an athlete to stop exercising; unfortunately - as mentioned above - stitches are not rare occurrences.
Is it a stitch... or a heart attack?
How can you keep stitches from striking? Well, bear in mind that stitches appear on the right side of the abdomen about 65 to 70% of the time. This shouldn't be too surprising; as you know, your liver is located on the right side of your body and is by far the heaviest organ in your abdominal cavity. It therefore creates the greatest downward force on your diaphragm, far greater than the relatively weak forces produced by the stomach and spleen, for example, both of which are located on your left side. There is also ample opportunity for friction to occur between the diaphragm and liver, since the liver tends to 'mound up' on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity.
While the pain of a stitch is usually felt just below the ribs, some athletes report a stabbing sensation at the tip of the shoulder blade (as mentioned) or even as high as the shoulder. This latter type of pain can convince some athletes that they are having heart attacks, but a quick way to tell the difference between a stitch and an infarction is to lie down on your back with your hips and legs elevated (a move which takes pressure off the diaphragm). If you have a stitch, the pain should be relieved almost immediately; if you are having a heart attack, the pain will stay.
What to do about it
Fortunately, there are sensible steps to take both to prevent stitches from happening and to get rid of them once they occur. If a stitch grips you during activity, one quick remedy is simply to change your breathing pattern. In athletes whose sports involve running, breathing and stitches are linked together because breathing and stepping patterns are coordinated. Specifically, most athletes breathe out - over and over again - on the same leg. An individual athlete might always exhale only when his/her right foot is on the ground, for example ('Running and Breathing in Mammals', Science, vol. 219, pp. 251-256, 1983).
Let's look at a specific example of this. In endurance runners, one of the most popular striding-breathing linkages is 2:1. That simply means that two complete strides are taken for each breathing cycle (a breathing cycle consists of an inhalation and an exhalation). To calculate strides, you count only when the left or right foot hits the ground, not both. So, a 2:1 striding-breathing linkage would mean that a runner might exhale when his right foot hits the ground and inhale the next time the right foot strikes terra firma (that's two strides and one breathing cycle). This pattern will be repeated over and over again, so the runner will exhale only when the right foot strikes the ground.
That can lead to problems, because the diaphragm springs upward when we breathe out, increasing the tension on those flimsy ligaments we mentioned earlier, the ones holding the liver, stomach, and spleen like fishes on lines. If we always breathe out when our right foot hits the ground, that means the jolting action of the foot will quickly lift the liver upward, but the massive organ will then fall back suddenly while the diaphragm is in its up position. That creates an immense pressure on the diaphragm, which can then go into the kind of painful spasm which makes you wonder why the athlete next to you has slipped a carving knife into your side.
The dictate to follow
Fortunately, this breathing-striding-stitching linkage permits the formulation of a solid rule of exercise, a dictate which can rescue a race or workout from imminent disaster.
Here's the rule:
When a stitch strikes, change your breathing pattern so that the leg on the opposite side of the body from the stitch is the one that hits the ground whenever you breathe out.
Implementation of this simple rule can frequently relieve the intense pain of stitching almost immediately. Strangely enough, loud grunting as you breathe out can also be helpful, possibly because the strenuous protestations force the diaphragm to move out of its hyper-tight position (both the rule and the enjoiner to grunt are suggested by Tim Noakes in his fine book, The Lore of Running, Leisure Press, p. 391, Champaign, Illinois, 1991).
Four ways to prevent stitching
To keep stitches from striking in the first place, use the following four techniques:
(1) Unkink and strengthen your diaphragm. As you make your diaphragm stronger and more flexible, you'll reduce your risk of stitching, since the diaphragm will be better able to both support and move with the liver's violent tuggings. To fortify your diaphragm, Noakes recommends 'bell breathing', in which the abdominal area moves out dramatically with each inspiration and plunges in on every expiration, while the chest moves relatively little. To learn how to belly breathe, lie on your back on the floor and place a set of heavy books on your stomach. Breathe so that the books rise significantly as you breathe in and move downward as you breathe out. Repeat this belly-out, belly-in action when you are standing (without the heavy books, of course). Concentrate on repeating a similar abdominal action whenever you run during your sporting activity. As Noakes points out, this is not necessarily easy to learn; it can require many months for some athletes to develop good belly breathing (op. cit, pp. 193-195).
2) Strengthen your abdominal muscles. It's not exactly clear why this helps, but athletes with strong abdominal muscles seem to have a much lower risk of stitching. Perhaps increased abdominal-muscle tone helps to support internal organs and keeps them from jostling up and down quite as much. To strengthen your stomach muscles, lie down on your back with your hips and knees flexed and the soles of your feet on the floor, and then simply raise your head and upper chest repeatedly by about 30 degrees or more. Don't just flop back down after each raise; lower yourself gradually so that you will get nice, controlled, eccentric contractions of your abdominal muscles.
(3) If you are stitch-prone, don't take in any food or water for a couple of hours before you exercise. Eating or drinking shortly before exercising does increase the chances of stitch, possibly because the increased weight of a full stomach creates a stronger downward tug on the diaphragm as the stomach is jolted with each footstrike (cyclists usually don't have to worry about this rule - unless they are riding on a bumpy road; uneven roads often give their internal organs enough jostling to increase the chances of stitching). Note, though, that if you are going to be exercising continuously for more than an hour, you will want to take in some sports drink 10 minutes before the beginning of your exertion (to begin moving carbohydrate toward your muscles). In this case, you'll have to rely on tips 1, 2, and 4 to keep you out of stitch trouble.
(4) Relax! Stitches occur much more frequently in tense athletes. Before a competition or strenuous workout, spend some time taking deep breaths, and make sure your stomach is moving out expansively as you breathe in. Continue to breathe deeply until your diaphragm feels loose and free. Visualise yourself exercising with non-tightened abdominal muscles and relaxed but forceful breathing. As your competition begins, monitor your abdominal area for tightness and concentrate on maintaining good belly breathing.
And another problem
The four steps outlined above should go a long way toward reducing your risk of stitches, but we should mention one other aspect of the stitch problem. In 1982, a British physician named A. M. W. Porter developed a severe case of diarrhoea as he ran his first marathon. This was hardly an earth-shaking event, but the bowel troubles did cause Porter to reevaluate what was happening to his internal organs during running. Porter eventually decided that his caecum, which is the first part of the large intestine, had been rubbing against the inside of his abdominal wall. This friction might have produced an inflammation of the caecum, precipitating the diarrhoea and causing stitch-like pain in the right side of the abdomen (where the caecum is located). Porter coined the term 'caecal slap' to describe the knocking of the caecum against the abdominal wall ('Marathon Running and the Caecal Slap Syndrome,' British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 16, p. 178, 1982).
Caecal slap may indeed be an additional source of stitches. Fortunately, the way to keep it from ruining your workout or competition is clear: breathe out when your left foot hits the ground, not during right footstrikes. If you breathe out when your right foot hits the ground, your abdominal wall will move inward at the same time that your caecum, which is also on the right side of the body, is jostled, maximising friction between the two body parts. In general, being a 'left-footed exhaler' is a good idea if you know that you are a right-sided stitcher. Left-footed exhalations should also help to minimise the tension between liver and diaphragm which we described earlier.
And yet another
To make things a little more complicated, Tim Noakes contends that any part of the upper colon can actually slap against the bottom of the diaphragm, potentially producing digestive upset and the pain of a stitch (Lore of Running, p. 391). Fortunately, if you just remember to shift your exhalations to a different foot, you can probably minimise problems with this slap-happy-colon type of stitch, too.
It's possible, too, that marathon-type endurance runners could reduce the risk of developing a colon-slapping stitch (and perhaps stitches of all kinds) by deliberately changing their breathing patterns every now and then. The idea would be to use left-footed exhaling most of the time but to shift over to right-footed exhalations for five- to 10-minute periods during races and long workouts. This should lead to more equal 'bruising rates' on each side of the colon and diaphragm and might help thwart stitches by reducing the possibility of a significant irritation on one side of the body.
Other things to consider
There are many other factors which increase the risk of stitching. Fast running is more likely to start a stitch than slow, because fast running features higher ground-reaction forces and more dramatic and quicker movements of the diaphragm. Running on rough, hard ground also raises the risk of stitch, compared with pacing along on even, softer surfaces.
Being out of condition can dramatically hike your risk of stitching, as can starting out too fast in a competition. For some reason, stitches occur more frequently on cool days than during warm weather. Stitches are also very likely to show up when you are running downhill; downhill running increases the jolting forces inside the abdominal cavity and also pushes your internal organs forward, forcing the caecum into contact with the abdominal wall. For these reasons, it's important to exhale only when your left foot hits the ground whenever you run downhill.
Stitches can be prevented by following the simple rules outlined above. If a stitch does happen to strike you suddenly, change your exhalation foot immediately. If this doesn't help, lie down on your back with your hips and legs elevated. Since stitches generally strike on the right side of the abdomen, learning to become a left-footed exhaler can go a long way toward eliminating the problem (if, however, you have a history of left-sided stitches, try to work on breathing out during right footstrikes). Avoidance of chest-only breathing and an overly tight diaphragm is also extremely important; your diaphragm should feel like a large flap of rubber, and your stomach should move outward like a balloon when you inhale. If you strengthen and relax your diaphragm, breathe properly, fortify your abdominal muscles, warm up thoroughly prior to workouts and competitions, and refrain from dining and drinking more than you can handle before you exercise, it's very unlikely that stitches will limit your training or performances.
I'll bet you never knew there was so much too it - and that it can be avioded. Interesting article.
Side stitches - what causes side stitches or exercise related transient abdominal pains (ETAP) and how to avoid and get rid of them
All of you are likely to suffer from 'exercise-related transient abdominal pains' (ETAP), which are more popularly known as a 'side stitches'. Nor do you have exclusive rights to this unpleasant affliction: soccer, and rugby players, swimmers, horse riders, runners, aerobics participants, and even motorcyclists are at high risk of developing stitches.
Stitches can force even the toughest athlete to stop a workout or drop out of a competition, but exercise scientists have been at a bit of a loss to understand what causes stitches to occur - and how to prevent them. One popular view is that stitches occur when unwise athletes try to exercise strenuously too soon after gulping down food or fluid.
Although this theory makes a certain amount of sense and corresponds with many athletes' real-life experiences with stitches, the reasoning falls apart on close inspection. After all, competitive cyclists have a low frequency of stitch problems, even though they often exercise very intensely while wolfing down large quantities of food and liquid. Likewise, cross-country skiers are relatively immune to stitching, despite the fact that they swallow large quantities of food and drink prior to long-distance treks.
