AGM Report 2016

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

– Brunswick Junior Football Club

2016

Annual Report

Respect & Inclusiveness – Striving for Excellence – Family and Community focus – Leadership – Honesty, integrity & openness – With these values the clubs aim to provide a positive learning environment for all players, parents and supporters.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

– Brunswick Junior Football Club

7th ANNUAL REPORT

SEASON 2016

On behalf of the President and Committee, I present for the consideration and approval of the members, the Annual Report, including the Financial Report, for the year ended 30 September 2016, of the Brunswick Junior Football Club

Incorporated.

Greg Banova

HON. SECRETARY

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

1 Presidents message Season 2016 ...... – 6

2. Grant application AFL Vic lighting Clifton Oval ...... 8

3. Growth of memberships & Teams + Team 2017 ...... 10

4. One Club values – bringing the different clubs and teams together ...... 12

5. Season 2017 - initiatives and issues to consider (conclusion) ...... 13

6. AFL Quality Club program ...... 15

7. Moreland City Council – Advertising policy ...... 16

8. Pavilion and Outdoor Sporting Infrastructure Capital Works Contributions Policy

...... 17

9. Uniform & Apparel ...... 18

10. Sponsorship ...... 19

11. Umpires for 2017 and training ...... 20

12. Communications 2016 ...... 21

13. Canteen report ...... 23

14. B&F awards ...... 25

15. Treasurer’s Report ...... 27

16. Director Coaching report ...... 28

16.1 YJFL leagues requirements for Coaches 2016 ...... 28

16.2 New coaching staff ...... 28

16.3 Auskick ...... 28

16.4 Girl’s football Initiative – Jessica Del Po ...... 29

16.5 Coaching Curriculum ...... 29

16.6 Clifton Oval storage facilities ...... 29

16.7 AFL Points system ...... 29

16.8 Training, Ransford Oval, wet season ...... 30

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

16.9 Season 2017 ...... – 31

16.10 Planning for 2017 ...... 32

16.11 Coaches meetings ...... 33

16.12 Player development Club development programs, YJFL Inter league,

Victorian School championships ...... 33

16.12.1 Rookie ME (U13) - Luc Scutella...... 33

16.12.2 V Squad - Gabriel Banova, Under 13s 2016 ...... 34

16.12.3 V Squad & YJFL Interleague – (U13) David Marchione ...... 34

16.12.4 Ahmed Saad Diversity Squad - Elijah Dwyer ...... 35

16.12.5 V SQUAD Romney Markwick Under 14s ...... 36

16.12.6 YJFL – Colts Interleague Team – Gus Coverdale ...... 36

16.12.7 Rookie Me – Jack Ludeman (Colts)...... 38

16.12.8 School Sport Victoria – YJFL interleague U15 – Daniel Mott ...... 40

17. Coaches Reports ...... 44

17.1 U8 (White) – Matthew Broadbent & Peter Mews ...... 44

17.2 U8 (Purple) - Peter Lalor & Jimmy Mastorakos ...... 46

17.3 U9 - Joe Sabljak & Adam Fraser ...... 48

17.4 U10’s Purple - Brendan Geary & Duncan Exton ...... 50

17.5 U10 White – Brad Bennetts & Christian O’Halloran ...... 53

17.6 U11 - Anthony McIntosh & Chris Macdonald ...... 56

17.7 U12 - Rob Purcell & Jude Allen ...... 59

17.8 U13 - David La Greca & Dom Perrone...... 60

17.9 U14 – Peter Gleeson & Peter Grist ...... 62

17.10 U15 - John Ross & David Jackson ...... 67

17.11 U15 Girls - Tim Purdey & Peter Caldow ...... 70

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

17.12 Colts - Trevor Ludeman, Ross Coverdale– & James Mitchell ...... 72

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

1 Presidents message Season 2016 –

The 2016 season has been an extremely busy and rewarding year for the Committee with many achievements on and off the field. Whilst the achievements of the teams and players are discussed in detail later in this report, the achievements of the Committee and the Club included:

Player - team achievements

 Registered players increasing from 202 players in 2015 to 260 players in 2016;

 Fielding 12 teams across all YJFL mixed/boys age groups from U8’s to Colts (U16/17) and an U15 Girls team (from 2015);

 Increasing the number of registered girls in our U15 girls team to 20 - a full team plus a bench;

 The U15 Girls team recording their first win in two seasons and playing in their first finals game;

 Selection of a number of players for YJFL representative teams as well as one player (Daniel Mott) being selected for the State and National team;

 Holding the very successful inaugural Girls Footy “Come and Try It” day in February, hosted by Darebin Falcons (and GWS draftee) Jess Dal Pos; and

 Providing coaching support and equipment to Auskick to strengthen the liaison between BJFC and Auskick.

Facility Improvements

 Secured the use of Ransford Oval in Royal Park for Wednesday night trainings for U14 and U15 as well as for games on Sundays;

 Designed, funded and installed the storage box and funded net pole storage facility at Clifton Park;

 Successfully lobbied Moreland Council to install drink fountain (Clifton Park), fix lid to mains tap safety hazard (Clifton Park) and impose 50km speed restriction on Victoria Street;

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Conducted a “spring clean” of BJFC and NOBS– equipment prior to hand-over to cricket club;

 Actively pursued funding for Clifton Park lights with YJFL, Moreland Council and AFL Victoria; and

 Worked with all other users of Gillon Oval to finalise design of new bathrooms in change rooms at Gillon Oval (note: these were funded using a grant obtained by BJFC from State Government and Council). The bathroom renovation was successfully completed after the end of the 2016 season.

Social/Community connections

 Developed Club Umpire program which has trained a squad of 7 players (2016) to umpire at Under 8 to 10 levels;

 Provided first aid and trainer qualifications to parent volunteers;

 Provided stretching and injury management tutorials to playing groups;

 Providing financial assistance to a number of players;

 Hosted two successful “pie nights”; and

 Hosted a memorable mid-year parent dinner.

Club Management

 Continue to provide prudent financial practices (monthly reports, end of year budgets) with the bank balance growing from $20,250 at the end of 2015 to $24,519 at the end of 2016 (note some of these funds are designated for Clifton Lights project);

 Secured sponsorships from Rookie Me and continued sponsorships with Nelson Alexander, Rookie Me, Grand View Hotel, Mouthguard Man and La Manna Fruit and Veg;

 Successfully hosted semi finals at Gillon Oval on behalf of YJFL;

 Conduct parent surveys at the end of each playing season to gauge the satisfaction and performance of the Club from its members;

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Achieved AFL Quality Club criteria; and –

 In conjunction with the Senior Clubs (Brunswick NOBSPC & Brunswick Renegades) have developed a “one club” entity with core values which are now displayed in the Social Club rooms.

2. Grant application AFL Vic lighting Clifton Oval

Given the continued rapid growth of the BJFC, additional grounds for teams to play and train on are becoming an increasingly urgent priority.

In 2015, the BJFC lobbied Moreland City Council for an additional ground, Clifton Park which is located on Victoria Street, behind Gillon Oval. Council installed goal posts, covered the synthetic pitch and surveyed the ground to facilitate the use of this ground by the BJFC. BJFC was required to install a net behind the Victoria Street goals to prevent balls from being kicked on the road (cost approximately $5,000) and provide goal post padding. The surveyed ground meets the size requirements for junior teams up to Under 11 and as a result, the ground was used by our Under 9 and Under 10 teams to play some of their games on Sundays.

The continued growth of the club in 2016, combined with the cap on maximum number of hours Gillon Oval is to be used each week, has created an urgent need for an additional training ground to accommodate the additional teams and also to act as a back-up training facility when Gillon Oval becomes too muddy and access is restricted either voluntarily by the clubs or mandated by Council. To facilitate training at Clifton Park, lights need to be installed and this is the project which has been identified as a critical path project by the BJFC.

The BJFC Committee preferred a LED lighting option to the traditional Metal Halide for a number of reasons:

 Whilst more expensive to install, LED lights are much cheaper to run and would reduce operational costs for the club in the future,  LED lights offer better spill control which will be an important aspect of keeping the adjacent housing development residents happy

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 LED lights have reduced emissions and this– should make it a more attractive option for the Council to support given their energy emission objectives

Since November 2015, I have met with numerous stakeholders to progress this project, including:

 Peter Nicholls (General Manager) and Shaun Dowling (Operations Manager) of the YJFL to gain their support for the project;  Shayne Ward (Community Development Officer) of AFL Victoria to seek their support for the project;  Samantha Ratnam (Mayor), Lambros Tapinos (Councillor), Kristen Cherry, Sedat Sir and Brooke Mezetta from Moreland City Council to seek their support and understand what type of financial support the Council would be willing to provide;  The Musco Lighting company to develop the lighting plan for Clifton Park.

The estimated costs of the LED project was in approximately $200,000.

Finding the funds for a project of this size is not easy and requires considerable funding from either Council or State Government. The two primary options for funding considered were:

 Apply to Council to put the Clifton Lights project forward to the Victorian State Government for an SRV grant of $100,000 to be matched by $100,000 from Council (funds to be available for the 2018 season), or  Apply to Council for a Capital Works Grant of $40,000 and pursue other funding from AFL Vic, AFL National and the Gillon Oval tenant clubs for the remainder. Given Council would provide no guarantees of putting our project forward to the State Government (Council assesses all projects put forward by clubs and determines which ones they will support but with no transparent defined criteria) and the timing of the grant was two years away, in consultation with AFL Victoria, the BJFC pursued the Capital Works Grant.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Council rejected the Capital Works Grant as the project– was not deemed to be fully funded. AFL Victoria has since been promoting the project to more senior Council employees and they have in principle agreed to discuss a more innovative funding model outside the formal grant process. In this funding model, AFL Victoria propose the clubs contribute $30,000 and AFL Vic and Council split the remaining $170,000 between them. Discussions on this were delayed by the appointment of a new Recreation Officer but meetings with Council and AFL Vic are scheduled for the week commencing 24 October, where this project and its funding will continue to be discussed.

