The Offsider - April

The

O

Junior Nationals

ffsider Capital Football’s Official Monthly Publication www.capitalfootball.com.au

Edition 1 April 2009

Premier League Previews

Hawker Prowling in Future

April

Capital Football CEO

Heather Reid

General Manager Steven McIntyre

general@capitalfootball.com.au

Accounts

Martha Bennett accounts@capitalfootball.com.au

Technical Director

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Ian Shaw

technical@capitalfootball.com.au

Assistant Technical Director Pat McCann

coaching@capitalfootball.com.au

Development Coordinator Daniel Murphy

development@capitalfootball.com.au

Men’s League Manager Alasdair Grocock

mensleague@capitalfootball.com.au

Andrew Fitzpatrick

Junior League Manager Melanie Luksa

juniorleague@capitalfootball.com.au

Futsal League Manager David Lee

fulsalleague@capitalfootball.com.au

League Assistant Nicole Somi

futsaladmin@capitalfootball.com.au

Events Coordinator

The longest running football tournament in the ACT culminates with the 2009 Project Coordination Federation Cup at Deakin Stadium.

Capital Football Season Launch Celebrate with the entire football family the start of the 2009 season. After months of hard work during the preseason, focus turns to the winter season.

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Women’s League Manager womensleague@capitalfootball.com.au

Project Coordination Federation Cup Finals

National Junior Championships The nation’s best and brightest juniors descend on the Capital for the inaugural FFA National Junior Championships. Cheer on the ACT at O’Connor Enclosed during the week.

Men’s League Competitions Kick Off Thousands of footballers lace up their boots and hit the paddocks around the territory from serious to social all seeking fun, fitness and silverware.

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ANZAC Day Take the day to commemorate the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Be sure not to miss the dawn service at the Australian War Memorial.

Sarah Body

events@capitalfootball.com.au

Acting Referee Administrator Adam Castle

refadmin@capitalfootball.com.au

PR & Media Officer Chris Gottaas

media@capitalfootball.com.au

Winter Futsal Competitions Kick Off Too cold outside? Take your game indoors to play one of Australia’s fastest sports. Futsal competitions across the ACT get underway today.

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Capital Football®

Unit 2/3 Phipps Close Deakin, ACT, 2600 PO Box 50 Curtin, ACT, 2605 [P] (02) 6260 4000 [F] (02) 6260 4999 Edited & Produced: Chris Gottaas Contributions: Russ Gibbs, Merryn Sherwood Pictures: Chris Gottaas, JFA, Allyson Flynn

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Feeling “offside” with the name of this e-magazine?

Not a fan of the name ‘The Offsider’, email Capital Football at media@capitalfootball.com.au with your suggestion for the magazines name for the future.

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Co n t e n t s

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From the sideline...

W

elcome to the first edition of Capital Football’s latest communication initiative – The Offsider. This electronic monthly publication will be distributed direct to players, coaches, referees, club representatives and anyone else who would like to be kept informed on a regular basis about our numerous activities.

2009 is already shaping up to be another big year for our sport. The success of Belwest and Canberra FC in the Project Coordination Federation Cup competitions along with the success of numerous clubs in the women’s pre-premiership competitions augers well for an exciting and challenging football season. We’re already recording continued growth across all leagues with the men’s league at full capacity. There’s no doubt the performance of Canberra United in the inaugural Westfield W-League has led to greater interest by girls and women. Higher numbers in summer six-a-side competitions and an additional ten teams in the premiership leagues including 20 teams in three divisions for under-18s will significantly improve the pathway between junior and senior football.

The summer Futsal leagues also saw increased participation with 3000 players representing 26.3% increase in senior and 12% in juniors across the north and south competitions. We also hosted another terrific national Futsal championship culminating in our men’s and women’s open teams narrowly missing out on winning their divisions.

One of the most significant activities this year is the reconstruction of Hawker Enclosed football facility to provide lighting and a synthetic pitch. This will enable us to run football, small-sided games, Futsal and other activities at Hawker all year round. We expect the redevelopment to be completed by the end of June with a grand opening by the ACT Minister for Sport.

Capital Football is governed by a Board of Directors, led by President John Logue and we welcomed Kim Chapman as a new director for his election at last month’s AGM. We also have four zone representatives and standing committee members who provide advice and input to policy and strategic direction. We have 14 staff who are willing to assist with enquiries relevant to each of the leagues, technical development, the Football Academy, referees, coaches, accounts and events such as the Kanga Cup. If you wish to contact a Member or staff person to discuss specific matters that impact on you or your club then please refer to the directory on page two for the best contacts.

Last year we launched a new triennium strategic plan, Going for Goals. The plan sets out four key areas of focus – community football, business development, people development and high performance. One of the main challenges that we face in delivering the various components of the plan relates to how we communicate with our members and how you communicate with us. Hence, this new publication is designed to provide you with relevant, important and up-to-date information. I thank our Media and PR Officer, Chris Gottaas for introducing The Offsider and encourage you to provide us with your feedback and items for inclusion in future editions.

Good luck for the season and enjoy your football.

Heather Reid Capital Football CEO

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Cian Maciejewski has already helped Belwest Foxes to Club Pink Women’s Premier League titles.

By Merryn Sherwood

Expect 2009 to be no different

After spending a summer skillfully putting balls through to some of the best strikers in Australia and tackling players like former Westfield Matildas captain Cheryl Salisbury - Maciejewski is set to be the stand-out player in the 2009 Club Pink Premier League.

Maciejewski and her indentical twin sister Jenna both moved to Canberra six years ago to play for Canberra Eclipse in the old WNSL. Cian then spent time on the sideline injured before coming back to play for Belwest two seasons ago.

But she easily slotted back into the new Westfield W-League and the central midfielder was integral in helping Canberra to the inaugural final. Her tough uncompromising style, skilful work with the ball combined with a never-give-up endurance meant she was one of the keys.

She even had Westfield Matildas

coach Tom Sermanni singing her praises throughout the season.

that did the most running, it couldn't have been easy for her team-mates.

Now the tough but skilful 21-year-old, is keen to bring back what she learned to improve the Club Pink Premier League.

“They have been put through a bit, each training we've had an hour of fitness and it's been pretty hard fitness,” Maciejewski said.