Pain in the shoulder blade
To get a better purchase on how and why stitches occur, scientists recently studied 965 athletes is six different sports (running, swimming, cycling, aerobics, basketball, and horse riding). Over the course of a year of training and competition, 75% of swimmers had trouble with stitches, 69% of runners were afflicted, 62% of horse riders had ETAP, 52% of aerobics participants suffered, 47% of basketball players did so, and 32% of cyclists were affected ('Characteristics and Etiology of Exercise-Related Transient Abdominal Pain,' Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, Volume 32 (2), pp. 432-438, 2000).
A very interesting aspect of this research was that 14% of the athletes indicated that they experienced shoulder- tip pain (i. e., discomfort at the bottom tip of one of the shoulder blades). This is an important clue for understanding the origin of stitches, because the tip of the shoulder blade is a 'referred site' of pain for the diaphragm - the key muscle of breathing. In other words, pain which seems to emanate from the tip of the shoulder blade may actually have its source in the dome of muscle which separates the thoracic and abdominal cavities - the diaphragm. Similarly, much of the abdominally experienced pain which we call a stitch may originate in the diaphragm as well.
Why would the diaphragm call out in anguish (i. e., create a stitch) as we carry out our favourite sporting activities? When we ride a camel across the desert (or run across the soccer pitch, carry out an aerobics workout, shoot baskets, or pursue a cricket ball), the internal organs in our abdominal cavities bounce up and down. Those internal organs - like the liver, stomach, and spleen - aren't exactly riveted in place. Instead, they're supported by flimsy ligaments hanging down from the diaphragm, and with each bounce, the organs pull downward on the diaphragm.
That's no problem if the diaphragm is moving downward, too (as when an athlete is breathing in air). When the bouncing occurs as the diaphragm is moving up (when an athlete is breathing out), on the other hand, it creates a lot of strain on that ample muscle. As Swedish exercise physiologist Finn Rost has pointed out, the tension created can probably force the diaphragm into a spasm, creating all kinds of pain and discomfort ('Stitch', New Zealand Medical Journal, vol. 99, p. 469, 1986). Frequently, the pain is intense enough to force an athlete to stop exercising; unfortunately - as mentioned above - stitches are not rare occurrences.
Is it a stitch... or a heart attack?
How can you keep stitches from striking? Well, bear in mind that stitches appear on the right side of the abdomen about 65 to 70% of the time. This shouldn't be too surprising; as you know, your liver is located on the right side of your body and is by far the heaviest organ in your abdominal cavity. It therefore creates the greatest downward force on your diaphragm, far greater than the relatively weak forces produced by the stomach and spleen, for example, both of which are located on your left side. There is also ample opportunity for friction to occur between the diaphragm and liver, since the liver tends to 'mound up' on the upper right side of the abdominal cavity.
While the pain of a stitch is usually felt just below the ribs, some athletes report a stabbing sensation at the tip of the shoulder blade (as mentioned) or even as high as the shoulder. This latter type of pain can convince some athletes that they are having heart attacks, but a quick way to tell the difference between a stitch and an infarction is to lie down on your back with your hips and legs elevated (a move which takes pressure off the diaphragm). If you have a stitch, the pain should be relieved almost immediately; if you are having a heart attack, the pain will stay.
What to do about it
Fortunately, there are sensible steps to take both to prevent stitches from happening and to get rid of them once they occur. If a stitch grips you during activity, one quick remedy is simply to change your breathing pattern. In athletes whose sports involve running, breathing and stitches are linked together because breathing and stepping patterns are coordinated. Specifically, most athletes breathe out - over and over again - on the same leg. An individual athlete might always exhale only when his/her right foot is on the ground, for example ('Running and Breathing in Mammals', Science, vol. 219, pp. 251-256, 1983).
Let's look at a specific example of this. In endurance runners, one of the most popular striding-breathing linkages is 2:1. That simply means that two complete strides are taken for each breathing cycle (a breathing cycle consists of an inhalation and an exhalation). To calculate strides, you count only when the left or right foot hits the ground, not both. So, a 2:1 striding-breathing linkage would mean that a runner might exhale when his right foot hits the ground and inhale the next time the right foot strikes terra firma (that's two strides and one breathing cycle). This pattern will be repeated over and over again, so the runner will exhale only when the right foot strikes the ground.
That can lead to problems, because the diaphragm springs upward when we breathe out, increasing the tension on those flimsy ligaments we mentioned earlier, the ones holding the liver, stomach, and spleen like fishes on lines. If we always breathe out when our right foot hits the ground, that means the jolting action of the foot will quickly lift the liver upward, but the massive organ will then fall back suddenly while the diaphragm is in its up position. That creates an immense pressure on the diaphragm, which can then go into the kind of painful spasm which makes you wonder why the athlete next to you has slipped a carving knife into your side.
The dictate to follow
Fortunately, this breathing-striding-stitching linkage permits the formulation of a solid rule of exercise, a dictate which can rescue a race or workout from imminent disaster.
Here's the rule:
When a stitch strikes, change your breathing pattern so that the leg on the opposite side of the body from the stitch is the one that hits the ground whenever you breathe out.
Implementation of this simple rule can frequently relieve the intense pain of stitching almost immediately. Strangely enough, loud grunting as you breathe out can also be helpful, possibly because the strenuous protestations force the diaphragm to move out of its hyper-tight position (both the rule and the enjoiner to grunt are suggested by Tim Noakes in his fine book, The Lore of Running, Leisure Press, p. 391, Champaign, Illinois, 1991).
Four ways to prevent stitching
To keep stitches from striking in the first place, use the following four techniques:
(1) Unkink and strengthen your diaphragm. As you make your diaphragm stronger and more flexible, you'll reduce your risk of stitching, since the diaphragm will be better able to both support and move with the liver's violent tuggings. To fortify your diaphragm, Noakes recommends 'bell breathing', in which the abdominal area moves out dramatically with each inspiration and plunges in on every expiration, while the chest moves relatively little. To learn how to belly breathe, lie on your back on the floor and place a set of heavy books on your stomach. Breathe so that the books rise significantly as you breathe in and move downward as you breathe out. Repeat this belly-out, belly-in action when you are standing (without the heavy books, of course). Concentrate on repeating a similar abdominal action whenever you run during your sporting activity. As Noakes points out, this is not necessarily easy to learn; it can require many months for some athletes to develop good belly breathing (op. cit, pp. 193-195).
2) Strengthen your abdominal muscles. It's not exactly clear why this helps, but athletes with strong abdominal muscles seem to have a much lower risk of stitching. Perhaps increased abdominal-muscle tone helps to support internal organs and keeps them from jostling up and down quite as much. To strengthen your stomach muscles, lie down on your back with your hips and knees flexed and the soles of your feet on the floor, and then simply raise your head and upper chest repeatedly by about 30 degrees or more. Don't just flop back down after each raise; lower yourself gradually so that you will get nice, controlled, eccentric contractions of your abdominal muscles.
(3) If you are stitch-prone, don't take in any food or water for a couple of hours before you exercise. Eating or drinking shortly before exercising does increase the chances of stitch, possibly because the increased weight of a full stomach creates a stronger downward tug on the diaphragm as the stomach is jolted with each footstrike (cyclists usually don't have to worry about this rule - unless they are riding on a bumpy road; uneven roads often give their internal organs enough jostling to increase the chances of stitching). Note, though, that if you are going to be exercising continuously for more than an hour, you will want to take in some sports drink 10 minutes before the beginning of your exertion (to begin moving carbohydrate toward your muscles). In this case, you'll have to rely on tips 1, 2, and 4 to keep you out of stitch trouble.
(4) Relax! Stitches occur much more frequently in tense athletes. Before a competition or strenuous workout, spend some time taking deep breaths, and make sure your stomach is moving out expansively as you breathe in. Continue to breathe deeply until your diaphragm feels loose and free. Visualise yourself exercising with non-tightened abdominal muscles and relaxed but forceful breathing. As your competition begins, monitor your abdominal area for tightness and concentrate on maintaining good belly breathing.
And another problem
The four steps outlined above should go a long way toward reducing your risk of stitches, but we should mention one other aspect of the stitch problem. In 1982, a British physician named A. M. W. Porter developed a severe case of diarrhoea as he ran his first marathon. This was hardly an earth-shaking event, but the bowel troubles did cause Porter to reevaluate what was happening to his internal organs during running. Porter eventually decided that his caecum, which is the first part of the large intestine, had been rubbing against the inside of his abdominal wall. This friction might have produced an inflammation of the caecum, precipitating the diarrhoea and causing stitch-like pain in the right side of the abdomen (where the caecum is located). Porter coined the term 'caecal slap' to describe the knocking of the caecum against the abdominal wall ('Marathon Running and the Caecal Slap Syndrome,' British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 16, p. 178, 1982).
Caecal slap may indeed be an additional source of stitches. Fortunately, the way to keep it from ruining your workout or competition is clear: breathe out when your left foot hits the ground, not during right footstrikes. If you breathe out when your right foot hits the ground, your abdominal wall will move inward at the same time that your caecum, which is also on the right side of the body, is jostled, maximising friction between the two body parts. In general, being a 'left-footed exhaler' is a good idea if you know that you are a right-sided stitcher. Left-footed exhalations should also help to minimise the tension between liver and diaphragm which we described earlier.
And yet another
To make things a little more complicated, Tim Noakes contends that any part of the upper colon can actually slap against the bottom of the diaphragm, potentially producing digestive upset and the pain of a stitch (Lore of Running, p. 391). Fortunately, if you just remember to shift your exhalations to a different foot, you can probably minimise problems with this slap-happy-colon type of stitch, too.
It's possible, too, that marathon-type endurance runners could reduce the risk of developing a colon-slapping stitch (and perhaps stitches of all kinds) by deliberately changing their breathing patterns every now and then. The idea would be to use left-footed exhaling most of the time but to shift over to right-footed exhalations for five- to 10-minute periods during races and long workouts. This should lead to more equal 'bruising rates' on each side of the colon and diaphragm and might help thwart stitches by reducing the possibility of a significant irritation on one side of the body.
Other things to consider
There are many other factors which increase the risk of stitching. Fast running is more likely to start a stitch than slow, because fast running features higher ground-reaction forces and more dramatic and quicker movements of the diaphragm. Running on rough, hard ground also raises the risk of stitch, compared with pacing along on even, softer surfaces.