3. Growth of memberships & Teams + Team 2017

The significant growth of the BJFC continued in 2016. The number of players increased from 202 in 2015 to 260 in 2016. This translated from fielding 9 teams in 2015 to 12 teams in 2016. The final number of registrations for the year was as follows:

Team Number of registered Number of registered players in 2015* players in 2016 Under 8 n/a 30 Under 9 n/a 20 Under 10 42 40 Under 11 23 26 Under 12 22 24 Under 13 22 23 Under 14 27 27 Under 15 (girls) 16 20 Under 15 25 22 Colts 25 28 Total 202 260

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Notes to table above –

 In the same team (i.e. for the Under 11 team in 2016 the 2015 comparatives are for the Under 10)

 There were 21 clearances transacted (arriving and leaving the club) for the 2016 season. Of these, 13 have been traded into BJFC and 8 have been traded out. Five of these players leaving the club have been traded due to families relocating to new areas.

 Under 15 girls: Three over-age exemptions were sought and granted from the YJFL

Player “churn” in 2016 can be shown by the following:

Team Number of players who Number of new players in didn’t return in 2016 2016 Colts 8 12 U15 6 3 U15 girls 7 10 U14 3 2 U13 2 2 U12 2 2 U11 1 4 U10 5 10 U9 3 13 U8 31 Total 37 89

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

4. One Club values – bringing the different– clubs and teams together

The “one club” dinner was a great night with over 60 representatives from the senior, junior and women’s teams, no doubt due to the attraction of roast dinner and sticky date pudding that awaited the audience.

Why “one club”? The background to the establishment of the junior and women’s teams and how the values were identified was outlined by Trevor Ludeman.

In 2008 the senior team identified the need for a junior pathway to be established and it wasn’t until 2010 that there were enough players to comprise of the first team, being an U10, which comprised of 50/50 split of U9’s and U10’s . The year 2010 was also when the Moreland City Council embarked on the renovation of the outside of the Gillon Oval surrounds, with the removal of the old scoreboard, reduction in the earthen mounds which surrounded the oval, construction of a new car park and the removal of the permitter security fence. The removal of the fence meant that the Club could no longer host VAFA finals, which had become an important source of revenue.

Another revenue stream was required; fortunately a local “pub competition” approached the Club about running a social competition from six surrounding hotels in the Brunswick/Fitzroy suburbs. This would be 6 teams x 3 games per day competition. This competition operated from 2010 through to 2014, where the growth in the Brunswick Junior eventually prevented further access to the Oval. Of interest however was that all teams had to have a minimum of 6 women players. It was from this requirement that numerous women’s players experienced the Gillon Oval and by 2013 with the assistance of the Senior Committee the Brunswick Renegades were formed, playing their first game on Gillon Oval in 2014.

Why values? With three football clubs now sharing the facility and for player pathways to be established from junior to senior men’s and women’s teams it was imperative that all Clubs were “on the same page”. Facilitator Brendan Mason was used throughout 2014 and 2015 to work with the clubs to develop a shared vision and a set of values. It was through these meetings with the various participants of all three clubs that a “one club” culture was first articulated.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Values such as a positive learning environment, respect– & inclusiveness, family and community focus, honesty, integrity and openness were all identified.

The values now form part of the new banner sign within the clubrooms and these are the “strategic pillars” by which the one club culture and mission is to be committed to.

5. Season 2017 - initiatives and issues to consider (conclusion)

As noted throughout this report, the BJFC has grown significantly over the past seven years. Whilst this is a wonderful achievement, the larger club requires significantly more time to manage it successfully. As a result, the Committee volunteers are increasingly “stretched” to fulfill their duties.

The Committee recognise this as one of the key challenges facing the successful operation and growth of the BJFC and have proposed to share the cost of a club manager with Brunswick NOBSP to assist both clubs with some of the more time consuming tasks of running their clubs (e.g. Registration, Apparel, Canteen). Whilst this will be funded by slightly higher registration fees, it will result in the Committee being able to be relieved of more time consuming roles and be able to focus on more strategic club management issues. This is also expected to attract additional people to want to serve on the Committee. The appointment of this person is one of the key objectives for season 2017.

Other key objectives of the coming year are as follows:

 Field at least one additional girls team (U12 or Youth Girls) depending on profile of registrations);

• Develop an online apparel order system through Sporting Pulse;

• Appoint Director of Coaching for Tackers to Under 12; and Youth Under 13 to Colts;

• Develop the pathway for the Colts team to progress to an Under 19s team in 2018; and

• Strive towards Gold Level Status in the AFL Quality Club criteria.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

In conclusion, I would like to thank all the Committee– members for their very hard work during this past year. Unlike the footy season, the Committee’s Season never actually stops. It starts almost immediately after the AGM with the Strategy and Planning Day in November and continues throughout the year with monthly meetings and volunteering time to do whatever is required to execute portfolio duties effectively and assist with whatever Committee activities or functions may need an extra pair of hands.

I would also like to thank the coaches, assistant coaches and team managers as they also contribute many hours of additional effort to their respective teams. Without them executing the club’s operational plan, the club just would not function. Finally, I would like to thank the parents and carers who willingly undertake volunteer jobs every week both on and off the field and do them in good spirits.

Of course, we all do this so our kids can be part of a wonderful club and community which is highly respected by our stakeholders. All volunteers should be very proud to have played their part in creating a fantastic environment for our kids to learn, make friends and feel they are a valued member of a vibrant and active community.

I wish the incoming President and Committee all the best for the 2017 season.

Alison Beswick

PRESIDENT BJFC

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

6. AFL Quality Club program –

From the AFL Web site:

The Australian Football League recognises that club volunteers and administrators make a significant contribution to Australian Football. We also recognise that the demands on club volunteers and administrators are increasing along with the need for clubs to operate in a professional manner.

The AFL Community Club Improvement Program has been specifically developed to assist clubs to examine their current operations and identify areas for improvement. Upon completion of the AFL Community Club Improvement Program you will be sent a detailed report that provides best practice information to help formulate action plans on improving your clubs operations and governance in the future. Through this program clubs may receive recognition for good/excellent club administration:

 Quality Club - A level to recognise good club administration  Gold Quality Club - A level to recognise excellent club administration

The survey was completed and Club has achieved its reaccreditation as a “Quality Club”. In terms of attaining “Gold status” the club also met these requirements; however the AFL modified the criteria that require the Club to change over to another financial system (online system). This is not required for BJFC, given that all financials are recorded on the MYOB platform.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

7. Moreland City Council – Advertising policy–

This year the Council proposed an advertising signs policy which have required all sporting clubs to apply for separate planning approval to erect sponsorship signs at sporting grounds. This proposed policy was based on a concern on the proliferation of signs at sporting grounds and their aesthetic impact on areas outside sporting areas. BJFC developed a submission against this policy around the following points:

 Advertising signage has been part of the Australian football, cricket landscape and indeed part of the aesthetic environment of sporting fields for over 100 years;

 The use of sporting and recreation facilities for recreation/sport etc. does not require a planning permit, while the ancillary functions of providing food and drink, car parking, social clubrooms and sponsors signage over many decades, means that these facilities have existing use rights;

 Further sponsors signs attached to the inside of a boundary fence cannot be seen from nearby land, given the presence of fencing, landscaping, bunding and buildings (grandstands);

 Clearly the starting point here is that the inside of every oval and enclosure (i.e. tennis) is able to display signage. There can be no visual or aesthetic impact with signs placed on the inside of the boundary fence, displayed to both players and patrons. This would also include time keepers, interchange shelters, scoreboards and the like;

 This form of advertising has been commonplace throughout the sporting history of Australia. The common dimensions being fence height (1-1.2m) x 3-5 metres in length, where a mesh fence is provided or a longer dimension to fill in between the posts;

 The average time for the processing of planning applications in the metropolitan area is 150 days, which would represent most seasonal playing seasons. Clearly this timeline would be prejudicial to the attraction of sponsor for all sporting clubs.

It is unknown whether a decision has been made by Moreland CC on this issue.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

8. Pavilion and Outdoor Sporting Infrastructure– Capital Works Contributions Policy

The basis for this policy was to:

 Provide a contribution framework to negotiate improved terms to an annual or seasonally allocated tenant where a tenant has contributed significantly to funding a capital works project;  Encourage clubs to facilitate club investment in their facilities by providing clubs with tenancy security by way of the contribution framework.

The contribution framework identified in a range from $50,000 (minor) to $200,000 (major) with ground allocations being extended from 5 to 10 years. The Club submission suggested “another way” in terms of encouraging improvements to facilities, via government grants, as follows:

 The “Value of a Community Football Club “ was examined by the AFL with Latrobe University, whereby it was identified that the social return on investment for an average community football club was $4.40 return for every $1 spent to run the club. This return being expressed as a social value in terms of increased social connecters, wellbeing and mental health status, employment outcomes, personal development, physical health, civic pride and support of other community groups. This study also examined the “reach” for every player at a football club, identifying that football clubs reach a further 10 people. Hence their influence is significant.  For say the Brunswick (Senior, Junior and Women’s) with an annual turnover of $200,000, this would equate to a value within the Brunswick community of $880,0003. Note given the amateur status of all three clubs, this money is directly spent on suppliers of all goods and services and not on player payments.  In terms of reach this would equate to seniors (90 players), Women’s (40 players) & juniors (250) players equating to 380 players, not counting parents (760+). Hence the reach for the Brunswick football Club from Gillon Oval is in excess of

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

10,000 people. Of say the 250 families that reside– in Brunswick, their rate contribution would already be in the order of say $1000 per property or $250,000.  Hence if Council want to encourage more active communities from male/female, junior and senior players, improved connectedness, improved mental and social outcomes, then facility grants to sporting clubs need to be made more often and based on the clubs contribution to the community.