“It's good for me, but its good for the other girls as well that now I can bring back that experience and knowledge from the league,” she said.

“I also think I'm a stronger player, but also a smarter one, there are things even through the preseason I've been looking at and thinking, we could do this better and I find myself saying things that Hooks [United coach Robbie Hooker] said to us during the season.”

“Hopefully that can help the girls.”

“I'm the

pretty excited season

about starting.”

During the preseason Maciejewski was handed the task of fitness training. And as one of Canberra United's players

Maciejewski also had another reason to come back to Belwest this year, the chance to team up with her sister Jenna again.

They played in the same team last year, but Jenna was in goals as she recovered from a knee injury. This year they will both be on field - and although Jenna has been stationed in defence to start with as she recovers from illness - dont be surprised to see them mastermind attacking plays through the middle later in the year.

“We haven't been able to play together for a while now so that was a very big incentive this year, we can't wait to start,” Cian Maciejewski said.

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Hawker Prowling in 21st Century Earthworks have begun at Hawker Enclosed as the venue is transformed into a drought proof synthetic surface with the assistance of TigerTurf Australia.

The

year

was

1965.

British football voted in favour of a revolutionary idea allowing substitutions to be made during a match, Australia’s first World Cup campaign was ended by North Korea and after years of development artificial turf burst onto the scene.

Synthetic grass came to prominence in 1965 when AstroTurf was installed for the first time in a major sporting stadia at the newly built Astrodome in Huston Texas .

The use of AstroTurf become wide spread in the 1970’s throughout North America where maintaining a grass playing surface indoors, while technically possible, was prohibitively

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expensive and teams who chose to play on artificial surfaces outdoors did so because of the reduced maintenance cost, especially in colder climates.

The success of artificial grass didn’t last long, particularly in football when a number of European clubs were forced to reinstall a natural surface after only a couple of years.

The English FA banned the use of synthetic surface in 1988 after receiving complaints from both players and spectators.

‘Plastic pitches’ gained a bad reputation when the first generation of artificial turfs were a harder surface than grass and was prone to causing more injuries, in particular, more serious

joint injuries than would comparatively be suffered on a grass surface.

Along with the complaints that football was awful to watch on the plastic pitches, players found it difficult to keep their footing and anyone who fell over risked suffering carpet burns.

Fast forward to April 2009, the redevelopment of Canberra’s premier football venue, Hawker Enclosed, is well underway as the ACT Government, in conjunction with Capital Football, takes a step towards the future with the installation of ‘TigerTurf Football Real’.

This drought proofing initiative will see the third-generation synthetic surface be installed for the first time in a sporting venue in the ACT and surrounding region which will significantly benefit local players for years to come.

“Hawker Enclosed has always been a crucial venue to the football community

with a number of Men’s and Women’s Premier League matches played over any given weekend, however, the drought has impacted on quality of the stadia surface,” Capital Football General Manager, Steven McIntyre said.

“[TigerTurf ] has our products laboratory tested in the first instance to see that it meets their criteria and then once we meet that criteria we’re in a position to be able to install it into a field.”

“Courtesy of a generous contribution from the ACT Government, and a sponsorship arrangement with TigerTurf Australia, Capital Football will be taking a significant step towards ensuring the enjoyment of football for future generations.”

“Once that installation is completed, a field test is carried out, once it’s passed all the necessary tests, the field installation is given the FIFA a p p r o v a l .”

Gone are the days of carpet b u r n s and hard surfaces according to TigerTurf Australia Marketing Manager, Jo Prothero, who believes ‘TigerTurf Football Real’ will play better than the real thing.

“Synthetic surfaces have come a long way since what probably a lot of people associate to the product,” Prothero said.

“The field has to be tested a year or two later to ensure that is still conforming to those standards [set by FIFA].”

The installation of an artificial surface at Hawker Enclosed will have significant benefits for the local football community

allowing football to be played allyear-round on a surface designed for multifunctional use for all ages.

“Whilst the venue won’t be able to cope with unlimited usage and requires limited water, the redeveloped enclosed venue will allow for top flight football and Optus Small Sided Games during the winter months but also summer competitions on a quality surface,” McIntyre said.

Along with its ability to withstand football all year, the surface won’t succumb to adverse weather conditions so gone are the days of matches postponed due to rain or dangerous conditions allowing for matches to be played in all conditions.

Along with the installation of a synthetic surface, the venue is set to receive match quality lighting before it’s spectator and player facilities receives a facelift in the coming future.

The first match at the rejuvenated venue has been scheduled for a Friday Night Premier League fixture between Woden Valley and ANU FC on the 3rd July at 7:00pm.

“The early generation of synthetic grass was a lot shorter and has the sand in fill which was quite abrasive but with this new third generation surface that doesn’t occur, it’s a lot softer and a lot more durable and [players] shouldn’t find any different characteristics [than you would playing on a natural surface].”

“You wouldn’t get any more of a burn from sliding on the synthetic surface than you would on natural grass.”

“You’re going to get more of a consistent play than you probably would on natural because you don’t have the divots or tufts of grass where the ball can deviate.”

Hawker Enclosed could hypothetically one day host international matches with the new state of the art surface meeting FIFA’s highest ‘Two Star’ synthetic surface rating.

“The Two Star is designed to basically mirror the playing characteristics of professional football and FIFA competitions and top UEFA competitions can be played on the surface,” Prothero said.

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Canberra FC will be looking to continue with the club’s winning tradition in this year’s Club Pink Premier League.

By Merryn Sherwood It’'s been almost 30 years, but this year Canberra FC are back.

In the Club Pink Premier League that is.

Despite being one of the most successful men’s teams in Canberra, it’s taken a while for Canberra FC to come back into the women’s league.

But this year, with Canberra City unable to field a team, Canberra FC have stepped in.

Canberra FC president Marko Vrkic will also be the coach of the women’s premier league team this year.

“I've been president, coach, player, involved in the club in the last ten years and now is the time for women's football,” Vrkic said. “The club is very happy to be able to support this team.”

And like Canberra City before them,

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Canberra FC have a team on paper that looks like they could upset the top teams. But could Canberra FC be capable of doing that a bit more often?