Being out of condition can dramatically hike your risk of stitching, as can starting out too fast in a competition. For some reason, stitches occur more frequently on cool days than during warm weather. Stitches are also very likely to show up when you are running downhill; downhill running increases the jolting forces inside the abdominal cavity and also pushes your internal organs forward, forcing the caecum into contact with the abdominal wall. For these reasons, it's important to exhale only when your left foot hits the ground whenever you run downhill.
Stitches can be prevented by following the simple rules outlined above. If a stitch does happen to strike you suddenly, change your exhalation foot immediately. If this doesn't help, lie down on your back with your hips and legs elevated. Since stitches generally strike on the right side of the abdomen, learning to become a left-footed exhaler can go a long way toward eliminating the problem (if, however, you have a history of left-sided stitches, try to work on breathing out during right footstrikes). Avoidance of chest-only breathing and an overly tight diaphragm is also extremely important; your diaphragm should feel like a large flap of rubber, and your stomach should move outward like a balloon when you inhale. If you strengthen and relax your diaphragm, breathe properly, fortify your abdominal muscles, warm up thoroughly prior to workouts and competitions, and refrain from dining and drinking more than you can handle before you exercise, it's very unlikely that stitches will limit your training or performances.
Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 13
Round 13
Tuggeranong United 1 (Mark Shields) Belconnen United 5 (Tai Smith (2), Danny Macor, Cameron Reinhart, David Kemp) v Canberra FC 1 (Matt Grbesa 90’) Monaro Panthers 1 (Goran Veljanovski 85’)
ANU FC 1 (Tom Rogic 67’) Woden Valley 5 (Lukas Cole 4’, Carlos Salazar 7’, 70’, Daryll Hall 69’, Bensah Afiabo 79’)
Cooma Tigers 5 (Marcial Munoz 6’, Serdan Bircan 31’, 71’, Adrian Labutte 36’, 65’) Goulburn Strikers 0
Canberra City 6 (Obi Shadmaan 19’, Misko Naumoski 21’, 68’, David Dexter 35’, Pat Ross-Magee 77’ 90+1’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Oliver Wiederkehr 6’, Domenic Giampaolo 13’)
Tuggeranong United 1 (Mark Shields) Belconnen United 5 (Tai Smith (2), Danny Macor, Cameron Reinhart, David Kemp) v Canberra FC 1 (Matt Grbesa 90’) Monaro Panthers 1 (Goran Veljanovski 85’)
ANU FC 1 (Tom Rogic 67’) Woden Valley 5 (Lukas Cole 4’, Carlos Salazar 7’, 70’, Daryll Hall 69’, Bensah Afiabo 79’)
Cooma Tigers 5 (Marcial Munoz 6’, Serdan Bircan 31’, 71’, Adrian Labutte 36’, 65’) Goulburn Strikers 0
Canberra City 6 (Obi Shadmaan 19’, Misko Naumoski 21’, 68’, David Dexter 35’, Pat Ross-Magee 77’ 90+1’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Oliver Wiederkehr 6’, Domenic Giampaolo 13’)
Womens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 15
Round 15
Belconnen United 2 (Maja Blasch 54’, Lauren Keir 81) Weston Creek 0
Woden Valley 4 (Ashleigh Palombi (2), Hayley Hinde, Erin Clout) ANU WFC 2 (Aniek Schepens (2))
Belwest Foxes 5 (Cian Maciejewski (3), Katrina Staniforth, Sam Price) Tuggeranong United 0
Canberra FC 1 (Ashlea Bryant) Brindabella Blues 0
Belconnen United 2 (Maja Blasch 54’, Lauren Keir 81) Weston Creek 0
Woden Valley 4 (Ashleigh Palombi (2), Hayley Hinde, Erin Clout) ANU WFC 2 (Aniek Schepens (2))
Belwest Foxes 5 (Cian Maciejewski (3), Katrina Staniforth, Sam Price) Tuggeranong United 0
Canberra FC 1 (Ashlea Bryant) Brindabella Blues 0
CEO Capital Football Provides An Important Update On the High Performance Program, Men's State League Review, Womens Football, the Summer 20s, Review of Discplinary and Disputes Regulations and more
The program next week is given to an extended "fireside chat" with Heather Reid, CEO Capital Football.
There are a lot of footballs in the air at Capital Football and probably not enough people to cover an enormous workload.
CEO Capital Football makes some very sound observations about the recent NYC for the U15 and U17 Girls championships. I ask myself: Why didn't the FFA include the "technical assessment component" in the Under 15 Girls and Under 17 Girls National Youth Championships held recently at Coffs Harbour? What feedback did teams, players and mportantly, Coaches get at the NYC? What are we really saying about Women's Football - is it second place to Mens Football? Looks like it to me. The comment was made to me by a football official that the techncial assessment group were at the World Cup. Well goodie for them. Is that all we have got? It was an expensive outing for parents of players, for significantly less games than were played in the U13 Girls and U13 Boys NJC earlier this year. Parents (and players) across several States are very unhappy and so they should be. This is one story that is not going away!
There is a lot to talk about and this is a very informative and candid interview. Not to be missed. Listen in at 7:00PM on Tuesday on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) or take the Podcast of this blogspot.
You will be pleased to know that those "damned vuvuzelas" will not be welcome at our Canberra United games in the upcoming W League. Outstanding.
There are a lot of footballs in the air at Capital Football and probably not enough people to cover an enormous workload.
CEO Capital Football makes some very sound observations about the recent NYC for the U15 and U17 Girls championships. I ask myself: Why didn't the FFA include the "technical assessment component" in the Under 15 Girls and Under 17 Girls National Youth Championships held recently at Coffs Harbour? What feedback did teams, players and mportantly, Coaches get at the NYC? What are we really saying about Women's Football - is it second place to Mens Football? Looks like it to me. The comment was made to me by a football official that the techncial assessment group were at the World Cup. Well goodie for them. Is that all we have got? It was an expensive outing for parents of players, for significantly less games than were played in the U13 Girls and U13 Boys NJC earlier this year. Parents (and players) across several States are very unhappy and so they should be. This is one story that is not going away!
There is a lot to talk about and this is a very informative and candid interview. Not to be missed. Listen in at 7:00PM on Tuesday on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) or take the Podcast of this blogspot.
You will be pleased to know that those "damned vuvuzelas" will not be welcome at our Canberra United games in the upcoming W League. Outstanding.
Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 143
Round 13
Saturday, 24 Jul 10
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Belconnen Utd Kambah 2-1
Sunday, 25 Jul 10
3:00PM ANU FC v Woden Valley ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Canberra FC v Monaro Panthers Deakin Stadium
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Goulburn Strikers Nijong Oval
4:00PM Canberra City v Canberra Olympic Hawker Football Centre
Saturday, 24 Jul 10
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Belconnen Utd Kambah 2-1
Sunday, 25 Jul 10
3:00PM ANU FC v Woden Valley ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Canberra FC v Monaro Panthers Deakin Stadium
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Goulburn Strikers Nijong Oval
4:00PM Canberra City v Canberra Olympic Hawker Football Centre
Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 15
Round 15
Sunday
2:00PM Belconnen Utd v Weston Creek McKellar Park
2:00PM Belwest Foxes v Tuggeranong Utd WFC Kaleen Enclosed 1
2:00PM Woden Valley v ANU WFC Woden Park Enclosed
2:00PM Brindabella Blues v Canberra FC Calwell 2.3 View
Sunday
2:00PM Belconnen Utd v Weston Creek McKellar Park
2:00PM Belwest Foxes v Tuggeranong Utd WFC Kaleen Enclosed 1
2:00PM Woden Valley v ANU WFC Woden Park Enclosed
2:00PM Brindabella Blues v Canberra FC Calwell 2.3 View
A Fascinating Piece of Research and Analysis on Futsal and Futsal Players At the Elite and Sub Elite Levels In Australia
Capital Football Futsal League Manager forwarded an excellent piece of research recently undertaken by Sera Dogramaci, who advises that:
"A few years ago I conducted a study on the match demands of futsal in Australia as part of my Honours year at University. This study has now been published as a journal article, which I have attached for you to use and distribute to futsal coaches/players across ACT. I also submitted my doctoral thesis this year which is currently being marked by my examiners. My PhD study included a comparison of the match demands of Brazilian, Spanish and Australian futsal players."
Outstanding work! Should be more of it! Makes you think! Very generous of the author to share her work with the football and futsal community. Should be more of that as well!
The following is the Abstract of the article referred to by Sera and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010 National Strength and Conditioning Association
TIME-MOTION ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL FUTSAL
SERA N. DOGRAMACI, MARK L. WATSFORD, AND ARON J. MURPHY
School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-Gai Campus, Lindfield, New South Wales,Australia
ABSTRACT
Dogramaci, SN, Watsford, ML, and Murphy, AJ. Time-motion analysis of international and national level futsal. J Strength Cond Res 24(x): 000–000, 2010—Futsal is the Fe´de´ ration de Internationale Football Association’s officially recognized five-a- side indoor soccer, which although increasing in popularity worldwide, lacks the Australian or other English language research necessary to enable the growth of the sport. The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive overview of the demands of futsal by a time-motion analysis on 8 Australian National Team players and 10 State League Team players over 4 futsal matches. The study analyzed 6 locomotor activity categories, focusing on total distance covered, total duration of activities, total frequency of activities, effort distance, and effort duration. The national team covered a 42% greater overall distance than the state league team. In terms of relative data normalized for match duration, only the standing duration value was significantly different between the teams. Furthermore, futsal players of elite and subelite level in Australia perform a change in activity every 8–9 seconds on the court, and the national team athletes attained a higher, yet nonsignificant, average match-play velocity. This may be because of the national futsal athletes participating in an extended game duration, potentially suggesting that higher levels of competition facilitate a higher intensity of match play and greater physiological demands on individual players. Apart from the differences in timing structure and overall metabolic work, there was no real difference between the levels of competition within the Australian futsal analysis, although at higher levels of competition, there may be a need for more recovery because of the elevated intensity of the match. When comparing the data with other countries, however, Australian futsal players produce less distance and duration than Spanish futsal players.
KEY WORDS indoor soccer, effort profile, team sport performance, intermittent exercise
Extract from the article, Section titled "Introduction" is as follows:
..."The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive overview of the demands of futsal by quantifying and comparingthe activity patterns of subelite and elite level Australian futsal athletes during match play. A time-motion analysis of rugby league demonstrated that differences exist among physical performance characteristics of semielite and elite athletes (13). With no national futsal league currently being played in Australia, the New South Wales Premier League is the highest level of futsal competition, with several players participating in the competition also being members of the Australian National Team. Of the available research, no previous futsal study has conducted a time-motion study comparing different levels of competition. This study, therefore, has the potential to determine the differences between the 2 levels of competition in futsal, enabling training programs to be designed targeting specific areas of physical performance. It should be noted that this study assessed movement patterns of futsal athletes, and although there may have been differences between match skills such as passing success, these were not examined."