It is unknown whether a decision has been made by Moreland CC on this issue.

9. Uniform & Apparel

Uniform sales commenced on registration day and lasted until the week before finals. The main purpose of registration day is for parents to source appropriate sizes, so that accurate ordering can be completed. Orders take approximately 6 weeks to deliver from the garment providers. This is always a fine line between apparel and uniform arriving and the start of each season

Given the continual growth in teams, the Club sold more stock in $value than the previous year, with over $16,000 in sales this year. In terms of the cost of all apparel and uniforms, families need to consider that there is no margin, with jumpers, hoodies etc. all sold at cost.

Approximately 80% of all families purchased at least one item of uniform or apparel.

In terms of apparel, no “new” uniform items launched this season, although design and artwork for girl's t-shirts/training tops are being considered prior to the commencement of 2017, to further promote girls football

Workload.

The bulk of the time required in relation to uniforms is in applying numbers to each playing jumper. This is required to be done in a short time period between arrival of stock from China and prior to first game. For season 2017 I propose to have playing jumpers ordered for a particular number, with an accompanying check box (for completion by parent) on order form to state that size ordered is correct.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

If not checked, then jumpers will be ordered without– numbers again. For 2017 the following initiatives are proposed:

 More assistance (parents) for Uniform and Apparel Manager;  Apparel availability for sizing will be conducted on a single night and not all pre-season training nights?  Online ordering only – although this can be problematic in terms of sizing apparel/garments;  Approaching local sports retailer for the supply of all apparel and uniforms. This is what Fitzroy JFC with all playing apparel.

Jenny Baker

10. Sponsorship

Key fundraising activities for 2016 were:

 Toyota Good for Footy Raffle  Pie Nights(Grand View Hotel)  Team Photos  Social Night (Ball)  End of season raffle We continued to get valuable support for our sponsors:

 Nelson Alexander  La Manna  Sports in Focus  Mouth Guard Man A new initiative was the appointment of Ayden Shaw as the Community Partnerships Manager shared between the three clubs – Dragons, Renegades and Brunswick NOBSPC. The aim of the position was to:

 ensure coherency and consistency between them in their approach to members, supporters, sponsors and the local community;  capitalise and build on the existing bases of the three clubs in raising funds for, and awareness of, grassroots amateur football for men, women and kids in Brunswick; 19

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 lessen the load on volunteers in managing relationships– between the three clubs and their members, supporters, sponsors and the local community.

Ayden did a lot of work developing a data base of potential sponsors, approached a number of local businesses and put together a list of possible fundraising ideas. This position will continue next season.

It is very hard to put a time a weekly time allocation. Many hours per week were needed in peak times but less at others.

Jenny Wallace

11. Umpires for 2017 and training

With the expanding number of players joining the club at U8 and U9 level (formerly known as “Tackers”) and healthy player numbers at the U10 level, the club identified the need for a larger pool of club umpires for home matches at these levels. We also recognised this as a development opportunity for Dragons players at higher levels to extend their skills and experience of the game.

A call for expressions of interest from prospective club umpires was made by the committee, with new umpires to be drawn from players at U14 level and above (i.e., secondary school level players). The EOI yielded strong interest and the 2016 panel was: Otis Styant Browne; Riley Vicary; Ewan Baulch; Ty Perdrisat; Jonas Walsh; and Aden VanGerrevink.

Ella Baulch, our Tackers umpire in 2015 also umpired U8-10 home matches and acted as a senior member of the panel. Panel members attended training prior to the season commencing provided by the YJFL and Greg Banova, committee member and a former senior level VAFA umpire, provided guidance and advice to the panel during the season.

Week-to-week support, including arranging match payments, was also provided by committee member Jenny Baker in the role of Umpires coordinator. Jenny monitored the umpiring program and provided the committee with regular monthly reports.

Key lessons learned in 2016 include: 20

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 the importance of the initial training sessions to –establish a baseline of knowledge and skills for young umpires starting out;  it takes young umpires several games to develop confidence to control all elements of a match and support during the earlier part of the season is especially important;  Poor behaviour by players at these lower levels is very rare, however unruly parent behaviour, with abuse or aggression directed at BJFC club umpires an unfortunate feature witnessed at some games.

To address some of these issues, the following steps are recommended for 2017:

 In addition to pre-season training, intensive follow up training in the early part of the season is required to support young umpires to address their questions and build their confidence;  Additional training might include; o Attending U8-10 training and controlling the end of session ‘scratch matches’ to simulate match day conditions; o Shadowing a senior umpire where the opportunity exists, e.g. Greg umpires occasional Club 18 matches for Brunswick NOBSPC;  In recognition of the occasional poor parent behaviour, continuing the arrangement from 2016 of providing an adult as an umpires escort on match days.

12. Communications 2016

TEAM MANAGER EMAILS - Team manager emails are the key source of information for team members. In the club surveys for 2013-2016, team manager emails have been recognised as the most important source of information for players and parents. E-NEWS - The e-news is sent out weekly, by email, throughout the playing season, usually on Monday or Tuesday, depending on the content that needs to be included. The e-news includes: o Upcoming important dates/events o Match results o Acknowledgement of player achievements 21

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

o Information and promotions from other stakeholders– (including the Renegades, NOBS and Auskick) o Photos of matches from the previous week

TEAM APP- Team App has been used for two seasons now and can be updated by the main administrator as well as by restricted administrators (e.g. team managers) and members of Team App (BJFC members). The uptake of Team App has been high for the younger teams – the Team App calendar is great, it’s easy to access your team’s fixture and results, and anyone can share photos with their team. Team App has also been helpful for distributing information (e.g. change of training times/venue) to kids of high school age who have the app on their smart phones or tablets.

WEBSITE –The website was updated in 2016, and is still the main point of reference for members to access, for example, registration information, club policies, the club calendar, contact details of coaches and committee members, and team photos.

FACEBOOK - We now have a Facebook page that we use to highlight player achievements and important dates. Given that most of our players are too young to have a Facebook account, Facebook is a secondary source of information for BJFC members.

In terms of the time taken per week to keep the channels of communication open and up to date, it takes approximately 8 hours per week. Other work also involves grant applications to State Government, Sporting Pulse updates and organising special events, which would add a further 3 hours per week.

Kylie Moreland

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

13. Canteen report –

The canteen continues to be a success story for the club. The canteen is a central point on game day providing a diverse and interesting menu at reasonable prices. It provides the basis for positive engagement with parents as part of their team support and fosters a strong feeling of pride in our club. Over the past two years, the canteen has developed a very favorable reputation across YJF league.

The canteen however requires significant time and effort to operate on a weekly basis. Approximately three hours a week is spent stocking the canteen, doing bank reconciliations and reports and liaising with various suppliers including the Coffee Van.

In addition to the ordering, purchasing and stocking of the food and drinks, at least 16 hours a week is spent preparing food for sale. Whilst this is time consuming, this is the point of difference between the canteen offerings at Brunswick and elsewhere in the league.

Game day requires a commitment of 11 hours to ensure the smooth operation of the canteen including the final preparation of food and pick up of bread, managing the volunteers and cleaning the canteen ready for use.

What Worked and What didn’t:

Rostering:

The rostering of the parent volunteers has been extremely successful. It enables parents across the age groups to network, it provides an opportunity for both men and women to be involved in volunteering on match day, and it provides an understanding of what a great asset our canteen is for the club.

Canteen Manager

This year, we were unable to get a canteen manager early in the season, so Terri and Libby shared the responsibility of managing the canteen and the volunteers. We paid a casual junior who worked well in the canteen but probably would have been more confident without Terri or Libby being there. We also paid an adult who was totally

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 reliant and efficient, however there was no back up –if he was ill and unable to work, thus highlighting the need for a backup person.

Ransford:

The idea of running a canteen at Ransford was worth exploring, however it is not set up to be effective. The bar is very difficult to work from and there is no fridge access. The location of the canteen is not obvious to the players and their families and despite the best efforts; it was often difficult to sell food.

The amount of work involved in moving the canteen to Ransford was enormous with two cars ferrying the food and relevant materials to be able to serve food. A huge ask for volunteers and not cost effective. It is not recommended that the canteen operate at Ransford. A BBQ if run by other parents could be an option with an esky for cold drinks. Also the club needs to look at permit requirements to ensure that we are able to serve food there. The coffee van cannot be invited in as Melbourne Council has different permit requirements.

Initiatives for 2017:

The canteen is an important resource for the club. The 2017 Committee will need to seriously consider putting in place a manager to order, stock and manage the canteen. Ideally the Manager would also be prepared to cook the roast meats in the canteen whilst stocking on the Friday. This would take an enormous load off parents who may not be available for such support in 2017.

It is important that the canteen remain within the control of the BJFC so that the quality of the food and the variety that is offered continues and the reputation remains. Parent volunteers are an important part of the operation of the canteen and should be maintained to support its operation.