Like Weston Creek’s Luisa Marzotto before, the former Matildas goalkeeper switched from being custodian to striker in 2007 and won the league’'s golden-boot, this time it’s Maja Blasch aiming to switch things up.

Blasch was Lydia Williams's deputy in goal for Canberra United during the Westfield W-League season, but for Canberra FC she will discard the gloves and aim to annoy those she usually sides with - goalkeepers. “She played in a trial against Belconnen and she was very good up front, put plenty of pressure on the defence,” Vrkic said. “Her fitness and attack at the ball is excellent.”

Despite the mixed bag of results during the Project Coordination Federation Cup, Vrkic is confident his side will be a serious competitor come the start of the Club Pink Premier League. “We still need to work together more, but the girls move the ball around well and technically were good...I think we have a good future,” Vrkic said.

Canberra FC will have one of the youngest captains in the Premier League with Kristina Markovic.

Markovic played for Canberra City last year, but this will be the first time she has captained a women’s premier league team. “There is a lot of pressure, but I’m not expecting to win the league this year,” Markovic said. “This year will be about learning for this team and if we can play well, then maybe in the next few years then we can aim for the top.”

Picture: Belwest 2008 treble winners One team that is already at the top is the Belwest Foxes . Last year Belwest won the Project Coordination Federation Cup, the Club Pink Premier League Championship and Grand Final.

This year, Belwest have no reason to lower their expectations.

They have lost the creativity and class of Michaela Day to Belconnen, but Cian Maciejewski is in career best form, coming off a Westfield W-League season where she starred for Canberra United.

Captain Vanessa Burdett said it would be a different line-up for Belwest, with up to five different starters from last year’s grand final, but they would still be aiming for the same finish.

“We have four or five new players which can be quite impacting, but we have done well in the pre-season and have come together well,” Burdett said.

“Although just because we won the grand final last year, we haven’'t always had it easy, it’s still been very close and we’ve won some games on penalties over the last few years to get those titles,” she said. “But I suppose because we have had those results, I guess there will be a bit of pressure on us.”

Last year Weston Creek were runners up in both the Club Pink Premier League and the grand final.

Weston Creek will come into this season with a new coach, Rob Mason, but a similar line-up to the one that lost last year’s grand final to Belwest. Luisa Marzotto, who was another player who had Westfield W-League experience

over the summer when she played five games for Perth Glory will play, and more likely in goals than on field.

Weston Creek captain Jenny Brew said the preseason had been strong and they were looking forward to another season.

“We had Mike [Boruckinski] for a while and he’s still helping out, but I think a change is always a good thing,” Brew said. “It's probably still a bit too early to tell what changes it might make and changes to our game, but we have a few new things that we are working on for the season and it will be good to try them out.”

After tasting success in 2007, Belconnen United had a disappointing year by its standards last year. But with former Young Matilda Nicole Somi still marshalling the midfield and the inclusion of Michaela Day, who was in Canberra United's training squad over the summer, they are set for a resurgence.

“I think especially after such a disappointing year last year, we are really keen to make it again,'' Natasha Ackland said. But Ackland knows it isn't just pressure to climb up the ladder, they also need to worry about two teams that didn't make the finals now pushing ahead. “It is going to be really tough, in the past there hasn't been much of a contest in some games, now any of the six teams could make the finals,” she said.

Woden Valley have plenty of reason for optimism. After just missing out on a finals berth last year in fifth, Woden have been the surprise packet of the preseason.

They smashed Weston Creek 5-0 in a Federation Cup semi-final, led by four goals to upcoming star Ashleigh Palombi. Last year Woden had led plenty of teams above them on

the ladder for 80 minutes, only to lose or draw in the last 10 minutes.

This year could be

it looks a real

like they contender.

“I think so,” Woden coach Doug Penny said. “Last year they missed out on wins by a goal here or there, very close results. This year we are aiming for a top-four position, but for a young team consistency will really be key, if we can be consistent then I think the second round of when we play all the teams, we will really be hitting our peak then.”

Woden has an average age of around 17 this year, but with plenty of the team coming from last year’s under-15 Capital Football Academy, they already have the skills to match it with the top teams.

“They have come from the academy and I suppose you could say they are a product of capital football, they are very youthful and talented,” Penny said.

“They already have that technical skill, so it means I ’ve just been able to work on the tactical side of the game.”''

But don't expect Woden to be the only team that didn't make the finals in 2008 that will challenge this year.

Last year's wooden spooners, ANU Women's Soccer Club have a handful of new players, a new coach and some good results over the pre-season.

“We've improved considerably since our first friendly, which we lost to Woden, but then only lost 1-0 to Belconnen thanks to a very well taken free kick from Nicole Somi and then lost 3-0 to Weston Creek but I thought we only let ourselves down right at the start,” ANU coach Ransome McLean said.

“Our goals are to rebuild and have a consistent season and finish midtable, but I think the top-four this year could be anybody and I think the teams that miss out could miss out by a few points or even goal difference.”

“I think it's really good for the Club Pink Premier League, it's the first year in a while that everyone has had a real chance."

The Women’s Premier League is proudly supported

by Club Pink.

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ACT Set for Junior Nationals Chris Gottaas

F

ootball is the name of the game for the ACT at the inaugural National Junior Championships here in Canberra according to Capital Football Technical Director, Ian Shaw.

The nation’s best and brightest football prodigies will descend on the National Capital over the Easter long weekend, not in search for the elusive Easter Bunny, but rather to compete in the first National Junior Championships.

Along with the annual McDonalds Kanga Cup and the Futsal National Championships, Canberra will again play host to aspiring football talent when boys under 13s and girls under14s make a pilgrimage to the territory for their first taste of football nationals.

As opposed to the more conventional national titles held annually in Coffs Harbor for older age groups, the Junior Championships will see the age groups alternate between Boys Under-13’s/Girls Under-14’s and Boys 14’s/Girls 13’s from one year to the next which will allow players take part consecutive years.

The week long tournament will see O’Connor Enclosed transformed from a suburban ground to a platform for which the next Carl Valeri or

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Caitlin Munoz will be discovered as tomorrow’s superstars take their first step towards realising their dreams.