"A few years ago I conducted a study on the match demands of futsal in Australia as part of my Honours year at University. This study has now been published as a journal article, which I have attached for you to use and distribute to futsal coaches/players across ACT. I also submitted my doctoral thesis this year which is currently being marked by my examiners. My PhD study included a comparison of the match demands of Brazilian, Spanish and Australian futsal players."
Outstanding work! Should be more of it! Makes you think! Very generous of the author to share her work with the football and futsal community. Should be more of that as well!
The following is the Abstract of the article referred to by Sera and published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 2010 National Strength and Conditioning Association
TIME-MOTION ANALYSIS OF INTERNATIONAL AND NATIONAL LEVEL FUTSAL
SERA N. DOGRAMACI, MARK L. WATSFORD, AND ARON J. MURPHY
School of Leisure, Sport and Tourism, University of Technology, Sydney, Kuring-Gai Campus, Lindfield, New South Wales,Australia
ABSTRACT
Dogramaci, SN, Watsford, ML, and Murphy, AJ. Time-motion analysis of international and national level futsal. J Strength Cond Res 24(x): 000–000, 2010—Futsal is the Fe´de´ ration de Internationale Football Association’s officially recognized five-a- side indoor soccer, which although increasing in popularity worldwide, lacks the Australian or other English language research necessary to enable the growth of the sport. The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive overview of the demands of futsal by a time-motion analysis on 8 Australian National Team players and 10 State League Team players over 4 futsal matches. The study analyzed 6 locomotor activity categories, focusing on total distance covered, total duration of activities, total frequency of activities, effort distance, and effort duration. The national team covered a 42% greater overall distance than the state league team. In terms of relative data normalized for match duration, only the standing duration value was significantly different between the teams. Furthermore, futsal players of elite and subelite level in Australia perform a change in activity every 8–9 seconds on the court, and the national team athletes attained a higher, yet nonsignificant, average match-play velocity. This may be because of the national futsal athletes participating in an extended game duration, potentially suggesting that higher levels of competition facilitate a higher intensity of match play and greater physiological demands on individual players. Apart from the differences in timing structure and overall metabolic work, there was no real difference between the levels of competition within the Australian futsal analysis, although at higher levels of competition, there may be a need for more recovery because of the elevated intensity of the match. When comparing the data with other countries, however, Australian futsal players produce less distance and duration than Spanish futsal players.
KEY WORDS indoor soccer, effort profile, team sport performance, intermittent exercise
Extract from the article, Section titled "Introduction" is as follows:
..."The purpose of this study was to establish a comprehensive overview of the demands of futsal by quantifying and comparingthe activity patterns of subelite and elite level Australian futsal athletes during match play. A time-motion analysis of rugby league demonstrated that differences exist among physical performance characteristics of semielite and elite athletes (13). With no national futsal league currently being played in Australia, the New South Wales Premier League is the highest level of futsal competition, with several players participating in the competition also being members of the Australian National Team. Of the available research, no previous futsal study has conducted a time-motion study comparing different levels of competition. This study, therefore, has the potential to determine the differences between the 2 levels of competition in futsal, enabling training programs to be designed targeting specific areas of physical performance. It should be noted that this study assessed movement patterns of futsal athletes, and although there may have been differences between match skills such as passing success, these were not examined."
Those Damned Vuvuzales Explained
It's not a musical instrument steeped in cultural meaning, significance and purpose - its a sodding plastic trumpet, lots of them, played by people who have as much interest in watching football as the chooks in my backyard! Nor is it culturally insensitive to object to your hearing and sanity being compromised at a football match.
Some idiots have come back to Australia with these "plastic devices" in their possession. Oh yeh, I was at the world cup - listen while while I make a tuneless noise. Each person returning with one int heir possession should have it placed where it best fits, then make all the noise they like!
Some moronic entrepenuer, an "Arthur Daley" of sporting opportunism will make a few thousand of these and flog them at sporting venues all over Australia. No sport is safe. This is like a virus.
Well done Blatter you goose, we hold the World Cup in SA and what do we get - a bloody ball that has a mind of its own and a sodding plastic trumpet that makes the most appalling noise. Brilliant! How long did you take to think of this outcome, Sep old pal? Four years?? And too much of the football was crap, which is probably largely due to the confluence of these two mindless contributions.
And now its off to Brazil - more bloody trumpets!
Some idiots have come back to Australia with these "plastic devices" in their possession. Oh yeh, I was at the world cup - listen while while I make a tuneless noise. Each person returning with one int heir possession should have it placed where it best fits, then make all the noise they like!
Some moronic entrepenuer, an "Arthur Daley" of sporting opportunism will make a few thousand of these and flog them at sporting venues all over Australia. No sport is safe. This is like a virus.
Well done Blatter you goose, we hold the World Cup in SA and what do we get - a bloody ball that has a mind of its own and a sodding plastic trumpet that makes the most appalling noise. Brilliant! How long did you take to think of this outcome, Sep old pal? Four years?? And too much of the football was crap, which is probably largely due to the confluence of these two mindless contributions.
And now its off to Brazil - more bloody trumpets!
Kanga Cup Wrap and Supporter Behaviour at Junior Football
This program is given to a very important subject, a subject that has the attention of every football association in the world – the behaviour of coaches, parents and spectators on the sidelines at junior football matches. But most importantly – parents.
If you have attended a coaching course in recent years through Capital Football you would have been given the right message about how to conduct yourself with junior players, the importance of setting achievable goals, positive feedback and encouragement, focussing on development not winning, playing the game in good style and spirit, and of course, talking less, resisting the temptation to micro manage the players during the game – letting the game be the teacher. Everyone talks about making sure the young players have fun. There is no fun in being yelled at, humiliated and made to feel inferior because the team did not win on the scoreboard.
There is no course of instruction for parents of young players who stand on the sideline. Too often, far too often, it is the adults that suffer a loss of control, living as too many do, vicariously through their child. There is nothing worse for the young player or football, than to have feral parents on the sideline. They punctuate their gratuitous advice to young players with open criticism of the Referee and match officials, who are more often than not, young players themselves. They soon leave the refereeing ranks under the weight of the abuse and vitriol that is hurled in their direction by adults. What so many of the adults, mostly parents of players, do is nothing short of Bullying!
We speak to Adam Castle, coordinator of the Kanga Cup. It was a good tournament with the most sparkling football to be seen in the 10 to 14 age groups. Regrettably, it was punctuated by some very poor behaviour by parent supporters. In spite of that, football found a way through and the finals produced some seriously good football in the junior age groups.
Download Podcast Here:
If you have attended a coaching course in recent years through Capital Football you would have been given the right message about how to conduct yourself with junior players, the importance of setting achievable goals, positive feedback and encouragement, focussing on development not winning, playing the game in good style and spirit, and of course, talking less, resisting the temptation to micro manage the players during the game – letting the game be the teacher. Everyone talks about making sure the young players have fun. There is no fun in being yelled at, humiliated and made to feel inferior because the team did not win on the scoreboard.
There is no course of instruction for parents of young players who stand on the sideline. Too often, far too often, it is the adults that suffer a loss of control, living as too many do, vicariously through their child. There is nothing worse for the young player or football, than to have feral parents on the sideline. They punctuate their gratuitous advice to young players with open criticism of the Referee and match officials, who are more often than not, young players themselves. They soon leave the refereeing ranks under the weight of the abuse and vitriol that is hurled in their direction by adults. What so many of the adults, mostly parents of players, do is nothing short of Bullying!
We speak to Adam Castle, coordinator of the Kanga Cup. It was a good tournament with the most sparkling football to be seen in the 10 to 14 age groups. Regrettably, it was punctuated by some very poor behaviour by parent supporters. In spite of that, football found a way through and the finals produced some seriously good football in the junior age groups.
Download Podcast Here:
Ban the Vuvuzelas Now Before Its Too Late!!!
Sourced from ABC Sport:
Its never too late to stop the Vuvuzelas. I'll vote for the Political Party that has an "off - shore Vuvuzela policy option on the table! What a dreadful legacy the South African World Cup has past on to the sporting world. The damn things have alrady made their appearance at the Kanga Cup finals and Premier League games last week. And it wont just be Football that is infected with this noise pollution device.
Tottenahm Hotspur has got it right! Now, what about Capital Football????
Vuvuzelas banned from White Hart Lane
Posted July 20, 2010 11:21:00
Vuvuzelas were one of the talking points of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. (ABC News: Ned Hall)
Tottenham Hotspur has banned vuvuzelas from its White Hart Lane ground, saying the noisy plastic trumpets pose a risk to public safety.
The English Premier League club banned the long plastic horns, which were a major talking point at the World Cup in South Africa, after consulting police and licensing authorities.
"We are concerned that the presence of the instruments within the stadium pose unnecessary risks to public safety and could impact on the ability of all supporters to hear any emergency safety announcements," the London club said.
"We're very proud of the fantastic atmosphere our supporters produce organically at White Hart Lane," Spurs added in a statement on their website.
Its never too late to stop the Vuvuzelas. I'll vote for the Political Party that has an "off - shore Vuvuzela policy option on the table! What a dreadful legacy the South African World Cup has past on to the sporting world. The damn things have alrady made their appearance at the Kanga Cup finals and Premier League games last week. And it wont just be Football that is infected with this noise pollution device.
Tottenahm Hotspur has got it right! Now, what about Capital Football????
Vuvuzelas banned from White Hart Lane
Posted July 20, 2010 11:21:00
Vuvuzelas were one of the talking points of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. (ABC News: Ned Hall)
Tottenham Hotspur has banned vuvuzelas from its White Hart Lane ground, saying the noisy plastic trumpets pose a risk to public safety.
The English Premier League club banned the long plastic horns, which were a major talking point at the World Cup in South Africa, after consulting police and licensing authorities.
"We are concerned that the presence of the instruments within the stadium pose unnecessary risks to public safety and could impact on the ability of all supporters to hear any emergency safety announcements," the London club said.
"We're very proud of the fantastic atmosphere our supporters produce organically at White Hart Lane," Spurs added in a statement on their website.
Some Good News For Futsal In the ACT Region
Capital Football advise the following:
National Futsal Club Championships in October
The inaugural National Futsal Club Championships are due to be held 2-4 October 2010 at Dural Sports and Leisure Centre in Sydney.
It’s anticipated that representatives from ACT, Victoria, Queensland and the host state, NSW, will compete in the men’s competition with the ACT joining the NSW Premier League and Super League champions in the Women’s competition across the October long weekend competing for the title of ‘National Futsal Club Champion’.