Terri Drum – Libby O’Connor

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

14. B&F awards –

Brunswick Best and 2nd Best 3rd Best Award 4 Award 5 Goal Junior Fairest and Fairest and Fairest Kicking Football Award Club 2016 Awards

Under 11 Nathan Miles Antonio Most Most Nathan McIntosh D’Arcy Raso (#4) Determined Improved McIntosh (#1) (#9) Nate Smith Christopher (#1) – 30 (#12) Parker (#24) goals

Under 12 Liam Aiden Will Currie Most Most Adam Jirik Stocky Purcell (#19) Determined Improved (#22) – 16 (#18) (#40) William goals Wilson (#16) Liam Kanizaj- Clark (#11)

Under 13 David Sebastian Gabriel Most Most Ben Marchione La Greca Banova Determined Improved Marchionna (#31) (#3) (#15) Zephyr Luca (#30) - 13 Hooke (#6) Perrone goals (#21)

Under 14 George Elijah Ethan Most Most Otis Styant- Kelly (#13) Dwyer Epifanio Determined Improved Browne (#12) (#4) Kallum Michael (#20) – 29 Athanasiadis Westaway goals (#5) (#7)

Under 15 Francis Jesse Angus Most Best Utility Francis Evans (#6) Doherty Ross (#5) Determined Evans (#6) – (#2) Aaron Carl 27 goals Tsarouhas Marchione (#24) (#34)

Under 15 Krstel Khailey Julia Most Most Krstel Girls Petrevski Malay- McArdle Determined Improved Petrevski (#27) Martin (#25) Taylah Ryan Edie Bush (#27) – 31 (#14) (#29) (#8) goals

Colts Dom Daniel Gus Jack Angus Dom Sullivan Mott (#9) Coverdale Ludeman Norman Sullivan (#21) (#16) (#23) (#19) (#21) – 36 goals

The following players were awarded the Brunswick NOBSPC coterie awards for each year level: U11: Ben Middlewick; U12: Isiah Botros; U13: Sam Pianta; U14: Josh Murphy; U15 Lennox Egan; U15 Girls: Veronica Varol; Colts: Finn O'Callaghan.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Some comments on B&F processes for consideration– by coaches and team managers in 2017:

 Instruct parents to write clearly the child's full name (or at least their first name) and number. Number only or first name only complicates the job of reconciling votes with the spreadsheet, especially if there is more than one child with the same name;  If changing their mind while filling in the form, parent should cross out name, and clearly write all new details, and initial the change, TM to initial as well;  Ehen filling in the spreadsheet, provide a column for each voting slip, rather than tallying up votes for each player for that round and reporting in a single column. This makes it much easier for reconciling the votes recorded in the spreadsheet with the vote awarded in the voting slip;  Ensure each voting slip clearly indicates the age group, the year, the round and the opposition. Including the date would also be helpful.  Different squads took a varying approach to including votes from coaches. It would be helpful to clarify the approach to coaches' votes in 2017.

YJFL Best and Fairest winners

 Congratulations to 2016 YJFL Best and Fairest winners Krstel Petrevski and Daniel Mott (second time). Krstel was awarded Best and Fairest in U15 Girls Division 3 and Daniel in Colts Division 4. Best and fairest votes are awarded by the umpires during the home and away season and all the votes for the season can be seen on the YJFL website. The following players finished in the top 10 in their respective divisions and were invited to the 2016 YJFL Presentation Night:

 Under 11 Red: Nathan McIntosh 4th (12 votes); Miles D’Arcy Equal 5th (11 votes); Riley Seidler Equal 8th (6 votes);

 Under 12 Blue: Aiden Purcell Equal 10th (10 votes); Liam Stocky Equal 10th (10 votes);

 Under 14 Blue: Elijah Dwyer Equal 5th (14 votes);

 Under 15 Girls (3): Krstel Petrevski Equal 1st (22 votes); 26

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Colts (4): Daniel Mott 1st (21 votes); Dominic– Sullivan 7th (10 votes); Gus Coverdale Equal 10th (8 votes).

Player milestones in 2016: 50 & 100 games

The following BJFC players played their 50th game in 2016 and received a medal in recognition of the achievement from the BJFC.

 U11: Nathan McIntosh (#1); Antonio Raso (#4); Riley Seidler (#44)  U12: Tristan Bonetto (#30); Isaiah Botros (#35); Aiden Purcell (#40); Freddy Sinn (#36); Nicolas Staniscia (#6); Liam Stocky (#18)  U13: Gabriel Banova (#15); Nicholas Davis (#9); Sam Pianta (#13)  U14: Bryce Anglin (#6); Elijah Dwyer (#12); Lachlan Kennedy (#9); Sol Laslett (#3); Joshua Murphy (#33); Tom Vaughan (#11)  U15 Girls: Helen George (#)  U15 Boys: Liem Jones (#29); Hiroki Takahashi (#9)  Colts: Stefan Stangherlin (#11) The following BJFC players played their 100th game in 2016 and received a medal in recognition of the achievement from the YJFL. Of note is that 10 of these players are from the Clubs very first U10 team from 2010, and Otis Styant Browne who commenced in 2012, which is a great effort in player retention.

William McKenzie - Jack Ludeman - Jacob Mitchell - Daniel Mott - William Mott - Jasper Paevere - Ziggy Ryan - Jack Sabatino - Aden Van Gerrevink - Francis Evans - Gus Coverdale - Tahj Haddock – Angus Ross – Clarrie Kilkenny Jones – Eamon Pizzey – Toby Neal – Otis Styant-Browne.

15. Treasurer’s Report Separate report attached

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

16. Director Coaching report –

16.1 YJFL leagues requirements for Coaches 2016

For 2016 YJFL introduced a new requirement was for the registration and accreditation 1details of all coaches to be submitted + signed codes of conduct onto Sporting Pulse. Now that these details have been complied it will be a simple matter of updating each year to add in new coaches/ass coaches. Note we have 23 active coaches, with Greg Banova and Ells Baulch still with valid accreditation.

16.2 New coaching staff

Nine new coaches commenced in 2016, with all completing the Level 1 requirements, of which the club paid for these course ($180) Two other coaches had to have their accreditation extended which was also paid for by the Club ($85).

The conduct of an induction night with the new U8-10 coaches with BJFC Coaching Manual + conduct of introduction to training sessions were also held.

At the end of this season we also see the retirements of some of our long term coaches in Ross Coverdale (4 yrs), Peter Gleeson (5 years), Trevor Ludeman (7yrs) and also acknowledge coaches David Pizzey (4yrs) and Mark Currie (4 yrs) who retired in 2014.

16.3 Auskick

Discussion with Mark Morgan at AFL on Quality Club Program led to discussion about the need for a female coach for Auskick to develop pathway into BJFC girl’s teams. Ella Baulch, our former U15 girls coach from 2015 was appointed with the AFL to match BJFC funding of $500. The facilitation of girls through Auskick has been found to be enhanced whereby they train with other girls, separate from the boys and the appointment of Ella was deemed a success by Auskick parents. This initiative is to continue for 2017.

1 Valid for 4 years

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

16.4 Girl’s football Initiative – Jessica Del Po–

Season 2015 was the first year for the formation of the U15 girls team However numbers were modest with only 12 players, so the concept was developed to facilitate recruiting through a training day at Gillon Oval. Fortunately the Club was able to employ Jessica Del Po (Darebin Falcons) to promote and conduct these sessions. This proved to be a popular initiative and team numbers increased to 19 players for 2016. This initiative will be repeated in 2017.

16.5 Coaching Curriculum

Lauren Arnell (Darebin Falcons & AFL Footscray player) was engaged as a consultant to assist in developing a Coaching curriculum for the Club. All Coaches attended and feedback was very positive with 3 sessions held and a curriculum developed.

16.6 Clifton Oval storage facilities

To facilitate the setting up of the oval each week a steel storage box was designed to accommodate goal post covers, stretcher, net and scoreboard. This saving the transportation of these items from the Gillon Oval. This box was 3.2m x 1m x 550mm steel box and was located in the Clifton shelter. This cost $5800 being shared with the Brunswick Junior Cricket Club.

A pole storage facility ($1400) was also installed at Clifton Oval for the posts that the football net is attached to, however the method of securing the poles by 3mm screws is impractical and will be modified for 2017.

16.7 AFL Points system

Memorandum of understanding between Brunswick Senior & junior Clubs was signed given the adoption of an AFL points system across Victoria for all players. Junior players that come through the pathway into the senior team only accrue 1 point, as distinct from an ex-AFL player at 3points. The concept of the points system is to create a level playing field and reduce player’s payments across the leagues in

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Victoria. Although players are not paid in the VAFA,– this system still applies to this competition. The points system will also apply to the VWFL.

16.8 Training, Ransford Oval, wet season

Practice matches

Practice Matches were scheduled for 19 March and 3 April, with the 19 March to be conducted at Wandong, given that this facility is not impacted by the Cricket Season. This match did not eventuate as 50mm of rainfall the day before made the ground unplayable, with Mitchell Shire closing the ground much to the disappointment of both Clubs.

The 3rd April being the middle weekend of the school holidays was always going to be problematic, but most teams competed. The last weekend being the 10th April was unavailable given that West Coburg commenced their home & away season.

Ransford Oval

At the end of the 2015 season the Club applied to the City of Melbourne for access to Ransford Oval at Parkville as a third ground. This was necessary given that Gillon Oval is at capacity (25 hours per week), number of teams (x12), the scheduling of matches and the lack of space for training at Gillon (used 4 days per week, three hours per night + seniors).

The U14 and 15 teams sought the use of this ground, which worked well all year. The scheduling of home and away also occurred during the year with other teams also playing at this facility. Ransford and McAlister ovals will be sought for 2017.

Wet season

The average rainfall for June exceeded the monthly average by 50% (60mm vis-a-via 40mm) raining for 19 days. This forced the closure of Gillon Oval by Moreland CC and the need to train off site. This is problematic as other facilities such as indoor facilities (school gyms, basketball) are already committed. Coaches were able to train inside the change rooms (boxing) and using the running track around the Oval. U14

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

&15 teams used the running track around Princess Park– and U11’s trained at the Brunswick Baths.

Colts hired the Hockey Centre for training and this facility was also used for training for U8 to U10 teams. Cost of hire was approximately $2000.

Fortunately the closure of Gillon oval coincided with school holidays and the mid- year VAFA break, so the playing surface was also saved from game day use, on the middle weekend.

16.9 Season 2017

The first school term 1 is 30 January to 31 March. The YJFL and the commencement date will as usual be voted on by the Clubs, but given Anzac Day (Tuesday 25) probable start would be 23 April. The fixture of the Victorian Sub District Cricket Association reveals the Grand Final to be 25/26 March, so Gillon would be out of action for Practice Matches until this weekend.