“For the aspiring young athlete, it’s fantastic because all of these children have dreams and goals of becoming professional players and I think this is the start of their dreams coming to fruition,” Capital Football’s Technical Director Ian Saw said.

“What it does mean for these players is the fact that our pathway is more defined now from an earlier age so if you really have the passion and ambition to play for your country, the pathway is here from under 13’s.”

With the giant clubs of the world like Manchester United, AC Milan and Barcelona signing footballers from an increasing young age, the importance of talent identification is vital to the development and nurturing of Australian players.

These National Junior Championships will act as Football Federation Australia’s

initial talent identification process but that said, the u p c o m i n g championships will by no mean guarantee prosperous c a r e e r .

“It’s a massive identification process for the FFA to see how players deal with the demands of re p re s e n t a t i ve football over three or four years leading up to possible QANTAS Joeys selection and emerging Matildas,” Mr Shaw said.

“Though, I find it hard to believe that you can identify a player for future representative honors, you can identify a player with ability but there are so many more questions to be answered and boxes to be ticked on the way through, physiological, mental, structure, capacity and the rest.”

“Most of the organizations know who their best ten, eleven and twelve yearolds coming through the system, whether or not they are coming out the other end as national players is a different matter.”

The ACT is preparing its first group of junior representatives but according to Shaw, winning a national title isn’t necessarily a priority at this stage of development when you consider we’re up against much larger states.

“It’s really going to be exciting for the kids.”

“It’s not necessarily results driven, rather football driven.”

“Our two squads are going to do quite well and once again we’re taking children out of non-competitive football because we want them to have an involvement and we’re going to be putting them into a competition where it’s win.”

“It’s a big ask [to win the national title] just in the numbers game when compared to the massive player numbers of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.”

“The great thing about Canberra and it’s coaching and it’s players is that we always punch above our weight and tend to look

at the technical ability of the players rather than the physical strength of a 13 year-old.”

“I would like to think that we’re going to put together a good technical team, we don’t really pick big and fast anymore but rather we look at technical abilities, obviously not excluding those that are big, fast and technical.”

“I think at this age group they will be

ACT Boys Under-13

coached a little bit differently, there won’t be as much emphasis on winning because we need to keep these players in the game and steer them along a nice educational path of development. “ “The coaches will have to be fairly switched on to this age group, a little bit less demanding but more educational in their approach and delivery.”

ACT Girls Under-14

Antonio BARBARO

Hayley ARMSTRONG

William BOAG TAYLOR

Faina BARIESHEFF

Robert DOJCINOVSKI

Bronte CARLIN

Nicholas EVERETT

Monica CERRO

Michael FOWLER

Gabriella CIARDULLO

Alex GELONESI

Stephanie COATES

David JENKINS

Rebecca COLLINS

Jak OLIM

Natalie De MARCO

Nicholas MATKOVIC

Teah FOGARTY

Alex MOSCARITOLO

Chloe GASH

Andrew NGUYEN

Kadee HOLLIS

Alex POPOVICH

Lauren KEIR

Nicholas POPOVICH

Amy McLAUCHLAN

Alex TILLEY

Meg McLAUGHLIN

Jordan TSEKENIS

Carly NELSON

Marin UGRINIC

Nia SOUTHWELL

“It’s probably going to be a lot easier in the first instance for ACT athletes, there will be a lot of athletes coming from interstate who may be away for the first time without parents so there’s a lot of other factors.”

“For the Canberra players, it will be great for them, they’ll go home in an environment every evening, see mum and dad, watch the television, get up in the morning and go to the football.”

“For the other state, the nationals might be daunting and a possible struggle for some of them knowing how close families are these days and separation is not a usual thing these days.”

Other than a national title, there’s further incentive for both the boys and girls for this year’s National Junior Championships with national representation on the line.

“If our national titles at Coffs Harbor had the same end result as the team being picked its importance would outweigh this but at the moment I see these National Junior Championships as a vital step in the pathway.”

“Out of these championships [this month] there will be two teams selected, a boy under-13 team to travel to Sabah, Malaysia and the girls under-14 teams will be selected to travel to Vietnam.”

“Picking a team from these championships to go to Asia is very exciting for the kids, for the parents, supporters.”

One thing is for certain, the objectives for the upcoming Championships are quite simple, everyone is there to develop.

“The rotation of players throughout these championships will be vitally important, as long as the coaches understand that we’re here for the technical ability of the players not the results means they won’t be putting their best team on the park every game.”

“I would like every child in the squad to start a game and nearly everyone players the same amount of minutes.”

“It’s certainly not going to be five kids sitting there on the bench watching the best 11 play every game, we need to share the opportunity because it helps develop other players in different ways.”

“Our teams will be going out there to play football.”

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Whistling to the World Cup

As the region’s only female FIFA accredited assistant referee, Allyson Flynn continues to make an impact both locally and internationally. Following her recent return from Portugal’s Algrave Cup, the 27 year old now has her sights set of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany. Along with her day job as a physiotherapist, Allyson coordinates Capital Football’s Referee Academy and officiates both nationally and locally in her spare time. Allyson caught up with The Offsider to discuss her recent adventures, the trial of a new referee system and what it’s like being a FIFA referee.

TO: Thanks for your time Allyson!

You’ve been very busy lately with another trip to Portugal, is this trip becoming an annual pilgrimage?

AF: It certainly seems that way; Portugal is tournament FIFA use for the development of female referees towards the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. To get a trip to Portugal is a great thing and something I would really like for the next couple of years.

TO: Two trips to Portugal in as many years must mean that you’re certainly on the right path to fulfilling that World Cup dream?

AF: Definitely! FIFA has decided in Portugal that they are going to make a shortlist so that should be released at the end of this year. The referees on that short list will be appointed to the five FIFA events next year.

TO: Are you confident making that short list?

AF: I performed well in Portugal so I’ve got a pretty good shot but we’ll just have to wait and see.

TO: Last year FIFA trialed a new referee system in Portugal with the introduction of two referees at either end of the pitch. What was it like to be a part of the experiment?

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AF: I had the opportunity to be the additional referee on one of the ends. It’s a really difficult job because you’re not in the game all the time like you are as a central or assistant referee and because the position is about making decisions on foul recognition, it’s designed more for referees than assistant referees. It’s going to be interesting to see if they use it.