The venue at the Dural Sports and Leisure Centre has spectator sitting for 400 meaning that the atmosphere for the championships should be excellent.
Local club sides Boomerangs FS and Belconnen United have been invited to attend the competition as representatives of the ACT with both Futsal teams in with an excellent chance of seeing their name carved on the first trophy.
This is the first small step towards a National Futsal League with the FFA keeping an eye on the success of the championships.
Further news will appear here when confirmed.
National Futsal Club Championships in October
The inaugural National Futsal Club Championships are due to be held 2-4 October 2010 at Dural Sports and Leisure Centre in Sydney.
It’s anticipated that representatives from ACT, Victoria, Queensland and the host state, NSW, will compete in the men’s competition with the ACT joining the NSW Premier League and Super League champions in the Women’s competition across the October long weekend competing for the title of ‘National Futsal Club Champion’.
The venue at the Dural Sports and Leisure Centre has spectator sitting for 400 meaning that the atmosphere for the championships should be excellent.
Local club sides Boomerangs FS and Belconnen United have been invited to attend the competition as representatives of the ACT with both Futsal teams in with an excellent chance of seeing their name carved on the first trophy.
This is the first small step towards a National Futsal League with the FFA keeping an eye on the success of the championships.
Further news will appear here when confirmed.
Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 12
Round 12
ANU FC 1 (Mohsen Ravanparsa 53’) Canberra FC 2 (Alex Castro 34’, Stephen Lee 49’)
Tuggeranong United 1 (Alex Weber 70’) Woden Valley 3 (Daryll Hall 16’ (pen), Lachlan Nichols 69’, Lukas Cole 81’)
Cooma Tigers 2 (Daniel Gecic 49’, Goran Josifovski 72’) Belconnen United 3 (Cameron Reinhart 30’, 83’, Dustin Wells 87’)
Goulburn Strikers 1 (Brody Wills) Canberra Olympic 2 (Matt Cachia, Domenic Giampaolo)
Canberra City 1 (Misko Naumoski 91’) Monaro Panthers 3 (Geoff Howarth 59’, 85’, Goran Veljanovski 82’)
ANU FC 1 (Mohsen Ravanparsa 53’) Canberra FC 2 (Alex Castro 34’, Stephen Lee 49’)
Tuggeranong United 1 (Alex Weber 70’) Woden Valley 3 (Daryll Hall 16’ (pen), Lachlan Nichols 69’, Lukas Cole 81’)
Cooma Tigers 2 (Daniel Gecic 49’, Goran Josifovski 72’) Belconnen United 3 (Cameron Reinhart 30’, 83’, Dustin Wells 87’)
Goulburn Strikers 1 (Brody Wills) Canberra Olympic 2 (Matt Cachia, Domenic Giampaolo)
Canberra City 1 (Misko Naumoski 91’) Monaro Panthers 3 (Geoff Howarth 59’, 85’, Goran Veljanovski 82’)
Womens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 14
Round 14
Belconnen United 0 v ANU WFC 0
Canberra FC 1 (Ashlea Bryant) Woden Valley 5 (Hayley Hinde (2), Ashleigh Palombi (2), Jenna Walsh)
Weston Creek 0 Belwest Foxes 4 (Katrina Staniforth, Emma Beaumont, Cian Maciejewski, Gemma Matheson)
Tuggeranong United 7 (Kate Allen 1’, 16’, 35’, Ash Neall 48’, Annica Schoo 56’, Jen Malbon 78’, Sigourney Dunk 88’) Brindabella Blues 1 (Erin Hinton 26’)
Belconnen United 0 v ANU WFC 0
Canberra FC 1 (Ashlea Bryant) Woden Valley 5 (Hayley Hinde (2), Ashleigh Palombi (2), Jenna Walsh)
Weston Creek 0 Belwest Foxes 4 (Katrina Staniforth, Emma Beaumont, Cian Maciejewski, Gemma Matheson)
Tuggeranong United 7 (Kate Allen 1’, 16’, 35’, Ash Neall 48’, Annica Schoo 56’, Jen Malbon 78’, Sigourney Dunk 88’) Brindabella Blues 1 (Erin Hinton 26’)
Soccer Tactics - Some Basic Information
Soccer Tactics
Some very useful information that may assist you to understand the game.
Some very useful information that may assist you to understand the game.
A Birthday Card from Larry to Helen, c1937
Helen always said Larry picked out nice cards. This one was given to her more than 70 years ago, prior to their marriage in 1937.
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Capital Football Summer 20s League - It's On Again!
Captal Football have asked for expressions of interest from Clubs for the purpose of particpating in the 2010/2011 Summer 20's League competition. Good news!
You may recall that Capital Football put the initial Summer 20s (for Men Under 20 Years of age) on at very short notice. It was a terrific initiative, if a bit hurried, but it provided a much needed Football competition for young players between the main 2009 and 2010 seasons. To their everlasting credit, four Premier League Clubs stepped up to the mark and fielded teams:
The initial Summer 20's was won by Woden Valley FC and after a hard 2009 PL season, it was just the tonic:
Hey, why not make it a condition of play that the teams play 1-4-3-3? Make it a real development opportunity and pick a team to represent the ACT at an invitational fixture against an A League Youth team? The winning Coach gets the honour of coaching the representative team. This is a red hot opportunity to do something for this age group outside normal club competition. How about Capital Football providing a new Club Summer 20s badged strip for each particpating team - now that would help a lot!
There is no excuse for any Premier League club not fielding an Under 20 team in this year's Summer 20s.
Now, what about Women's Football in the off season - what's the plan?
You may recall that Capital Football put the initial Summer 20s (for Men Under 20 Years of age) on at very short notice. It was a terrific initiative, if a bit hurried, but it provided a much needed Football competition for young players between the main 2009 and 2010 seasons. To their everlasting credit, four Premier League Clubs stepped up to the mark and fielded teams:
- Canberra FC
- Woden Valley FC
- Belconnen United
- Tuggeranong United
The initial Summer 20's was won by Woden Valley FC and after a hard 2009 PL season, it was just the tonic:
Hey, why not make it a condition of play that the teams play 1-4-3-3? Make it a real development opportunity and pick a team to represent the ACT at an invitational fixture against an A League Youth team? The winning Coach gets the honour of coaching the representative team. This is a red hot opportunity to do something for this age group outside normal club competition. How about Capital Football providing a new Club Summer 20s badged strip for each particpating team - now that would help a lot!
There is no excuse for any Premier League club not fielding an Under 20 team in this year's Summer 20s.
Now, what about Women's Football in the off season - what's the plan?
The Four Main Moments of Youth Football
Sourced from
The Four Main Moments of Youth Football
"...the difference between making it and not making it is so small... it's about vision and other things." Johan Cruyff
Current thinking in soccer divides the game into four main moments; own team in possession, losing possession, opponents in possession and regaining possession. This should not be confused with attack, defense and transition. It is larger than that. Thinking in the latter leads to isolated responsibilities and positions. Players become attackers or defenders in mind and action. This results in back players that do not support effectively when their midfield is in possession and top players that don't contribute when the opponents have the ball. This limited view opens the way for a disconnect within the lines of the team.
From a practical point of view the majority of youth coaches will be concerned with own team in possession and opponents in possession while training. This results in most small sided games restarting with one team in possession and the other without. This offers a very clear picture for both teams and the coach to start from.
Thinking in terms of the main moments can help to bring structure for the player and the coach. For the player, they need to understand what their primary task is in each moment. Understanding their task leads to better positioning which helps technique. But possession in youth soccer changes rapidly, so rapidly that many young players cannot keep up with the game either physically or mentally. They either can't get to the correct position or have no idea where it is. This creates a stressful situation for the player and is a major reason why team play breaks down.
Simplifying observations provides structure for the coach. So many things go wrong that a list of errors and mistakes would be endless. Too much information is as bad as not enough. When the focus is kept in one moment a clearer picture of a real problem will emerge. Since you cannot cover everything in a session, concentrate on the biggest problem you can find. This starts with defining which main moment contains the biggest problem.
After settling on the main moment comes the smaller moments. Example,own team in possession, our goalkeeper has the ball. Where should the outside backs be? How deep should the center forward be? Or, the opponents have possession and their central midfielder has the ball. When does our central defender have to step up and assume responsibility? At what point can he stop conceding space and must commit to the ball? Seeing "moments" can aid in a better understanding of soccer situations and problems. A soccer game is an event, it is not a a thing. Events exist in time, things exist in space. Viewing soccer as a thing leaves out the very important temporal element. Opportunities and situations in soccer appear and vanish in a fraction of a second. Coaches need to consider this when reading the game and setting up their practices.
Watch this video for further explanation:
The Four Main Moments of Youth Football
"...the difference between making it and not making it is so small... it's about vision and other things." Johan Cruyff
Current thinking in soccer divides the game into four main moments; own team in possession, losing possession, opponents in possession and regaining possession. This should not be confused with attack, defense and transition. It is larger than that. Thinking in the latter leads to isolated responsibilities and positions. Players become attackers or defenders in mind and action. This results in back players that do not support effectively when their midfield is in possession and top players that don't contribute when the opponents have the ball. This limited view opens the way for a disconnect within the lines of the team.
From a practical point of view the majority of youth coaches will be concerned with own team in possession and opponents in possession while training. This results in most small sided games restarting with one team in possession and the other without. This offers a very clear picture for both teams and the coach to start from.
Thinking in terms of the main moments can help to bring structure for the player and the coach. For the player, they need to understand what their primary task is in each moment. Understanding their task leads to better positioning which helps technique. But possession in youth soccer changes rapidly, so rapidly that many young players cannot keep up with the game either physically or mentally. They either can't get to the correct position or have no idea where it is. This creates a stressful situation for the player and is a major reason why team play breaks down.
Simplifying observations provides structure for the coach. So many things go wrong that a list of errors and mistakes would be endless. Too much information is as bad as not enough. When the focus is kept in one moment a clearer picture of a real problem will emerge. Since you cannot cover everything in a session, concentrate on the biggest problem you can find. This starts with defining which main moment contains the biggest problem.
After settling on the main moment comes the smaller moments. Example,own team in possession, our goalkeeper has the ball. Where should the outside backs be? How deep should the center forward be? Or, the opponents have possession and their central midfielder has the ball. When does our central defender have to step up and assume responsibility? At what point can he stop conceding space and must commit to the ball? Seeing "moments" can aid in a better understanding of soccer situations and problems. A soccer game is an event, it is not a a thing. Events exist in time, things exist in space. Viewing soccer as a thing leaves out the very important temporal element. Opportunities and situations in soccer appear and vanish in a fraction of a second. Coaches need to consider this when reading the game and setting up their practices.