So Practice Matches could be on Gillon 1 & 2 April (first weekend school holidays), while middle weekend problematic for juniors. This year we played PM on last weekend and there was a drop off in player numbers, for younger teams, but older teams ended up playing. However the last weekend of the school holidays is going to be Easter anyway (2017), which won’t work for either senior or junior teams for practice matches.

Training for 2017

The expectation for 2017 is that U15 and both Colts teams will train at Gillon Oval on a Thursday night before the seniors. This will enable greater numbers at training and allow for the younger players to train with the older players to improve the skill level. The past practise has been for all teams to train separately, although with only 20-25 players and not all in attendance training can be prejudiced given lack of numbers, to complete full ground drills. The mixing of the training regime at this level will improve the skill level of the younger players over time.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Given the numbers of coaches involved (6) it will also– enable specific training to players on improving specific skills. Game plans and the dissemination of this information will also be assisted.

Girls U16 will shift to Wednesday before the Renegades, which is designed to foster the relationship between the junior and senior female teams.

16.10 Planning for 2017

Teams for 2017 and the expectation would be 2 new U8 teams and a possible U10 or 12 girls’ team. The division between home and away based on YJFL commencement match times would most likely be as follows (e.g. one round only – all teams take it in turns to play home and away):

Time 2016 # 2017 # Clifton Gillon Royal Away Park

8.45 2 x U8’s 2 1 1

8.45/10.00 2 x U8s 2 2 x U9s 2 1 1

10.00/11.30 U9 1 U10 1 1

10.00/1.00 2 x U10 2 2 x U11 2 1 1

10.00 U11 1 U12 1 1

11.30 U12 1 U13 1 1

11.30/1.00 U13 1 U14 1 1

1.00/3.00 U14 1 U15 1 1

1.00/3.00 U15 1 Colts (1) 1 1

1.00/3.00 Colts 1 Colts (2) 1 1

11.30 U12 G 1 1

1.00/3.00 U15 G 1 U16G 1 1

Total 12 15 4 4 2 5

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

16.11 Coaches meetings –

There were 3 meetings held this year, being March, 12 May (after grading) and 21 July. Issues discussed revolved around ground usage, training, grading and the development of player allocation and rostering policies.

Re-grading applications were put into the YJFL for U15 and Colts teams and were accepted.

16.12 Player development Club development programs, YJFL Inter league, Victorian School championships

Development squads

A number of players are completing Rookie Me (formally known as Draft Star), while other players have completed VSquad (U12 players). Rookie Me allocated a numbers of scholarship positions for BJFC players this year, with players nominated by coaches.

VSquad commences at the U12 level and continues for 3 years and players are nominated by coaches. The club subsidies 50% of the cost ($400) of this program.

For players that make YJFL interleague the Club pays for the uniform and other associated costs ($200 per player). This year the Club at interleague level was represented by 4 players – U15 Girls: Stephani Elias & Taylah Ryan - U15 boys: Daniel Mott – Colts: Gus Coverdale.

These are the stories from the various players that participated in these activities.

16.12.1 Rookie ME (U13) - Luc Scutella.

I really enjoyed the experience of the Rookie Me. I learnt a lot of different ways to enhance my football skills and taught us of things we could do outside of football which led to setting my goals in life, like being a leader on and off the field, work hard at training, practice, respecting my fellow team mates and respecting my family and contributing at home. The coaches that took the sessions were helpful and knowledgeable in teaching me on football skills and values and outside of

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

football. I also enjoyed playing and training at a– VFL and AFL club Training and playing at the Western Bulldogs gave me a big thrill since I support the Bulldogs.

The Rookie Me program was so enjoyable and educational. I thank the club for giving me the opportunity to go to the Rookie Me Academy. These are my profiles:

Ability: 32.88 - Standing vertical jump: 34.00cm - Running vertical jump left hand: 43.00cm - Running vertical jump right hand: 33.00cm - 20m sprint: 3.94 seconds -

Agility run: 9.71 seconds. These physical attributes rank Luc’s 210 out of 448 in the U13 age group and 7th from 22 as a centre half back.

16.12.2 V Squad - Gabriel Banova, Under 13s 2016

V Squad has been a great experience for me. At first I was a bit nervous for my first training session with a new bunch of kids. David and me did it together and both agree it has been really good for our skills on and off the field. They really focused on nutrition, hydration, ball handling and decision making. The coaches were Scott Lucas, former Essendon player. Michael Sodomaco, Werribee player and Luke O’Connell and a whole lot more. They have all been really helpful.

16.12.3 V Squad & YJFL Interleague – (U13) David Marchione

This year I was very privileged to get selected by the club for a football development academy called V Squad. I also tried out and was selected for the under 13 YJFL representative team. These were great opportunities for me to expand and improve on my football skills, leadership skills and the love of the game.

In V Squad I am lucky enough to be coached by ex AFL players and current VFL players. These coaches teach us how to become a good leader, how to improve our football skills and strategies and how to have a balanced and healthy lifestyle. It is also great to see how other talented players approach their football and how much they also enjoy the game.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

I was very honoured in being selected in the YJFL– rep side. Throughout training the coaches taught us different game plans that were very effective on game day. It was great to meet new friends from different clubs in the league because now when each of our teams verse one another it is enjoyable to go 1 on 1 against them because it is very competitive as we both want to win. The day of the interleague carnival was a great experience because everyone that was playing were great players from different leagues and clubs across Melbourne. I also played in different positions than what I usually would which was a great experience. (Round 1 YJFL 5-4-34 def South East 3-9-27 – Rd 2 YJFL 1-2-8 def by South Metro 6-12-48).

I am very grateful for all of the great opportunities I have had this year through BJFC.

16.12.4 Ahmed Saad Diversity Squad - Elijah Dwyer

In term 1 this year I was nominated by my school to try out for the Ahmed Saad Diversity Squad. To be eligible to be nominated you need to have been born overseas or have at least one parent born overseas (my dad was born in what is now South Sudan), or be of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent (my mum is of Aboriginal descent). I went along to a testing day with other boys from the north west region aged 14 -16 to try out for the team. They were selecting a team of 20 players.

I was pretty excited to be selected in the team, and spent every Wednesday night during term 2 training with the squad. We trained with trainers and sports specialists from the TAC Cup club Calder Cannons and were also supported by staff from the AFL. Training was good and we were pushed with more complicated versions of drills than we were familiar with.

During the term we had a match against the Andrew Walker Diversity Squad who were trained by Northern Knights trainers, which we won. I managed to kick one of the goals that night. On the first Wednesday of the school holidays we had a

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

round robin day against the other 5 Diversity squads– from around Melbourne and Geelong. We won all our games that day too.

It was a great experience and I look forward to trying out for the squad again next year. If you are eligible to try out, I’d really encourage you to give it a go. I learnt heaps and had a great time.

16.12.5 V SQUAD Romney Markwick Under 14s

When I first started V Squad I had no idea what to expect. The first day we all met at the Etihad stadium to get enrolled, get our gear and do a fitness and flexibility test. The next day we participated in the first of many camps to come. At the camps we were not only put through drills but were educated about recovery, nutrition, stretching and yoga.

V Squad consists of three years of year round training, meaning that V Squad sessions have been held out of the football season, so when it wasn’t winter, the days could reach up to 30+. Every time it was hot we had two massive ice boxes full of water to keep us hydrated. Playing in these temperatures just showed us how important it was to keep hydrated.

The V Squad training sessions are run by specialised coaches who are assisted by former footy players. Getting taught about specific positions and certain skills helped us to find how we could play the best that we could.

V Squad has not only taught me about footy but about life long skills. I would like to thank the club for their support. This was a great opportunity and I hope that other players in the future will get the same support that I received.

16.12.6 YJFL – Colts Interleague Team – Gus Coverdale

Four players were nominated by BJFC to play in the YJFL Colts teams to play the Adelaide team (North Eastern Football Association) at Bulleen this year. Gus Coverdale was selected by the YJFL. Gus’s position is rover in the Dragons Colts team; is a ball magnet (25-30 possessions per game), with a very accurate kick

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 with passes to players always hitting the target. This– is Gus’s story from the YJFL Colts team.

Many thanks to the Club in nominating me to play rep footy for YJFL this year. At first I didn’t know what to expect when I was told that I had a chance to play footy with 24 other kids I had never met before. From the first training nobody really knew each other as the team of 24 was made up of kids from over 20 teams. This meant we were all in the same boat. Although we had never met one another we all shared the same love for the game. From the first 10 minutes of the first training there was a massive difference in intensity between club land training and Reps. There were 6 training sessions over 3 weeks.

Despite our quiet start, trainings overall were much louder and more physically demanding than club trainings. There was a lot to learn at training under the coaches David (head coach), Eddie and Charlie (the young assistant coaches). Eddie and Charlie were very relatable as they both played the same competition the same time last year and had lots information to share with us.

On the Saturday before game day we had a dinner with our South Australian opponents hosted by the YJFL. This gave us a chance to meet and mingle with them before the big match. The following day was match day where the opponents we had met the night before were no longer friends. At the end of an intense game of footy YJFL came out with the win.

Overall I loved the experience despite being apprehensive initially, and would recommend it to anybody who loves their footy.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

16.12.7 Rookie Me – Jack Ludeman (Colts) –

The first session was conducted in the May school holidays at Williamstown Football Club (VFL), being a two day session focusing on nutrition, fitness and recovery with an intra game being played on the final day. Players from across Australia attended with some 120 participants.