TO: You mentioned the role was to assist with foul recognition, is that the sole purpose of the additional referees?

AF: Those officials are there to help decide on decisions in the penalty area so to get a clearer decision on whether something is a foul, simulation, penalty kick or just contact.

TO: What was the players reaction to this initiative?

AF: Quite well actually, they didn’t really notice us because we weren’t allowed to give any verbal signals.

It’s was all subtle communication so most of the players wouldn’t have even known we were there.

TO: How about the referees themselves, was it considered easier with the help of additional referees?

AF: I think because we only

trialed it a couple of times, we weren’t used to it so it was possibly a little bit harder or they weren’t used to their full capacity because the referee was just used to looking to their assistant referee.

TO: What was the outcome of that experiment?

AF: The system will be used in FIFA’s Under-20 World Cup in Egypt this year and UEFA has started to trial it in some of their youth games as well. The biggest thing is that FIFA is trying to sort out this grey area. Everyone hates ‘simulation’ and we don’t want to see what happened to Australia in the last World Cup to happen again so FIFA is really trying to stamp it out.

TO: Keeping with the overseas topic, you’ve also spent some time in Chile earlier recently at the FIFA Women’s Under 20 World Cup? AF: The tournament took place in November-December and that was a great experience! I went over as a very young official and without a lot of experience, just the one tournament in Portugal earlier that year, but came back having done five games including a semi final and a quarter final so I was absolutely stoked and had an awesome time.

TO: Do you set yourself goal during tournaments or take one day at a time?

AF: I always set myself goals. The goals I set for the Under 20 World Cup was making it past the release date after the quarter

finals. I really wanted to stay for the whole tournament, I didn’t expect to get another game after the quarter finals but I wanted to stay for the development opportunities.

Lucky I not only made it past the release date but got another game as well.

TO: What’s it like refereeing at a World Cup? AF: It’s absolutely amazing! From the organization point of view through to actually being out on the field is fantastic. The entire game is videos from five different angles, everything is seen and gets re-shown, there’s an atmosphere and a crowd. It’s just great.

TO: The majority of people only see referees for 90 minutes during a game.

What’s it like being a referee at a major event away from the pitch?

AF: It’s really intense. All our times are managed, we have a daily schedule. We have training in the morning, both fitness and technical which goes for three hours.

Normally we’ll get a couple hours off in the middle of the day and then debriefing or meetings for the rest of the afternoon and then an evening meal. If you get appointed to a game, because the venues are held in different cities during a World Cup, it’s actually a three day turn around for a game.

When the appointments come out, the next day you’ll fly to the venue, do the game the next day and return back to our base the next day. So it’s a three day trip per game and if you do five games, it’s a lot of travel.

TO: It must have been a good chance to get around and see a bit of Chile?

AF: I got to see three out of the four venues, I saw a lot of football fields and airports along with a little bit of Chile.

TO: No doubt you’re hoping to see a few more airports and venues in the years to come?

AF: Definitely, the football fields in Germany would be really nice to see. [laughs] TO: Is the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup something you’ve been working towards?

AF: After Chile, I realized it was something that I could reach because I had such a good tournament in Chile. Until then, I thought it might have been to close. I’m still very young in the world of refereeing.

I wasn’t sure if 2011 was too soon but I’ve got a chance so I’ll take it. Hopefully I’m on the short list and we’ll see what comes.

TO: Men’s FIFA officials travel to international matches as a team. Is that a similar concept in the women’s ranks?

AF: Not yet, that’s one of the big discussion points at FIFA, whether trios or teams of officials will be used for the next World Cup. At this stage, all my major trips I’ve travelled with Jacqui Melksham (Queensland) so that’s been great, travelling with a best mate and working with a referee you know day in day out. I think it’s got potential from Australia to have a trio.

TO: More locally, you had the opportunity to take part in the inaugural Westfield W-League as an official, it was no doubt a fantastic opportunity?

AF: It was great to see the Westfield W-League kick off, it’s great for women’s football in Australia and great for the development of referees.

TO: The league obviously benefitted those playing the game, but what did it mean to those aspiring referees?

AF: Its exactly the same for the referees, there were a number of officials who had been to the National Youth Championships as referees but haven’t had the opportunity to referee elite women’s football. I think for us it showed that there hasn’t been any development in the referees for a while but definitely all the girls who officiated would have learnt a lot and next year we will be better officials for it.

TO: Even more locally, apart from your day job, international appointments, and weekend appointments, you’re still heavily involved in the Capital Football Referee Academy. The program is now

entering into its second year, how is it going?

AF: It’s going really really well! We’re looking at those junior referees who are making the transition between junior and senior football. We had ten people in the Academy last year, they all found it a great success.

What’s been great to see is that two people involved in the Academy last year has refereed Project Coordination Federation Cup games this year. It’s a big jump in a year but it’s good to see. The participants are great and the results we’ve been achieving are really good.

TO: What’s the difference between refereeing as an Academy member as opposed to just refereeing on the weekend?

AF: We ask a lot of the referees in the Academy. We expect them to attend weekly training, they’re expected to attend month educational seminars, and they referee as groups or trios in the Premier 18’s division on Sunday as well as doing their junior refereeing on Saturday. They’re also set up with a mentor who mentors them throughout the season.

TO: Will we still see you officiating in the Men’s Premier League this year?

AF: You certainly will, probably more with a whistle than a flag hopefully.

TO: Do you see your career with a whistle or a flag?

AF: Definitely internationally and nationally as an assistant referee and that’s the career I’m taking but having said that there are some important skills I need and one of the best ways to develop those skills, especially foul recognition and player management, is to referee. The ACT Men’s Premier League is a good challenge and a good opportunity without the added pressure of all the video cameras and people watching.

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2009

Premier League Preview Words by: Russ Gibbs

The start of a new season in any sport brings a sense of optimism, a sense that this could be the year that it all turns out right and that prized silverware will accompany that big day out in September.

The ACT Premier League is no exception and, as the nine teams get ready for action, so we are poised to check out who is likely to ultimately be celebrating come the culmination of fixtures in 2009.