Watch this video for further explanation:
Playing With The Elements - The Principle of Overload
Sourced from http://www.bettersoccermorefun.com/index.htm
Playing With The Elements
"A youth coach must be able to manipulate obstacles flexibly (make them easier or more difficult) so that the children can progress methodically." Coaching Soccer
Small sided games are not "the answer" to soccer training. They are simply a tool for coaches to use in their efforts to help their players "play better soccer." No single game will cure every ill, but, a number of games along with the correct coaching can work wonders for the majority of players in many situations.
The games will take different forms and each form will need to be changed, adjustments will have to be made. This, playing with the elements, is essential to the learning process. When a game is introduced it is in its simplest form. During the introductory phase the children simply become familiar with the structure, organization, goals and rules. The objectives and resistance are made to insure that the children have to solve the correct soccer problem without too much difficulty. As they progress the resistance must become greater, more match like.
The opposite holds true. A game might prove to be too difficult. The children cannot learn about the soccer problem because they cannot get to it. In this case the game can be simplified, the resistance lessened, in order to accommodate the coaching point. In both examples, the coach makes adjustments to the existing structure in order to make the message of the session clear.
Having the correct resistance is essential for learning to take place. Too little is as bad as too much. Learning is more about developing the mentality than it is about developing the body.
Constructing a small sided game should proceed in a logical order. The following shows such an order.
Identify the problem. The first concern is to address a real problem. What is the game supposed to fix? The answer can be found in how the children play soccer and what is the most important thing they need to learn in order to play better.
What players are concerned? Who owns the problem? Is it an individual, a small group or the whole team? Numbers play a very important part in constructing a game and the numbers are directly related to the problem at hand.
What goals should be used? The players must have an objective to work towards. The objective, (goal) should be realistic and meaningful for the players in question and be related to their problem.
Field. When the problem, number of players and the type of goals are known a field can be constructed. The dimensions and alignment can be set.
Rules. Adding or changing a rule is a quick way to test how the game is going. They can help to keep the focus on exactly what the game is supposed to teach.
Ball. There are some situations that might be helped by changing or modifying the ball.
The elements of the game can be manipulated to suit a need. The pages below contain some examples of how they can be changed in order to create various problems/solutions. Each game represents a different form and learning can be achieved by mastering the basic forms. In many cases more than one element will need to be adjusted in order to get the right effect in the game. Playing with the elements uses the principle of overload. While this principle is most closely associated with weight training or running it can be applied to small sided games.
The Principle Of Overload
1) Number of repetitions. What is the work to rest ratio? If three teams are playing a tournament against each other than the W-T-R ratio is two games to one rest in a cycle. In a reload game it can be the number of times that certain players start in specific positions. Simply playing a basic form over time allows the players to proceed through the different stages of learning. Adding repetitions can increase resistance, or overload, as fatigue sets in and concentration slips.
2) Speed of repetitions. How fast is the game? What is the speed of play? Playing a game with a "new ball in" removes the down time that retrieval brings. Players don't get to wait around while someone chases the ball, the game restarts immediately.
3) Length of the repetition. Playing 2v2 for 2 minutes is much harder than playing for 20 seconds. The physical and mental demands are greater. Too long, however, is counter productive. Once the players have become totally fatigued learning ceases.
4) Decreasing the rest period. Shortening the breaks between activities is a step in efficient planning and increasing the load that the players have to carry. When playing with a "new ball in" the time between the ball going out of play and the new one put into play can be shortened. Going from a three second delay to a one second delay makes the players work that much harder.
5) Increasing the resistance. Making one or both teams play with a handicap. Changing the rules, teams, field or ball so that the game becomes conditioned favoring one team or a particular problem.
Playing With The Elements
"A youth coach must be able to manipulate obstacles flexibly (make them easier or more difficult) so that the children can progress methodically." Coaching Soccer
Small sided games are not "the answer" to soccer training. They are simply a tool for coaches to use in their efforts to help their players "play better soccer." No single game will cure every ill, but, a number of games along with the correct coaching can work wonders for the majority of players in many situations.
The games will take different forms and each form will need to be changed, adjustments will have to be made. This, playing with the elements, is essential to the learning process. When a game is introduced it is in its simplest form. During the introductory phase the children simply become familiar with the structure, organization, goals and rules. The objectives and resistance are made to insure that the children have to solve the correct soccer problem without too much difficulty. As they progress the resistance must become greater, more match like.
The opposite holds true. A game might prove to be too difficult. The children cannot learn about the soccer problem because they cannot get to it. In this case the game can be simplified, the resistance lessened, in order to accommodate the coaching point. In both examples, the coach makes adjustments to the existing structure in order to make the message of the session clear.
Having the correct resistance is essential for learning to take place. Too little is as bad as too much. Learning is more about developing the mentality than it is about developing the body.
Constructing a small sided game should proceed in a logical order. The following shows such an order.
Identify the problem. The first concern is to address a real problem. What is the game supposed to fix? The answer can be found in how the children play soccer and what is the most important thing they need to learn in order to play better.
What players are concerned? Who owns the problem? Is it an individual, a small group or the whole team? Numbers play a very important part in constructing a game and the numbers are directly related to the problem at hand.
What goals should be used? The players must have an objective to work towards. The objective, (goal) should be realistic and meaningful for the players in question and be related to their problem.
Field. When the problem, number of players and the type of goals are known a field can be constructed. The dimensions and alignment can be set.
Rules. Adding or changing a rule is a quick way to test how the game is going. They can help to keep the focus on exactly what the game is supposed to teach.
Ball. There are some situations that might be helped by changing or modifying the ball.
The elements of the game can be manipulated to suit a need. The pages below contain some examples of how they can be changed in order to create various problems/solutions. Each game represents a different form and learning can be achieved by mastering the basic forms. In many cases more than one element will need to be adjusted in order to get the right effect in the game. Playing with the elements uses the principle of overload. While this principle is most closely associated with weight training or running it can be applied to small sided games.
The Principle Of Overload
1) Number of repetitions. What is the work to rest ratio? If three teams are playing a tournament against each other than the W-T-R ratio is two games to one rest in a cycle. In a reload game it can be the number of times that certain players start in specific positions. Simply playing a basic form over time allows the players to proceed through the different stages of learning. Adding repetitions can increase resistance, or overload, as fatigue sets in and concentration slips.
2) Speed of repetitions. How fast is the game? What is the speed of play? Playing a game with a "new ball in" removes the down time that retrieval brings. Players don't get to wait around while someone chases the ball, the game restarts immediately.
3) Length of the repetition. Playing 2v2 for 2 minutes is much harder than playing for 20 seconds. The physical and mental demands are greater. Too long, however, is counter productive. Once the players have become totally fatigued learning ceases.
4) Decreasing the rest period. Shortening the breaks between activities is a step in efficient planning and increasing the load that the players have to carry. When playing with a "new ball in" the time between the ball going out of play and the new one put into play can be shortened. Going from a three second delay to a one second delay makes the players work that much harder.
5) Increasing the resistance. Making one or both teams play with a handicap. Changing the rules, teams, field or ball so that the game becomes conditioned favoring one team or a particular problem.
Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 14
Round 14
Sunday 18 Jul 10
2:00PM Belconnen Utd v ANU WFC McKellar Park
2:00PM Canberra FC v Woden Valley Deakin Stadium
2:00PM Tuggeranong Utd WFC v Brindabella Blues Kambah 2-1
2:00PM Weston Creek v Belwest Foxes Woden Park Enclosed
Sunday 18 Jul 10
2:00PM Belconnen Utd v ANU WFC McKellar Park
2:00PM Canberra FC v Woden Valley Deakin Stadium
2:00PM Tuggeranong Utd WFC v Brindabella Blues Kambah 2-1
2:00PM Weston Creek v Belwest Foxes Woden Park Enclosed
Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 12
Round 12
Saturday 17 Jul 10
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Woden Valley Kambah 2-1
Sunday 18 Jul 10
3:00PM ANU FC v Canberra FC ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Goulburn Strikers v Canberra Olympic Cookbundoon
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Belconnen Utd Nijong Oval
4:00PM Canberra City v Monaro Panthers Hawker Football Centre
Saturday 17 Jul 10
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Woden Valley Kambah 2-1
Sunday 18 Jul 10
3:00PM ANU FC v Canberra FC ANU North Oval 1
3:00PM Goulburn Strikers v Canberra Olympic Cookbundoon
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Belconnen Utd Nijong Oval
4:00PM Canberra City v Monaro Panthers Hawker Football Centre
Football NSW Project 22 - Coaches, Scouting Talent, HP Culture and Communication
This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday 13 July 2010 at 7:00PM, through the Australian Community Radio Network.
In this program we continue the excellent interview series with the Manager of the Football NSW High Performance Unit, Paul Bentvelzen. The flagship high performance program in NSW is Project 22.
Last week Paul spoke at length on the substance of Project 22 and already you would have observed that this high performance program is truly high performance. Its well ahead of the current Capital Football HPP and well in advance of its predecessor, Capital Football Academy program.
Rumour has it that Capital Football will review the current HPP. Lets be sure that we do not head back toward the tired and discredited Academy system. Lets be sure to keep what is going well and change what is not and include what we have missed in version one of the HPP. Lets not get stuck on that old chestnut, HPP playing squads, that so fascinated a small number of the Capital Football Board, causing major delay, uncertainty and anger at Club level. Who will write the terms of reference for the review and will we, the footballing community get a chance to see the draft and comment?
The Capital Football Board could do no worse than listen to their staff, rather than employ some third party who in time honoured consulting fashion, will interview the employees for the information an ideas, serve them up as original thought, massage it to suit the outcomes really desired by the those engaging them, then present a tome akin to the ten commandments. The likelihood that you get told anything you could not find out or did not know yourself is small, but it sounds so clever to have a “consultant” tell you. We all know how it works - the good old Canberra two step!.
Importantly, lets see open consultation with the football community, not just the favoured few. Bring in expertise as required, but don’t hand the whole business over to some one else. Time is running out fast.
Benchmarking against Project 22 is instructive. Take from it what works in our environment, what we can resource, then implement it bit by bit, review it every year in open forum. Keep what works, change what doesn’t.
If your child is in a Capital Football HHP, do you have a whole of program detailed periodised program for your child? No? Well there is one change straight off the mark and the wonder is its was never there in the past. It’s a basic organisational, technical and educational requirement of high performance training. Do you need a consultant to tell you that?