The second session was at the June school holidays conducted at the Hockey Centre in Parkville for testing of each player physical attributes (day 1). Rookie Me have tests results for AFL recruits across Australia with over 3500 records by age. Results for testing (16yrs) were:

Standing vertical jump: 57cm (Min 37cm – Max 73 cm - Ave 56cm)

Vertical jump running: 65cm (Min 45cm – Max 86cm - Ave 69cm)

Beep test: 12.5 (Min 8.08 – Max 14.11 - Ave 12.02)

20m sprint: 2.91sec (Min 2.97 – Max 4.03 - Ave 3.35)

Height: 184cm (Min 160cm – Max 196.6 – Ave 177.81)

Weight 70kg (Min 51kg – Max 98 kg – Ave 71kg)

This was followed in the second week a 2 day training session at the Collingwood Football Club, consisting of 6-8hr session per day for two days. Days were broken up into fitness, skills, personal development outside football and intra-squad game. Some of the drills conducted were:

 Fitness- 1. Rotational activity split into four different stations with 12 on each station;  Stations: one player has the ball while stationary the other has to try and get it off them- duration of exercise goes for 1 minute;  Station: Normal ball rolling and retrieving exercise - 2 min. Station: Pair up in partners and handball to each other while 1 person is behind each member of your pair trying to harass you, slight nudging, grabbing of arms - 2 min;

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Station: Normal ball shepherding exercise,– groups of three, one has the ball, one is shepherding, and one is trying to retrieve the ball - 2 min.

After each exercise we had to complete 1 lap of the ground and return to your next station. The final session was an inspection of the facilities including the altitude room, a presentation by Scott Pendelbury and then watching Collingwood FC train.

Day 2 commenced with presentation to all parents by the Rookie Me staff with an emphasis on being a responsible person, doing well at school, the importance of demonstrating respect to all within the community, school, club etc, and volunteering in the community.

A majority of the time spent during this camp was focused on skills and exercises that can be executed in a game.

Preparation leading up towards game was a heavy focus, what you did before and after a game, and that you have to take training as serious as a real game, otherwise the effects won't be as positive.

The objective during the second day was too obtain 500-1000 touches of the ball individually. So drills were:

 Warm ups - 50 handballs on each hand of the body, 50 kicks on each side of the body.  Three (3) teams of 8 on 8 - 1 team has to get 10 handballs in a row in a confined area while the other is trying to stop them. If the team fails to get 10 hand passes they have to run over to the next team and have to stop them getting 10 hand passes. 30 second time limit  This exercise was replicated but kicking replaced handball, using a larger area, 10 kicks in row 2 goals at each end, and 2 teams. 1 team would have to hand pass their way around the other and hand passes it into the goals, being a 10 by 5 metre rectangle. No limit on handballs.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

The day finished with another intra game played– on the Collingwood training ground, where I was played on the wing. Overall it was a very interesting and enjoyable training camp.

The last session was an intra game played at IKON (formerly Princes Park) in the September school holidays, where the Rookie Me players (36) were split into 2 teams and played against the Dingley Dingoes, who had won the Premiership in the SEJFL. The game was played over 6 quarters.

Many thanks to Kyle Docherty of the Brunswick Senior Club and Rookie ME for granting me this opportunity.

16.12.8 School Sport Victoria – YJFL interleague U15 – Daniel Mott

I was lucky enough to represent the Yarra Junior Football League u15 representative team (YJFL) and the School Sport Victorian u15 AFL team over the course of this season.

Victorian Metropolitan

During the Victorian Metropolitan Championships, played over the Queen’s Birthday weekend during the school holidays, our team won two out of three games and missed out in playing in a grand final by 4%. At the School Sport Australia National Championships, I represented Victoria and was voted by my team mates as Vice- Captain. We played New South Wales, South Australia and Australian Capital Territory in the preliminary finals, Western Australia in the Semi Final, South Australia (again from 2015) in the Grand Final, which we won.

My experience with the YJFL started with an invitation to the field days held at Bulleen, headquarters of the YJFL. Where there was about One Hundred kids invited to trial. We played a couple of games where then the coaches eventually cut down the squad to around fifty payers who had been selected to either play in the 1s or the 2s.

The squad of fifty odd trained twice a week together for about three weeks at Bulleen on Monday and Wednesday nights, before again having another practice game to divide the two teams. I was lucky enough to be selected in the 1s. The two teams had now been finalised and we were to train for another six weeks in the lead up to the 40

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Victorian Metropolitan Championships. A week before– the championship I was lucky enough to be appointed Deputy Vice-Captain by my team mates, Matthew Rowell our Captain and Lucas Perry our Vice. We played our first game of the Championships against the Western Region Football League in Sunshine on the Wednesday night. We won very convincingly by around sixty points, Adam Carafa got best on ground kicking three goals through the midfield. I played through the midfield and as a half back flanker.

Our next game was against the South Metro Football league which was the grand final rematch from the year before. We had a home game playing at Bulleen, they got the jump on us early kicking six goals in the first quarter we never really got close and ended up losing by twenty points. We got knocked around a bit that game and carried a few injuries coming into the final home and away game against the Eastern Football League. Our last game against the EFL was a heated intense game of footy as this league is the traditional rivals in these championships. It was an arm wrestle all day but and we only snagged the win by less than a goal. I played across half back, Mitchell Bowman getting best on ground kicking five goals across the half forward line.

Unfortunately that wasn't enough and we missed out by 4% into making the Grand Final to play off against the South Metro League. Matthew Rowell our captain getting our MVP. A great experience but a disappointing way to finish it off.

School Sport Victoria

My experience with School Sport Victoria's AFL u15 team started with an application through my school to trial for this game. In 2015 I was fortunate to make this team, with the carnival being played in Geelong in the June school holidays, against all the other states from around Australia. The Victoria SSV team won the Grand Final. From there I was selected to the “All Australian” team which toured South Africa in January 2016.

For SSV the process starts with many trial games where about 300 players from all over Victoria are tested against each other and the team is gradually reduced to a squad of 25 players with 3 emergencies. I was fortunate to again represent Victoria at 41

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 the School Sport Australia National Championships.– We had 5 other students from my school make the team selection, which also included 5 other players who participated in the YJFL u15 representative team.

This year, different to last year, I knew many of the players who made the team and was confident around my teammates. Our preparation commenced in a classroom at Caulfield Grammar where we began our training camp.

The training camp consists of learning structures, ball movement, patterns, leadership, character building and other little strategies all designed to assist us in winning the National Championship.

After six hours of classroom work we had a light run in preparation for the following day’s game against the Caulfield Grammar side. The next day was a little different; we spent three hours reviewing yesterday then played a practice match against Caulfield. After this match we had another 4 hours of classroom work and another practice game against Whitefriars College a few days later. That was our last time together before the carnival.

Our final event prior to travelling to Queensland was the jumper presentation for the team, where I received number 6 and was lucky enough to be selected as Vice- Captain, Matthew Rowell (from 2015) again was our captain, Caleb Serong (a Victorian country player ) was one deputy vice, and Corey Watts was the other deputy.

Before we knew it we were on a plane to Maroochydore QLD! When we arrived we had the lightest of training sessions before heading into our first game the next day against NSW. The next day we had an opening ceremony, introducing all the teams from u12 boys all the way up to u16 girls. A few hours later it was game time. The team got off to a flying start booting 6 goals in the first quarter to their NSW solitary goal. I played predominantly in the midfield all day. After quarter time the team kicked away and ended up winning by about 11 goals. Adam Carafa getting awarded best on ground. After the game it was nothing but recovery for the rest of the day and all the next day. Our next game was against South Australia the following day and again I played predominantly midfield. South Australia led most of the game however 42

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 we managed to bridge the gap by the third quarter, with– Victoria pulling away by 20 points and the scores never really changed from there. I kicked one goal but Matthew Rowell got awarded best on ground. Straight from the game and into recovery for the next 36 hours (beach, swimming, ice baths).

The next game was against ACT and it was a blowout with Victoria winning convincingly by over 120 points. Again more recovery, massages, pool recovery and beach recovery sessions were always organised by the team.

The next game was a semi-final against Western Australia unfortunately I had a badly bruised and swollen ankle and was rested for this game hoping to be back for Grand Final! To get my ankle to recover the regime was 20 mins on 20 mins off on the ice for my ankle for basically both those days.

Western Australia are our traditional rivals but we looked sharp all day and won by about 8 goals and Victoria made the Grand Final. Another two days recovery before into the Grand Final against South Australia. It was grand final day and all the boys were ready to win a national championship. My ankle was heavily strapped but that didn't matter because half way through the first quarter, I was sling tackled resulting in concussion. I was sent to hospital so unfortunately I didn't get to watch the rest of the game but apparently it was a hard fought game only getting over the line by a about 15 points.

At the closing ceremony later that day 6 Victorians were selected as All Australian. I was lucky enough to be selected along with two other players from my school. Matthew Rowell was awarded with the runners up to the “JL Williams” medal which is awarded to the best player in the carnival.

All of this has been an amazing experience that I would recommend to all u14 and u15 players at the Dragons. Also to any u11 or u12 players who would like to make the u12 SSV AFL team and the girls who would want to make the Girls u15s, make sure you have a crack at the football trials!

Thank you to Trevor Ludeman and Ross Coverdale for an amazing year and for giving me this opportunity.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

17. Coaches Reports –

17.1 U8 (White) – Matthew Broadbent & Peter Mews

A wonderful year, which saw all the kids improve out of site. Skills, linking up, effort, and camaraderie all developed really well. Parents all agreed they had turned themselves into a real team, caring for, encouraging, supporting and cheering each other on. The team was coached by two first timers, myself and Peter Mews, however we also grew in confidence throughout the year, with our main emphasis being on skills development, effort, and building a sense of fair play.

Specifically in relation to the fundamentals as set out in the BJFC guidelines:

Fundamentals (6-9years) – Learn all the fundamental movement skills and build overall motor skills[1] (i.e. BJFC Tackers & U11)

 Unstructured play - Mostly we tried to have quite a bit of structure to our training, as we only had the players for one hour a week, and wanted to get as much from that hour as possible. So whilst we tried to make it as fun and interesting as possible, it had a repetitive structure and purpose.