Australian National University Coach: John Mitchell Home Ground: ANU North Oval 2008: 9th Top Scorer: Alex Tilemann (4) It’s all change at ANU FC as new coach John Mitchell attempts to steer his young charges towards the Premier League summit. Word out of the University is that the team modelled on the ACTAS formula and featuring some of the top talent to emerge from the Academy in recent years is ready and willing to shake up the big guns. A tough Federation Cup campaign saw the team gallantly fall to Tuggeranong United and Belconnen United by the odd goal in three, whilst gaining a highly credible goal less draw with a starstudded Canberra Olympic outfit. Creative midfield talent Luke Pilkington, snapped up from Woden Valley, will dictate the pace in the centre of the park and will look to feed exciting prospect Danai Gapare up front.

Belconnen United FC Coach: Scott Conlon Home Ground: McKellar Stadium 2008: Champions Top Scorer: David Leet (12) The pressure is on the defending Champions who will look to build on the fairytale success story of Steve Forshaw’s final season that saw the Blue Devils cruise to a 4-1 thumping of arch rivals Canberra FC in the 2008 Grand Final. Now under the guidance of former Tuggeranong United coach Scott Conlon, Belconnen are many people’s tip to take the title once again. Blessed with the nous of Dustin Wells, whose A-League experience is a massive plus, and the goal scoring prowess of the predatory Danny Macor and the pace of David Leet, few would bet against a repeat. However, there are frailties that were exposed in the surprise 1-2 defeat to White Eagles in the quarter finals of the Federation Cup. These will need to be addressed and the addition of Zach Maybury from Canberra City will help to shore up these defensive issues. The return of goalkeeper Ben Cheyne will only add fuel to those who maintain that this is a championship winning squad.

Coaches Call, Scott Conlon: “Our depth in the squad this year is big enough to take on Canberra FC due to our recruitment. We know have 17 real quality players. If we can keep them fit we’ll go close.”

Canberra City Coach: Pat Caggiano Home Ground: O’Connor Enclosed 2008: 8th Top Scorer: Pat Ross-Magee (6) Pat Caggiano will look to build on a relatively successful 2008 for Canberra City by continuing the club’s focus on developing young players. ACT Rockets representative Pat Ross-Magee is a key figure in the City line-up and his eye for goal will be a major asset in 2009. City do struggle for strength in depth and its this fact, more than any other, that will stop what looks to be an exciting squad on paper from challenging for a top four berth. Goals were a major issue last season so the capture of Jon Caggiano from Woden Valley should help to ease the pressure in that area. Goalkeeper James Ward is another top prospect and is ready to shift his game up another gear and put his name in the frame for selection for the ACT Rockets squad. His size and agility should ensure that City are no easy-beats.

Coaches Call, Pat Caggiano: “We’re hopeful that we will be more competitive than last season. The games we drew last season we are aiming to turn around this time.”

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Canberra FC Coach: Miro Trininic Home Ground: Deakin Oval 2008: Premiers Top Scorer: Paul Ivanic (23) Perennial title-contenders Canberra FC pre-season was interrupted by the loss of talismanic striker and last season’s golden boot Paul Ivanic who is recovering from an accident. How they cope with his absence will be key to this season’s success for the club. Early indications are positive with Elia Salloum and Michael Spaleta amongst the goals in a goal laden Federation Cup run. With the talented Adam Spaleta pulling the strings in midfield, as well as taking the captains arm-band, and with class acts such as Alex Castro, David Milin and the up-an-coming Dominic Giampaolo coach Miro Trininic boast a formidable looking team. ACT Rockets goalkeeper Nathan Denham has left for pastures new and is another notable absentee from last year’s squad.

His absence leaves a large whole to be filled at the back and the likelihood is that Ben Klug will be called upon between the posts. How he goes will go a long way to determining the outcome of the table this term.

Canberra Olympic Coach: Ian Heywood Home Ground: Woden Enclosed 2008: 2nd Top Scorer: Scott Barsley (17) It can only be a matter of time until Canberra Olympic get back on the winners’ podium. Ian Heywood has an enviable line-up of attacking talent and no shortage game-breaking and match-winning players. The prolific Scott Barsley continues to offer and end product to a midfield that boasts Fustalroo Trent Flanigan and the emerging promise of flying winger Oliver Wiederkehr, one of the young players of the season in 2008. The experience of Robbie Shroeder is vital to Olympics’ cause, as is the defensive ability of Lukas Roth and the addition of Marcin Zygmunt. Angelo Konstantinou has been a mainstay in the Olympic goal for a number of seasons now but is prone to the occasional error. The only team to defeat Canberra FC in the regular season last year, a 3-0 rout in Round Fifteen, its evident that they have the ability to claim the Championship. 2009 could be the year that Olympic depose Belconnen and Canberra FC and become the champion side they threaten to be.

Coaches Call, Ian Heywood: “We’ll win games and give teams a run for their money. We tend to play better against the top teams so we need to perform consistently against the lower ranked sides.”

O’Connor Knights Coach: Dean Ugrinic Home Ground: O’Connor Enclosed 2008: 4th Top Scorer: Goran Veljanovski (13) O’Connor Knights will be desperate to repeat their feat of gaining finals football this season after making the end of year jamboree in 2008 but failing to do themselves justice and limping out at the first hurdle, beaten 3-0 by eventual champions Belconnen United. Led by ACT Rockets coach Dean Ugrinic, the Knights have a decent squad that has been bolstered by the signing of Jonathan Reis. The addition of the exciting youngster should give that extra boost to the incumbent players and keep them on their toes. Reliant on the goals of Goran Veljanovski, the hit man struck thirteen last season, we can expect Mohsen Ravanparsa to improve on last year’s return of five. Defensive lynchpin Justin Selkirk will, once more, be a key to the Knights season. When Selkirk plays well the team generally clicks. With Cody Larkin having joined A-League side Adelaide United he search for a goalkeeper will be a priority.

Coaches Call, Dean Ugrinic: “We’re much, much stronger than last year, even though losing Cody is an issue. But, we have improved and several of our youngsters look promising.”

