Something for the juniors...

Uni SC are at it again; in addition to conducting the Twilight Cup competition for interested youth and senior players, they have added a spring/summer program for junior players aged 8 to 11 (under 9 to under 12 players). The sessions are scheduled to take place at Olinda Grove, Mount Nelson on Thursday afternoons from 5:00 to 6:30 pm and will run from 28th October through to 9th December.

While the focus will be on skill development, the sessions will also include small-sided games, where participants will divided into teams based on age, ability and gender in order to play mini games that consist of two twenty minutes halves.

From a developmental perspective, the opportunity for our junior players to participate in post season training sessions is valuable one. Not only is their season effectively extended, allowing them more time to hone their skills, it also provides the opportunity for them to learn from highly qualified coaches whilst playing the game they enjoy.

The cost for the program is set at $55 per player, which works out at just under $8.00 per session, or around $5.00 per hour. It sounds like good value for junior players who are already missing their soccer. It is also a great opportunity for them to meet players from other clubs, and since each training session finishes just before the Mixed Social Twilight games start, there is also the option to stick around and watch the game being played by senior mixed teams.

Even better, Olinda Grove is only around 25 minutes from Woodbridge, there are three well-maintained ovals plus change rooms and clubrooms – it’s a great venue for football and it’s not too far away.


As there are limited places available due to space restrictions and coach availability, those interested in taking part in the program are urged to enrol online
Anyone wanting more information should contact John Parry on: 0412 07 05 39 or email him at: J.S.Parry@tassie.net.au

Toe the Line

Thankfully, the Dr reckons that Mr Y's toe is not broken; it's still bruised, and possibly has a little tendon damage but nothing too serious.

So we have spent a small fortune on sport bandaging and will tape the offending digit to offer it some protection, because of course, Mr Y has no intention of letting something like an unbroken toe stop him from playing.

After all: “It doesn't hurt when I'm playing, it only hurts when I stop!”

Futsal grading games

Futsal grading games took place on the weekend, and I began to wonder if nominating a team was such a good idea. All of our lads, bar one of them, are recovering from various injuries (two badly sprained ankles, a possible broken toe, a hamstring injury and a twisted knee). According to his dad, our sixth player hasn't kicked a ball since this time last year – not that you could tell when he blasted a beautiful long ball from half way down the pitch into the back of the opponent's net early in the game. It wasn't enough mind you, the injuries certainly seemed to take their toll in the second half; and the lads ultimately went down 7 – 2. Not a shining start to the competition, but given the quality of the opposition and the match fitness of our players, perhaps not a surprising one.

Knowing their various ills, I had nominated the team for the social division, thinking this would be the best level for them to compete at, at least until they are all recovered. The opponents for the grading game, however seemed a far cry from a social team. Ultimately this supports my theory that our boys are not yet recovered enough to compete at a higher level, however much they may want to.

Time now to take the injured toe, and the boy attached to it, to the doctor's...

What's she rabbiting on about?

I have just vicariously lived through the excitement of the National Schools Futsal Titles, where several local youth players, including Mr Y, competed. Even though that competition is over and the prodigal son returned, only slightly damaged, to the nest, the football excitement doesn't look like stopping any time soon. Around this joint Mr O (O for oldest) is looking forward to the Twilight Cup; and all three lads are gearing up to play their first futsal game of the summer roster.

So even though our local club has handed the clubrooms back to the Cricket Club, football is not really over. There's plenty of action awaiting those who don't want to stop playing. The aforementioned Twilight Cup and futsal games will take us all the way through to December – a break for Christmas, and then before you know it there's all the exhilaration of the Summer Cup which ends smack-bang before the 2011 football season starts.

Even those football fans who are having a well-earned break from playing have plenty to keep them occupied. There's the A-League, the W-League, the National Youth League, the Socceroos, the Matildas and the Fusalroos and that's just in Australia! In Europe the major competitions are under-way: English Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Serie A and the Champions League just to name a few of the more prominent ones.

For organisers of the sport there's analysis, planning and preparation; off-season is the ideal time for the new committee to look back to see what worked and what went wrong during the 2010 season. They'll be making decisions and trying to make sure that they are well prepared for the season ahead.

Anyway, back to the point, my personal mission with this blog is to provide football related, and possibly even interesting, content during the off-season – aimed at, but not exclusive to, WSC members. I also plan to share some of my experiences with the various web tools that I have been trialling throughout the 2010 season. Beyond the World Game itself, I'm hoping to include some sources of useful information for those volunteers who may find themselves in unfamiliar territory and in need of a road map.

If it all sounds like a rather confusing excuse to inflict my self-indulgent ramblings on an unsuspecting cyberspace, well there is that too..........

From the horse's mouth

The Vikings National Schools Futsal Tournament 2010:

The actual (but still unofficial) Tas South 15 y.o. Boys' results

Tas South 3 - Victoria 3
Tas South 2 - NSW City 6
Tas South 6 – North Queensland 2
Tas South 0 – South Queensland Vikings 10 (apparently a very strong team, they went on to win the overall age-group)
Tas South 7 – Central Queensland 0

As tentatively predicted in a previous post, the Southern Tasmanian team ended up third on their pool's ladder.

A very positive result for the team who seem to have had a great time, except, apparently, at dinner time when the catered food failed to live up to expectations. Much money was subsequently spent at a nearby bakery.

The tournament winners can be found on the Tasfutsal website