 Quality instruction - With both Peter and myself completing the AFL introductory coaching course, and teaming up with the Pete and Jimmy from the purple team, we both put a significant amount of time into coming up with new activities that were fun for all. We felt the players experienced an appropriate level of AFL coaching for their first year.

 Positive and fun - There was always plenty of fun and we were always conscious of player’s attention spans, particularly on a Friday night, and every effort put into making training and matches fun, and encouraging. We were always looking out for and praising the player’s positive efforts.

 Minimal formal competition - Almost none, mostly targeted drills at training, and games that reinforced those drills.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Range of sports - Most kids play a range of –different sports, so our emphasis was on AFL skills.

Basic skills

 Kick, mark and handball – a large amount of time was spent on kicking and marking and to a lesser extent handball skills.

 ABC’s – agility, balance, coordination (and speed) - no specific drills aimed at these areas, as these are naturally incorporated into most AFL training activities.

 Tactical skills – defense and attack – During the year we completed work on centering balls to unmanned team mates, making space, kick out drills, and playing safe coming out of defense. We also completed some good work on center square setups, and making center square breaks which started to work well during the year.

 Read the movements – make decisions – This was addressed through our training on kicking out drills, seeing how and where the players ran to, and then making best decisions when trying to clear the ball from full back.

 Team work and problem solving – As above with covered this with kicking out drills, center square drills, forward line drills

 Sense of what is fair & Introduce simple rules and ethics of sport – We endeavored to always make sure the team was introduced to umpires before game, made sure kids were paying attention to their pre-game chat, and always made a point of bringing umpires over after match and thanking them. We also reinforced the points of not engaging in any sledging or agro with opposition, and both coaches also made sure there was no talking back to or, complaining about umpires.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

17.2 U8 (Purple) - Peter Lalor & Jimmy Mastorakos–

Summary - 2016 Under Purple team had a wonderful season with Peter coaching the kids for the first half of the season and Jimmy coaching them for the second half. The kids started slowly, many of them having never played football, however by the end of the season they were a great team with wonderful team spirit that demonstrated all the reasons why it is great for kids to play footy. Over the season we had no major issues or blow-ups and the kids importantly learned how to work as team mates and have fun. For Jimmy and I it was a wonderful season and we, as with the parents and players, enjoyed the season throughout.

Specifically in relation to the fundamentals as set out in the guidelines:

Fundamentals (6-9years) – Learn all the fundamental movement skills and build overall motor skills[1] (i.e. BJFC Tackers & U11)

 Unstructured play

The kids developed their unstructured play through a number of drills and game simulations during the season well.

 Quality instruction

The kids were instructed by Jimmy and Peter with assistance from parents during the 2016 year. Both Jimmy and Peter undertook their AFL Level 1 Coaching accreditation.

 Positive and fun

The children were engaged and enthusiastic throughout the season with almost all players attending 100% of games and training.

 Minimal formal competition

There was minimal formal competition either at training or during games.

 Range of sports

[1] Steve Teakel

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

From discussion with parents most kids played a– number of different sports over and above AFL.

Basic skills

 Kick, mark and handball

All children bar one demonstrated good skills in kicking marking and handball. The coaches worked closely with this child and he showed remarkable improvement over the season.

 ABC’s – agility, balance, coordination (and speed)

The children all had good agility, balance and co-ordination.

 Tactical skills – defense and attack

The kids listened to the coaches and demonstrated a good understanding of good attack and defense including:

- Manning up

- Standing on the mark

- Kicking for goal

- Tackling

 Read the movements – make decisions

Although very young the children were able to make good decisions around where the play was heading in most games. There were situations where they were not paying attention and failed to read the movements.

 Team work and problem solving

Under 8 team had wonderful team work and demonstrated this throughout the season.

 Sense of what is fair

All children understood fair play and demonstrated this throughout the season. There were no blowup’s or tears in any of the games around sportsmanship.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Introduce simple rules and ethics of sport –

This was a number one criteria for Jimmy and I and the kids were well versed in this area.

17.3 U9 - Joe Sabljak & Adam Fraser

OVERVIEW

The U 9’s team was made up of 6 players from last year and 14 new members to the BJFC at the start of the season. A number of them had one or more years of Auskick experience, others had little or no competitive game experience. They came together to form a very sound and capable football team.

Overall, there was a significant improvement in the skills, application, focus and game sense of every player over the course of the season. This was an obvious and pleasing outcome for the team and parents.

Pre-season training kicked off with about 50 listed players both U 8 and U 9 until we could find coaches for the U8’s. After a few weeks this was achieved and the teams split into their age groups.

The U9 team trained on Gillon Oval at 5pm Friday nights which worked well as providing direct and unfettered practice opportunities on the Dragons’ home ground. Training consistently attracted 15 to 20 players throughout the season. Further, the boys, new to the club quickly adapted to the routine of training: warm up, skill drills, games, game-sense activities and pizza after the game. All these activities during training and post training help to develop a bond that could observed as the season progressed, in the way they played the game.

A high priority was the running of drills designed to assist players develop correct technique and proper execution of the fundamentals: kicking, handballing, marking, bouncing, and picking the ball up off the ground, bouncing.

The development of game sense was another major training focus. Approximately half of training time was set aside for the game or competition simulation.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Match days: –

The team adapted well to the game day routine: arrive, kick to kick with team mates, coaches address in the rooms, meet the umpire, team positions, out on the ground for a warm up, announcement of captain for the day, coin toss, siren sounds and game on!

The coaches were committed to ensuring that every player was named in every position over the course of the year. Most weeks the team had over 15 players so we had an interchange. Starting positions were changed every 4 rounds. With the addition of zones forwards, mids, backs I feel that this opened up the game and stopped a large swarm moving around the ground so players learnt their roles. The role of the coach on the ground worked well to give encouragement to players and to help players understand how to play the game

Coaching addresses between quarters focused mostly on the positive teamwork aspects of the game, player recovery (water and oranges!) and reinforcing game play and zones. The coaches were also keen to point out the “one percenters” performed by individual players. Specifically naming a player for performing, what typically is an unheralded deed, made a noticeable difference to a player. Also splitting the teams into forwards, mids, backs at half time and giving them line coaches helped the players understand their roles and as the season progressed players could be seen to have improved in all aspects of the game. During the game and the breaks the parents gave encouragement to players which helped in building each players confidence.

Post-game one coach briefly addressed the opposition players and thanked the umpire. The medallion was very confusing as every team did things in different ways some sides did medallions and some didn’t. Players shake hands with the opposition, which is critical for learning of the spirit in which the game ought to be played, and learning of the concept of good sportsmanship. Game day formalities rounded out with a return to the clubrooms and a hearty rendition of the team song. This is great for team morale

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Final word: –

Congratulations must go to all the Under 9 players for a fine year and to see how the players grew not only in skills but also as a team was a great encouragement to the coaches and parents. The coaches, Joe and Adam wish to thanks all the parents for supporting their kids – getting them to the game, volunteering on game day, helping out at training, serving pizza, camaraderie, humorous comments from the sidelines and a million other things.

A special thanks also to our tireless Team Manager, Tony Steindl, who did a power of unseen work and largely unappreciated, that helped keep the Under 9 team in motion, without the Team Manager the season would not have been as successful as it was. No mean feat. A great job all.

GO DRAGONS

17.4 U10’s Purple - Brendan Geary & Duncan Exton

Brunswick Dragons under 10's Purple began the year with a similar list of players as 2015. We had 3 players join us who were friends of current players. We had a list of 21 players however I don’t recall actually playing with any spare players for the entire season. We might have had an interchange player once for the season.

Having played together in 2014 and 2015 as under 8's and under 9's the Purples have continued to develop their understanding of each other as players.

2016 was the first time we have been placed in a division. The team ended up in Brown, one below Gold. It was really interesting to see how the team fared against more consistent opposition. We played 4 grading games. The first 2 were against gold teams. The first one we lost by a whisker. The second we lost by 6-7 goals. The other 2 grading games we won relatively easily.

Subsequently we were in Brown division and this division seemed just right for Purples. We won against every team during the year but lost against most of them as well.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

The levelling of the competition meant that we tended– to play players in field positions for longer period than in previous years. It also meant that in competitive games we played players in position that the coaches felt suited the circumstances and the type of players. We still completed the changes in general allowing players to experience different positions during different games.

The pillars of the Purple philosophy were: to get your hands on the ball first, to play on and run the ball wherever possible, always hit a target, 'help out' teammates who are outnumbered and to make tackles. We continued a theme about kicking with your non preferred and this area dramatically increased throughout the year.

The mantra of moving the ball quickly and playing on when possible were highlighted many times during the season. A couple of examples stood out. One in the first game when which was videoed. There was an end to end movement of the ball with handball and kicking which resulted in a goal. The other example was during the lightning premiership when we saw a similar highlight with end to end ball movement ending with an outstanding goal kicked. Other coaches remarked many times in after match comments how well we moved the ball as a team.

Our intention throughout the year was to relate all training routines to one of our mantras. After warm up skills we conducted 4-5 game simulation activities suited to one of these ideas. The handball game to encourage handball and to ‘move without the ball’. ‘Hit The Target’ is a competitive activity where a player turns and kicks to 1 of 2 leading players against 1 defender. The aim is to hit the target and then get it back to the coach without coughing it up. ‘First to the ball’ is a number game where around 4 players on each team are numbered 1-4. When a number is called players of that number try to get their hands on the ball first.

After our second game this year against a Gold opponent we realised that we needed to focus on tackling. Subsequently we used the tackle bags most weeks as one of our training strategies. At the beginning the bags were used to run at and make a tackle in the correct manner. As the season continued players were

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 expected to receive a handball and handball it back,– make a tackle on the bag, quickly receive another handball and pass it on to the next player. In this way we were encouraging the idea of second and third efforts. This became another important theme for the U10’s and will continue to be in 2017 as U11’s.