Tonight Paul Bentvelzen speaks on Coaches in Project 22, the importance of continuously scouting talent rather than just staying with the original selections, some of the cultural / behavioural issues they are wrestling with and finally, the systems for coach support and communication they have implemented and underpin Project 22.
We are not close enough yet in the ACT on some of this and you don’t need an external review to work it out or fix it. There are plenty of smart people in football around the ACT and the AIS is just up the road. Why not ask Football NSW?
Download the Podcast here:
In this program we continue the excellent interview series with the Manager of the Football NSW High Performance Unit, Paul Bentvelzen. The flagship high performance program in NSW is Project 22.
Last week Paul spoke at length on the substance of Project 22 and already you would have observed that this high performance program is truly high performance. Its well ahead of the current Capital Football HPP and well in advance of its predecessor, Capital Football Academy program.
Rumour has it that Capital Football will review the current HPP. Lets be sure that we do not head back toward the tired and discredited Academy system. Lets be sure to keep what is going well and change what is not and include what we have missed in version one of the HPP. Lets not get stuck on that old chestnut, HPP playing squads, that so fascinated a small number of the Capital Football Board, causing major delay, uncertainty and anger at Club level. Who will write the terms of reference for the review and will we, the footballing community get a chance to see the draft and comment?
The Capital Football Board could do no worse than listen to their staff, rather than employ some third party who in time honoured consulting fashion, will interview the employees for the information an ideas, serve them up as original thought, massage it to suit the outcomes really desired by the those engaging them, then present a tome akin to the ten commandments. The likelihood that you get told anything you could not find out or did not know yourself is small, but it sounds so clever to have a “consultant” tell you. We all know how it works - the good old Canberra two step!.
Importantly, lets see open consultation with the football community, not just the favoured few. Bring in expertise as required, but don’t hand the whole business over to some one else. Time is running out fast.
Benchmarking against Project 22 is instructive. Take from it what works in our environment, what we can resource, then implement it bit by bit, review it every year in open forum. Keep what works, change what doesn’t.
If your child is in a Capital Football HHP, do you have a whole of program detailed periodised program for your child? No? Well there is one change straight off the mark and the wonder is its was never there in the past. It’s a basic organisational, technical and educational requirement of high performance training. Do you need a consultant to tell you that?
Tonight Paul Bentvelzen speaks on Coaches in Project 22, the importance of continuously scouting talent rather than just staying with the original selections, some of the cultural / behavioural issues they are wrestling with and finally, the systems for coach support and communication they have implemented and underpin Project 22.
We are not close enough yet in the ACT on some of this and you don’t need an external review to work it out or fix it. There are plenty of smart people in football around the ACT and the AIS is just up the road. Why not ask Football NSW?
Download the Podcast here:
The First ACT Australian Under 13 Girls Representative - Siena Senatore
The Australian Under 13 Girls team has competed in a festival of Football held in Vietnam.
The ACT was represented by Siena Senatore of the Woden Valley Soccer Club. Siena is number 14 in the team pictures (provided by Mum - many thanks Lella). A very proud moment for Eddie and Lella. Job well done Siena!
The ACT was represented by Siena Senatore of the Woden Valley Soccer Club. Siena is number 14 in the team pictures (provided by Mum - many thanks Lella). A very proud moment for Eddie and Lella. Job well done Siena!
Kanga Cup Finals Results 2010
This is the final position for 2010:
BOY’S UNDER-10 CUP
Inter Lions 1 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-10 PLATE
Chatswood Rangers 3 Griffith United 2
BOY’S UNDER-10 SHIELD
Northbridge Avengers 1 Coogee United 1
(Northbridge Avengers won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-11 CUP
Leichhardt Saints 3 AC United 2
BOY’S UNDER-11
Coogee United 0 Gungahlin Cyclones 0
(Coogee United won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-11 SHIELD
Monaro Panthers 4 Belsouth Allstars 0
GIRL’S UNDER-11 CUP
Majura Mini Matildas 2 Belnorth Red Bullets 0
BOY’S UNDER-12 CUP
Sandringham Storm 3 Adelaide City 1
BOY’S UNDER-12 PLATE
Sandringham Lightning 3 Camden Tigers 0
GIRL’S UNDER-12 CUP
Woden Valley United 1 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-13 CUP
Coastal Spirit 2 Brighton United 2
(Coastal Spirit won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-13 PLATE
Gungahlin United 1 Majura Phoenix 0
BOY’S UNDER-14 CUP
Adelaide City 5 Woden Valley Thunder 0
BOY’S UNDER-14 PLATE
Green Gully 5 Marist College 0
GIRL’S UNDER-14 CUP
Tuggeranong Matildas 0 Woden Valley Redbacks
(Tuggeranong Matildas won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-15 CUP
Capital FC 2 Kemps Creek United 1
BOY’S UNDER-15 PLATE
Football Wide Bay George Cousins 2 Marist College Royal 0
BOY’S UNDER-16 CUP
Canberra Olympic 5 Bankstown Sports Strikers 1
GIRL’S UNDER-16 CUP
Majura FC 2 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-18 CUP
Canberra FC 1 Maccabi 0
GIRL’S UNDER-18 CUP
Belconnen United 7 Brindabella Blues White 1
BOY’S UNDER-10 CUP
Inter Lions 1 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-10 PLATE
Chatswood Rangers 3 Griffith United 2
BOY’S UNDER-10 SHIELD
Northbridge Avengers 1 Coogee United 1
(Northbridge Avengers won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-11 CUP
Leichhardt Saints 3 AC United 2
BOY’S UNDER-11
Coogee United 0 Gungahlin Cyclones 0
(Coogee United won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-11 SHIELD
Monaro Panthers 4 Belsouth Allstars 0
GIRL’S UNDER-11 CUP
Majura Mini Matildas 2 Belnorth Red Bullets 0
BOY’S UNDER-12 CUP
Sandringham Storm 3 Adelaide City 1
BOY’S UNDER-12 PLATE
Sandringham Lightning 3 Camden Tigers 0
GIRL’S UNDER-12 CUP
Woden Valley United 1 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-13 CUP
Coastal Spirit 2 Brighton United 2
(Coastal Spirit won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-13 PLATE
Gungahlin United 1 Majura Phoenix 0
BOY’S UNDER-14 CUP
Adelaide City 5 Woden Valley Thunder 0
BOY’S UNDER-14 PLATE
Green Gully 5 Marist College 0
GIRL’S UNDER-14 CUP
Tuggeranong Matildas 0 Woden Valley Redbacks
(Tuggeranong Matildas won in penalty shoot-out)
BOY’S UNDER-15 CUP
Capital FC 2 Kemps Creek United 1
BOY’S UNDER-15 PLATE
Football Wide Bay George Cousins 2 Marist College Royal 0
BOY’S UNDER-16 CUP
Canberra Olympic 5 Bankstown Sports Strikers 1
GIRL’S UNDER-16 CUP
Majura FC 2 Northbridge FC 0
BOY’S UNDER-18 CUP
Canberra FC 1 Maccabi 0
GIRL’S UNDER-18 CUP
Belconnen United 7 Brindabella Blues White 1
Womens Premier League Results 2010 - Round 13
Round 13
Woden Valley 2 (Grace Field 81’, 83’) Belconnen United 1 (Caitlin Munoz 18’)
ANU WFC 1 (Anna Bennett 84’) Belwest Foxes 0
Weston Creek 7 (Kelly Donnelly (3), Julie Gordy (2), Jessie Pritchard, Lauren Bowman) Brindabella Blues 0
Canberra FC 2 (Aurelia Bullot, Connie Canaridis) Tuggeranong United 0
Woden Valley 2 (Grace Field 81’, 83’) Belconnen United 1 (Caitlin Munoz 18’)
ANU WFC 1 (Anna Bennett 84’) Belwest Foxes 0
Weston Creek 7 (Kelly Donnelly (3), Julie Gordy (2), Jessie Pritchard, Lauren Bowman) Brindabella Blues 0
Canberra FC 2 (Aurelia Bullot, Connie Canaridis) Tuggeranong United 0
Mens Premier League Results 2010 - Round11
Round 11
Cooma Tigers 2 (Jamie Schofield 2’, 83’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Robbie Schroder, Oliver Wiederkehr 84’)
Tuggeranong United 2 (Alex Weber 42’, Luke Shepherd 90’) Canberra FC 2 (Victor Yanes 22’, Alex Castro 77’)
Monaro Panthers 0 v Goulburn Strikers 4 (Brody Willis 6’, Daniel Aliffi 18’ (pen), 31’, 83’)
Belconnen United 2 (Danny Macor 22’, Dustin Wells 34’) Woden Valley 1 (Daryll Hall 90’ (pen))
Canberra City 2 (Mitch Stevens 17’, Misko Naumoski 88’) ANU FC 0
Cooma Tigers 2 (Jamie Schofield 2’, 83’) Canberra Olympic 2 (Robbie Schroder, Oliver Wiederkehr 84’)
Tuggeranong United 2 (Alex Weber 42’, Luke Shepherd 90’) Canberra FC 2 (Victor Yanes 22’, Alex Castro 77’)
Monaro Panthers 0 v Goulburn Strikers 4 (Brody Willis 6’, Daniel Aliffi 18’ (pen), 31’, 83’)
Belconnen United 2 (Danny Macor 22’, Dustin Wells 34’) Woden Valley 1 (Daryll Hall 90’ (pen))
Canberra City 2 (Mitch Stevens 17’, Misko Naumoski 88’) ANU FC 0
Womens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 13
Round 13
Sunday 11 Jul 10
2:00PM Woden Valley v Belconnen Utd Woden Park Enclosed
2:00PM ANU WFC v Belwest Foxes ANU Willows 1
2:00PM Weston Creek v Brindabella Blues ANU Willows 2
2:00PM Canberra FC v Tuggeranong Utd WFC Deakin Stadium
Sunday 11 Jul 10
2:00PM Woden Valley v Belconnen Utd Woden Park Enclosed
2:00PM ANU WFC v Belwest Foxes ANU Willows 1
2:00PM Weston Creek v Brindabella Blues ANU Willows 2
2:00PM Canberra FC v Tuggeranong Utd WFC Deakin Stadium
Mens Premier League Fixtures 2010 - Round 11
Round 11
Saturday 10 Jul 10
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Canberra Olympic Nijong Oval
Sunday 11 Jul 10
3:00PM Monaro Panthers v Goulburn Strikers Riverside Stadium
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Canberra FC Kambah 2-1
4:00PM Belconnen Utd v Woden Valley McKellar Park
4:00PM Canberra City v ANU FC Hawker Football Centre
Saturday 10 Jul 10
3:00PM Cooma Tigers v Canberra Olympic Nijong Oval
Sunday 11 Jul 10
3:00PM Monaro Panthers v Goulburn Strikers Riverside Stadium
3:00PM Tuggeranong Utd v Canberra FC Kambah 2-1
4:00PM Belconnen Utd v Woden Valley McKellar Park
4:00PM Canberra City v ANU FC Hawker Football Centre
Done With Grace and Style!