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Queanbeyan City Coach: Goran Noveski Home Ground: Riverside Stadium 2008: 7th Top Scorer: Goran Josifovski (5) For one moment during the summer months of 2008/2009 there wasn’t a Queanbeyan City in the topflight of ACT football. Suspended from the Premier League for failing to meet the criteria laid down in the overhaul two seasons ago the New South Wales based side, City then appealed and were reinstated after meeting revised terms. NOw Queanbeyan have a new lease of life. Development down at the Riverside Stadium should make their playing pitch of a standard suitable for Premier League football and new coach Goran Noveski is hopeful of a successful 2009. Goran Josifovski, who scored five goals last season and was an ACT Rockets representative, is their main threat, although the quality of midfield talent Mishko Naumovski should not be underestimated. The inclusion of Dean Tomeski in the squad bodes well and Queanbeyan, as ever, will be no pushovers and will bring pride and passion to every performance.

Coaches Call, Goran Noveski: “Our goal is to be one place higher than last season.

We would be happy with that, so sixth place would be an excellent achievement.”

Tuggeranong United Coach: Darren Viskovich Home Ground: Kambah 2 2008: 6th Top Scorer: Simon Gemmell (5) The loss of Coach Scott Conlon to Belconnen United has opened the door for a wind of change at Tuggeranong United with new man Darren Viskovich appointed in his stead. Viskovich is relishing the challenge of finishing what Conlon started and getting ‘Tuggies’ into the promised land of the finals.

It’s a big ask for the ex-ANU chief as the loss of goalkeeper and rock at the back Brett Dickens leaves a gigantic gap. Whether young tyro Ashley Collins or Matt McDonald can fill this hole is a dilemma that needs answering. More is expected from Tuggeranong going forward this season with the addition of the prolific Matt Menser to the squad. Menser is expected to partner the promising Dale Westmore or Mark Shields, so goals should come. If they are to thrive then the midfield pairing of Simon Gemmell and Cale Padrotta need to provide more creativity. The talent is there for all to see, but more application is required. At the back United rely, as usual, on skipper Jeremy Butler and rock-like Tim Ireson.

Coaches Call, Darren Viskovich: “I think the field as opened up a little bit, but realistically we need to get off to a good start. I expect us to be in the hunt for a top four finish.”

Woden Valley Coach: Paul Gagetti Home Ground: Woden Enclosed 2008: 5th Top Scorer: Marcin Zygmunt (9) It’s likely to be a long and hard season for Paul Gagetti and his extremely young Woden Valley squad, the majority of who have been promoted from last year’s Premier Pathway side. The loss of experienced players Jon Caggiano (to Canberra City) and Marcin Zygmunt (to Canberra Olympic) will especially hurt considering the pair contributed fourteen of Woden Valley’s twenty goals last term. There is however plenty to be excited about. The form of Lukas Cole has attracted the attention of talent scouts with an eye to trialling overseas and the conveyer belt of quality in the Valley looks set to continue. Cameron Gordon, despite still being a teenager himself, has plenty of top-flight experience and will lead his young tyros into battle. Expect hard-fought matches whenever Woden are involved with the speed on the break their major weapon.

Coaches Call, Paul Gagetti: “We’re not going to threaten the top half to be honest. We have a good group of young kids and, if we can keep them together for 2-3 years then we will be competitive.”

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Canberra

to benefit from JFA Chris Gottaas

The Japanese let Capital Football’s Technical Director in on a little secret...how the land of the rising sun is going to win the FIFA World Cup...

The FIFA World Cup is hot on everyone’s lips with the Socceroos almost qualifying for their second consecutive World Cup Final and the FFA recently submitting their bid to host the 2018 and 2022 tournament.

tournaments, they’re thinking for the future hence their vision of developing the ‘Golden Age’ which is children between nine and twelve years of age which have a greater capacity to learn and keep information.”

Over at one of Australia’s neighbours, Japan Capital Football’s Technical Director, Ian Shaw, discovered on his recent trip to the Japan Football Association on behalf of the FFA, the Japanese are squarely focused on the ‘Golden Age’ with the aim of winning the FIFA World Cup by 2050.

Unlike many other football nations, the JFA isn’t necessarily looking to talent identify players from during the ‘Golden Age’, rather the association is using the players own personal development to disseminate the fundaments of football.

Shaw was one of only nineteen participants from around Asia to take part in the ten day JFA Coaching Conference targeted developing junior footballers from nine to twelve years old with the aim of breeding international players.

“I was overwhelmed by the generosity of the Japanese people, but then again that took second place to having a look at the curriculum, the input of all Japanese people to form a strong development pathway for all their players to achieve World Cup success,” Shaw said upon return.

“The Japanese set up is for developing players for the future, not trying to fill the void instantly, their recognition of the long term vision is paramount.”

“They don’t just pick teams to put into

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“The Japanese have highlighted the fact that the information they teach to footballers between nine and twelve years of age is not lost while you’re developing in later years, so they don’t really have to reinvent the player after putting them through the system because the player has the knowledge already, it’s just a matter developing the individual player,” Shaw said.

into that maturity age and growth spurt age and looking to development right through that age to the next development phase of 15 through to 17.”

“The Japanese are envious of our athletes being so versatile and yet I see so many good things in the Japanese game that we don’t have as yet.”

“I haven’t had the chance to sit down and put a time frame on it but I do think the ‘Golden Age’ is a generation that we can educate and those lessons will carry through with them through to the latter part of their developing careers. “

“The Japanese are envious of

“There’s a lot of information we use in Canberra and Australia in general.”

our athletes...” Despite

the conference taking place in Japan, Shaw believes the concept of the ‘Golden Age’ isn’t a foreign one with Australia following suit with the introduction of Optus Small Sided Games to help develop the next generation of Socceroos and Matildas.

While Shaw must present his finding to the FFA, the Technical Director is looking at ways Capital Football can benefit from his experience.

“I think Australia is on the fringe of doing like-wise, maybe the implementation will take a little while longer because we need to get all coaches on the same page and going in the one direction but I think Australia is not far behind.”

“I definitely think their ideas can be used locally, the curriculum itself sensible in the fact that it details development for this age group taking into account that after 13 years of age they’re going

“Japan has taken information from around the world and developed it to their needs and I think that’s what we’re all doing at the moment in the world game.”