Do it with grace and style - a good word or a word of praise goes a long way - and costs you absolutely nothing!
As the Kanga Cup heads to finals and our local competitions work there way through the second half of the competition and finals places, there is something all coaches and parents on the sidelines should note from the World Cup. In a World Cup marred by some spectacular examples of poor sportmanships and lack of grace, emerges, just in time, examples set by National Coaches which set the standard of behaviour for us all.
The words from Spain's Coach, Vicente Del Bosque, following his team's hard earned victory over a terrific German team, are just outstanding! And Germany coach Joachim Low is also in a class of his own.
Sourced fromt he SBS World Game:
But while Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque was delighted with his side's performance he was taking nothing for granted where the final is concerned.
Del Bosque said: "You must celebrate victory but with moderation and don't forget your responsibilities. We are sportsmen and we want to reach out for the World Cup."
"There is hardly anything more precious than to win the World Cup. We should not be bragging and too conceited, let's just play the next match."
Del Bosque also described what it meant to Spain, which has failed so often at World Cups when it appeared to have a good chance of glory.
He said: "This country has changed enormously. We have great things and one of them is sports. We are privileged to have so many good sportsmen. Football is the local motivation. Spain deserves to be triumphant and to make it to the top."
Low, whose side was also beaten by Spain in the European championship final two years ago, said: "Spain are a wonderful team. They are the masters of the game. You can see it in every pass. They can hardly be beaten. They are extremely calm and convincing. Spain were just better than we were and they deserved to win.
"In 2008 they won the European Championships in a very convincing way and they have been unchanged over the past two or three years. They play in an automatic way and I am confident they will win the title.
"Over the past two or three years they have been the most skilled team of all. They circulate the ball quickly and we were not able to play like previous matches. We were not able to get rid of our inhibitions."
Now that's the way to do it!!!
As the Kanga Cup heads to finals and our local competitions work there way through the second half of the competition and finals places, there is something all coaches and parents on the sidelines should note from the World Cup. In a World Cup marred by some spectacular examples of poor sportmanships and lack of grace, emerges, just in time, examples set by National Coaches which set the standard of behaviour for us all.
The words from Spain's Coach, Vicente Del Bosque, following his team's hard earned victory over a terrific German team, are just outstanding! And Germany coach Joachim Low is also in a class of his own.
Sourced fromt he SBS World Game:
But while Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque was delighted with his side's performance he was taking nothing for granted where the final is concerned.
Del Bosque said: "You must celebrate victory but with moderation and don't forget your responsibilities. We are sportsmen and we want to reach out for the World Cup."
"There is hardly anything more precious than to win the World Cup. We should not be bragging and too conceited, let's just play the next match."
Del Bosque also described what it meant to Spain, which has failed so often at World Cups when it appeared to have a good chance of glory.
He said: "This country has changed enormously. We have great things and one of them is sports. We are privileged to have so many good sportsmen. Football is the local motivation. Spain deserves to be triumphant and to make it to the top."
Low, whose side was also beaten by Spain in the European championship final two years ago, said: "Spain are a wonderful team. They are the masters of the game. You can see it in every pass. They can hardly be beaten. They are extremely calm and convincing. Spain were just better than we were and they deserved to win.
"In 2008 they won the European Championships in a very convincing way and they have been unchanged over the past two or three years. They play in an automatic way and I am confident they will win the title.
"Over the past two or three years they have been the most skilled team of all. They circulate the ball quickly and we were not able to play like previous matches. We were not able to get rid of our inhibitions."
Now that's the way to do it!!!
New Digital Collection: Doc Roach Fire Collection
Spectacular fires, historic firefighting equipment, and Boise city streetscapes are among the images preserved in the Doc Roach Fire Digital Collection in Boise State University Library. A Boise city firefighter for more than 50 years, Doc was one of the few firemen who worked from the days of horse-drawn fire engines, witnessed the introduction of motorized equipment in 1912, and also used gasoline pump trucks. Doc Roach was not a photographer himself, but rather a collector of photographs documenting the fire fighters, equipment, major fires, and fire prevention education in Boise from 1911-1965. These photographs also document the growth of Boise from a small town to a city in the first half of the 20th century, including shots taken of the greater downtown area, capturing changes in transportation and buildings.
The Doc Roach Fire Digital Collection features 70 images from 1904 to 1965 and is drawn primarily from Doc Roach's photograph collection and is supplemented by related images from other collections in Boise State University Library Special Collections.
The Football NSW High Performance Program - "Project 22"
This program is broadcast on Tuesday, 6 Juy 2010 on 2xxfm(98.3mhz) trough the Australian Community Radio Network.
In this program we take a look at the Football NSW High Performance Program solution – called "Project 22".
We speak to Paul Bentvelzen, Manager of the Football NSW HP unit (Project 22). Paul and his staff know exactly what they about when it comes to junior Football development. The results of the Project 22 solution are impressive at an early stage of implemetation. If you needed any proof, cast your mind back to the recent Under 13 Boys and Gilrs National Junior Championships. If you were lucky enough to see the NSW Metro teams play, you will need little convincing - and this has little to do with the fact that NSW obviously has more players - its all about how they do it!
There is a very real difference between the "Talented" and "Community" development streams. Both are as important as the other, but its very difficult to get a clear focus on "talented" player development, unless you get very specific and design the program to fit this and only this specification. I doing so, it makes it possible to give real emphasis to community development. Without robust community development, many fewer players will emerge to join the talented development stream. Community development is all too often left behind, but that’s another story and one the NPL has not forgotten.
Start with this simple, self evident fact – the talented players in each age group are a very small population of players. As they grow and get older they may not remain in the talented group of players, being replaced by others that have emerged. That is a very serious challenge for coaches and administrators in football.There is risk in getting on the talented treadmill from the moment the child begins a program. Its not a permanent selection – for player or parent or coach!
So lets begin by getting the talented player stream water tight.
If you are a parent and have a child that is showing some talent or has been identified as being suitable for talented stream development in football, you will in all likelihood, in the ACT, spend a lot of your precious disposable and scarce family resources on keeping the child engaged in the development process. Its not cheap here in the ACT! It’s a burden families find hard to bare.
Ask yourself this simple question – is the Capital Football HPP a genuinely high performance program? Use the Project 22 solution to make comparisions. What can we take away from how NSW's does business on this matter? What should be the primary elements of the football HPP in the ACT region? Don’t get me wrong, Capital Football have made a good start, but it is a long way yet from being a comprehensive talented football development package, within the meaning of the national curriculum. How to go forward?
There is no one way of doing this – the solution must match the environment. By the same reasoning, different environments are no excuse for sub optimal outcomes. Clearly, Football NSW comprehend this concept and Project 22 is a very robust response to junior football talented player development.
The interview will be broadcast in three parts, the first two cover various aspects of their solution and the final interview deals with the systems of communication they have developed at Football NSW for players and coaches in Project 22, together with the player and coach resource systems (web based) used to underpin training.
These interviews speak for themselves. We have a fair it of catching up to do. You’ll be very interested to hear how they tackle the talented stream in Football NSW.
Download Podcast here:
In this program we take a look at the Football NSW High Performance Program solution – called "Project 22".
We speak to Paul Bentvelzen, Manager of the Football NSW HP unit (Project 22). Paul and his staff know exactly what they about when it comes to junior Football development. The results of the Project 22 solution are impressive at an early stage of implemetation. If you needed any proof, cast your mind back to the recent Under 13 Boys and Gilrs National Junior Championships. If you were lucky enough to see the NSW Metro teams play, you will need little convincing - and this has little to do with the fact that NSW obviously has more players - its all about how they do it!
There is a very real difference between the "Talented" and "Community" development streams. Both are as important as the other, but its very difficult to get a clear focus on "talented" player development, unless you get very specific and design the program to fit this and only this specification. I doing so, it makes it possible to give real emphasis to community development. Without robust community development, many fewer players will emerge to join the talented development stream. Community development is all too often left behind, but that’s another story and one the NPL has not forgotten.
Start with this simple, self evident fact – the talented players in each age group are a very small population of players. As they grow and get older they may not remain in the talented group of players, being replaced by others that have emerged. That is a very serious challenge for coaches and administrators in football.There is risk in getting on the talented treadmill from the moment the child begins a program. Its not a permanent selection – for player or parent or coach!
So lets begin by getting the talented player stream water tight.
If you are a parent and have a child that is showing some talent or has been identified as being suitable for talented stream development in football, you will in all likelihood, in the ACT, spend a lot of your precious disposable and scarce family resources on keeping the child engaged in the development process. Its not cheap here in the ACT! It’s a burden families find hard to bare.
Ask yourself this simple question – is the Capital Football HPP a genuinely high performance program? Use the Project 22 solution to make comparisions. What can we take away from how NSW's does business on this matter? What should be the primary elements of the football HPP in the ACT region? Don’t get me wrong, Capital Football have made a good start, but it is a long way yet from being a comprehensive talented football development package, within the meaning of the national curriculum. How to go forward?
There is no one way of doing this – the solution must match the environment. By the same reasoning, different environments are no excuse for sub optimal outcomes. Clearly, Football NSW comprehend this concept and Project 22 is a very robust response to junior football talented player development.
The interview will be broadcast in three parts, the first two cover various aspects of their solution and the final interview deals with the systems of communication they have developed at Football NSW for players and coaches in Project 22, together with the player and coach resource systems (web based) used to underpin training.
These interviews speak for themselves. We have a fair it of catching up to do. You’ll be very interested to hear how they tackle the talented stream in Football NSW.
Download Podcast here:
Library Closed July 4 & 5
The Library will be closed Sunday, July 4 and Monday, July 5 for the Independence Day holiday. You can find library hours at our calendar, or visit our mobile site for quick access to our electronic resources, including hours:
Have a safe and happy 4th of July!
There is a Mens Premier League Game This Weekend!
Recheduled Round 7 Fixture
Sunday 4th July 2010
Goulburn Strikers v Canberra City
(Cookbundoon), kick off 15:00
Sunday 4th July 2010
Goulburn Strikers v Canberra City
(Cookbundoon), kick off 15:00
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