However, at the moment it may take a little more time for the ‘Golden Age’ to have a serious impact here in Australia with a number of hurdles to still overcome.

Pictures, LEFT: Ian Shaw in full flight in Japan, ABOVE: Who’s coaching who?

Shaw tells the rest of Asia how we do things in Australia. BELOW: Stop! Please Stop! Shaw looking [un]comfortable in goals during the conference.

“The time frame on how long it takes us to do it may differ.”

“The difference between our vision and the Japanese vision is that everyone is on board with the Japanese, there are no breakaway fractions or rebel coaches that would rather do it their way, their vision is to promote young players through to international standard,” Shaw said.

One thing is for certain though, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Japan or Australia, the principles are exactly the same as both countries aim to be Asia’s top team.

“We’re not trying to train young adults, we’re trying to train young children to stay in the game.”

“It doesn’t matter what coaching course or seminar the key message for the younger groups is always ‘enjoyment’ and that’s certainly not lost in Japan either.”

“The kids have to enjoy football and what they’re doing to get the benefits from it.”

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Schools in for local coaches Canberra’s football coaches are learning from some of the best in the land with more National team coaches conducting seminars than any other state Capital Football’s Assistant Technical Director and Coach Education Manager, Pat McCann, has hinted at the possibility of a seminar with Socceroos head coach Pim Verbeek might be on the cards later this year.

In the last two months, Capital Football has already run seminars with Matildas coach Tom Sermanni and Socceroos Assistant Coach Ron Smith as well as AIS head coach Jan Versleijen all with the aim of passing on their knowledge to local coaches.

“The seminars are great professional development opportunities and are open to everybody,” McCann said “It means the coaches can come and observe, ask questions and be a part of that group learning environment and its great exposure for coach education.”

“There’s a lot of enthusiasm is the clubs and amongst the boards of the clubs who realize that we are taking coach education seriously.”

The very popular seminars attract between 30 and 50 coaches per session with the topics varying between the presenters.

level of coaching expertise.”

“We’re a tiny federation but no other federation has regular access to national team staff and it’s something we’re going to take greater advantage of.”

With the seminars being very well received, McCann believes signs are positive as he now looks to attract more coaches to complete formal coaching licences.

“The main objective is to encourage coaches to pursue formal coaching accreditation,” McCann said.

“Coach education is really heavy from February through to April.”

“It’s taking different topics which I think are relevant to our local coaching audience,” McCann said.

Tom [Sermanni’s] was aimed at how he goes about preparing his national team while Ron [Smith’s] was focused on coaching practice. Jan [Versleijen’s] session was focused on possession games and how they can be manipulated to meet different objectives.”

A seminar with Pim Verbeek would cap off an incredible year for local coaches with the who’s who of Australian coaching visiting the capital to help improve coaches.

“By the end of the year we should have had the Matildas Coach, the Socceroos Coach, the Socceroos Assistant, a national team Goalkeeping coach and the Australia Under-20’s coach to have all done seminars,” McCann said.

“Capital Football is in a unique position of having access to this

“We’ve already put more people through coaching courses by March than we did the whole time last year.”

“On top of that we’re now running schools courses where we put on a five hour course at the schools.”

“It’s not like the school courses are just bits and pieces, they’re large portions of curriculums that are being delivered to all segments from ninth and tenth graders to our top coaches.”

“My main aim is to develop and promote an annual coach education program to increase awareness among coaches of the many opportunities now available to them.”

“I think it’s now realistic that upwards of 350 people are formally accredited a year through the Capital Football coach education program.”

While no details have been confirmed with Pim Verbeek, be sure to keep your eye on the coach education page via the Capital Football website for more information in the coming months.

In the book... Coaching Courses and Seminars

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Saturday, 4th April 2009

Grassroots Football Certificate David Madew Field

Saturday, 4th April 2009

Grassroots Football Certificate Kambah 2

Saunday, 5th April 2009

Grassroots Football Certificate Waramanga Oval

Saturday, 18th April 2009

Junior Licence (2 Days)

Canberra Grammar

Coaches Corner

Welcome to the Coaches Corner where each month we’ll have a new training activity to benefit footballers of all ages. This month’s activity focuses on improving your team’s passing as presented by Tom Sermanni at the 2009 FFA National Coaching Conference.

ACTIVITY #1 Set up: 15 x 20 Grid, 6 Players, Balls Instructions: 1) Players pass a ball across and around the grid.

Two touch restriction Coaching Points: Move between cones to get in line of pass Focus on a good touch out of feet Keep the ball moving Overhit passes to force teammates to focus on first touch Progression Add a second ball to force players to make decisions

ACTIVITY #2 Set up: 15 x 20 Grid, 9 Players, 6 Cones, Balls Instructions: 6 players on outside attempt to keep possession off 3 defenders.

1 point for splitting defenders, 1 point for five passes Defenders attempt to dribble outside of square on turnover of possession Play for 1 minute intervals then change defenders Coaching Points: Keep possession Move to support teammates Focus on a good touch out of feet and away from pressure Split defenders where possible with a hard accurate pass ACTIVITY #3 Set up: 15 x 20 Grid inside 40 x 50 Playing area, 18+ Players, 2 Goalkeepers, 6 Cones, Balls Instructions: 6 players on outside attempt to keep possession off 3 defenders.

1 point for splitting defenders, 1 point for five passes If defenders get split by a pass attacker may turn and attack the goal If defenders win the ball attempt to play ball to a target outside of the small grid Coaching Points: Keep possession but play forward in between defenders at earliest possible opportunity Progression 1 Add defenders at each end to assist goalkeepers Progression 2 Add wide players to encourage attackers to look for width in attack ACTIVITY #4 Set up: 44 x 60 Playing area, 18+ Players, 2 Goalkeepers, 6 Cones, Balls Instructions: 9 v 9 Match Coaching Points: Keep possession but play forward in between defenders at earliest possible opportunity Enforce a two touch restriction Encourage players to play short accurate passes between defenders Good movement off the ball Progression- Free Play

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Capital Football Unit 2 / 3 Phipps Close, Deakin, ACT, 2600 Tel: 02-6260-4000

Fax: 02-6260-4999

www.capitalfootball.com.au