The use of handball exploded this year and not just as a means of getting rid of the ball but as a means of moving the ball quickly to a player moving. A core group of players started to use a handball into space and also drawing players to them in order to release other players. One of our most common training methods was a handball game played with around 8 players. The common theme throughout this practice session was to move without the ball. Handball only games also taught players a great deal about spatial awareness in congested situation and working together in groups.

Non preferred kicking also exploded in 2016. Many players used their non- preferred during games, sometimes as an imperative, sometimes to demonstrate that they could. Towards the end of the season some players were regularly using their non-preferred side to get kicks away.

Towards the end of the season we saw a couple of players switching the play to players at right angles to them in space. This was not coached but worked effectively. I suspect this is a tactic we will start to look for in 2017.

The forward line structure or plan was to leave a 'hole' in front of goals that forwards would have space to run into. This plan was reiterated each week by coaches and provided forwards with plenty of space to operate in.

We saw development in every player throughout the year. Most players were given the opportunity to captain the team throughout the year. We believe the rotating captaincy is important and helps to broaden the leadership and responsibility amongst players.

We asked that the player acting as the captain said something at the end of the game even if it was just ‘Three cheers for ….’ Some players take that responsibility with ease, others struggle but it is important to see this process with

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

players of this age. The U11’s will continue with– this idea in 2017. Some players started to use their voice this year, helping organise and lead their teammates. We will continue to encourage the idea of communication on the field in 2017.

We would like to thank the umpires who adjudicated our games each week.

The smooth operation of the team, the clear allocation of roles each week and good humour was made possible by our team manager Heath Doodie.

Thank you to all the parents who filled positions every week at the games. A special thanks to the parents who made pizza or hot dogs available after Friday training.

Thanks to the Trevor and the committee for helping make the Brunswick Dragons JFC such a success.

17.5 U10 White – Brad Bennetts & Christian O’Halloran

Introduction

The Under 10 Whites began the 2016 season with 11 players returning from the previous year and 8 new members, with one additional new member joining late in the season. A contrast in abilities ranged from experienced players exhibiting competent knowledge and skills, to players possessing minimal or no game experience. Over the course of the season as the team came together and grew in confidence, the skills of the new players underwent significant development, which combined with the evolving skills of the experienced players, elevated the team even further. This resulted in a team capable of playing competitive football, no more evident than in the last game of the season when they played against the division’s top team and held their own.

Training

Training took place on Gillon Oval at 5pm on Friday nights. The Under 10 Whites and Purples trained together, enabling players of different skill sets and experience levels to train side by side and learn off each other. This also allowed the coaches to work as a team to produce the most effective training structure. Having four

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 coaches offered flexibility during the sessions, providing– opportunity to split into groups to focus on specific skills, often in response to match day outcomes, and at times to provide one on one instruction.

A typical training session was structured into 5 main phases as follows;

 Phase 1 - We began with a warm-up run involving bouncing and handballing, before playing a warm-up game such as kick tennis, human tunnel ball or circle chase.  Phase 2 – Following warmup’s we broke the kids into groups to perform line based drills. This phase of training allowed us to focus on basic fundamental skills such as; bouncing, handballing, ground work skills, kicking and marking.  Phase 3 – We then moved onto more advanced activities combining multiple skills and addressing specific aspects of the game. This involved splitting the players into 4 or 5 groups, and with the assistance of parents, establishing a circuit of activities. Activities included game-sense scenarios such as tackling to gain possession, kicking for goal under pressure, competing to be first to the ball, devising strategy to evade attackers and handball-only games to develop teamwork.  Phase 4 - Each training season concluded with a game in which coaches provided constant instruction to players during gameplay.  Phase 5 – The ‘Wrap up’. We would confirm game day details and requirements, such as; ‘time’; ‘location’; ‘Uniform requirements’; etc. We would also use this time to discuss the focus for our net game. For example, if we had been discussing areas from our last game that we could improve on, we would emphasise this before our next game. By discussing this at the close of a training session would allow this information to be digested by the team before arriving on game day.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Match day –

Match days typically ran very smoothly. This was largely as a result of the tireless efforts and organisation of Team Manager Emilia Rubin with the assistance of Stuart Berryman. Communication was fluid and parent support and involvement was significant and appreciated. The routine consisted of gathering the kids together as team members arrived. As the season progressed, we increased our focus on warm ups as we found the kids could take some time to engage with the game. During the drills, small groups were addressed according to the zone they were playing. This allowed the opportunity to ensure all kids understood their position on the field and also to discuss specific ‘zone based’ strategies with the players. To promote fairness (and in line with AFL guidelines), it was a priority for players to have the opportunity to experience as many different positions as possible, so zones were rotated every four weeks and positions moved around each week. After the coach’s address in the rooms, the team, led by the captain for the game, would run a lap and take up positions.

Quarter and half time addresses consisted predominately of positive feedback and encouragement, as well as simple messages for the players to help them focus on issues of performance and tactics. Post-game routine consisting of coaches addressing the opposing team, medal presentation to the best opposition player, thanking of the umpire, and the shaking of hands with opposition players. This ritual was effective in promoting sportsmanship within the team. A quick change- room debrief, followed by the team song was a great way to wrap up match day, leaving the players and their families in good spirits.

Summary

The Under 10 Whites are a terrific, good-natured and enthusiastic group of kids with an equally terrific, supportive group of parents. They have displayed great teamwork, sportsmanship, resilience and determination throughout the season. Each player has shown dedication and improvement in their football skills and should be proud of their contribution to the team.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

The U10 ‘Whites’ had a fairly difficult start to the– season. This was the result of being a new group forming, while having to play some clearly well-established teams. However, we believe one of the U10 ‘Whites’ greatest achievements through this season is the amount by which they have improved and grown together as a team. Through the challenging times the Whites handled defeat graciously and came back week after week showed great courage and resilience. As the team bonded, confidence grew and so did performance, this was demonstrated by the level of competitiveness the U10 ‘Whites’ put on show at the ‘Lightening Premiership’, which was a fitting end to the season.

We look forward to seeing what this team can achieve in 2017. Go Dragons

17.6 U11 - Anthony McIntosh & Chris Macdonald

Following a competitive 2015 season in U10s, hopes were high leading into 2016 that the same group of players would continue to improve at a similarly rapid rate. This indeed proved to be the case with the team experiencing a very successful year, culminating in a very exciting grand final appearance.

The U11s Dragons had 26 players in total on its playing list. A summary of the off-season player movements: one player left the club to play baseball; another elected to play the season with the U12s; two players joined U11s from a lower age group (otherwise would qualify to play in U10s); one player returned to the club not having played since 2014; and three new players commenced.

The BJFC U11s started the 2016 season in ‘black’ division but were re-graded following the completion of the first four rounds, to ‘red’ division, to compete against five other teams.

Off field, team leadership responsibilities were undertaken by Anthony McIntosh (Coach), Chris Macdonald (Assistant Coach) and Bronwyn Tanti (Team Manager). On field, the team captaincy was rotated every week during the home & away season, and Antonio Raso had the honour of being the Dragons captain during the finals campaign.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Pre-season –

Pre-season training commenced in March (similar to recent seasons). While this approach reduced clashes with cricket training commitments, and avoided extreme heat, this, coupled with the cancellation of a pre-season match, did make for under- prepared players when the season proper commenced. Consideration should be given to commencing a fortnight or so earlier in 2017.

As in previous seasons, player and parental attendance was pleasingly high for all early season training sessions.

Training

Training was held at 5.30pm on Tuesday nights at Clifton Oval (pre-season) and Gillon Oval (in-season), often sharing the ground with the U17 Colts, and senior teams later in the evening. Training sessions consistently attracted 20 or more players throughout the season regardless of weather conditions. Again, the skills of all the boys were rusty at the commencement of the season, but pleasingly, all demonstrated significant improvement in the basic skills of the game and game sense over the season’s duration.

Acknowledgement should be given to the efforts of Assistant Coach, Chris Macdonald for his efforts in working one-on-one with players most weeks to develop specific skills, such as ruck work, centre bounce set-ups, kicking and handballing. This made an enormous difference to the skills and confidence of some boys, and resulted in improved team output generally. While efforts were made weekly to keep activities varied and interesting, training followed a routine: warm up, skill drills, games and game-sense activities.

High priority skills to continue to work on in 2017 include kicking, handballing, marking, and kicking for goal.

Match days:

The coaches were committed to ensuring that every player had the opportunity to develop their game all over the ground: in the backline, mid-field and forward line. Players were named in a similar starting position for 3 consecutive rounds, then

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 usually moved into a new position after half time.– As the team fielded close to the maximum 24 players for most games, all players received at least 3 quarters of playing time and a quarter’s rest. This approach was generally considered to be the fairest method of balancing even game time and player development, even if the logistics of carrying this out were challenging. No doubt, this approach affected game day results adversely in numerous games, but will prove to be best for flexibility of individual and team performance in coming years.

A game plan was developed and adopted early in the season a repeated every game right through to the grand final. The game plan evolves slowly and adopts incremental complexities as the season unfolds. This, by and large, served the team well and consisted of simple directions, such as: defend down the flanks, man up, move the ball quickly, form a huddle at kick outs, play in front, form a defensive wall across half-forward to keep the ball in the attacking forward line, etc. This was balanced with encouraging players to do the exciting things that makes football fun: tackle hard, take a running bounce, lay a bump, sell candy’, and take a ‘speccy’ mark. The boys did very well at executing the game plan, the result being the development of a predictable playing style, that would partly explain the season’s on-field achievements.

Mention should be made of the manner in which Dragons players conducted themselves on game day. On-field behaviour was, without exception, of the highest order, for every game the players competed in. While the behaviour of opposing players (and officials and spectators) at times may have been questionable, in the light of this, the boys unfailingly demonstrated leadership in how to play the game in the right spirit.

This group of boys are maturing physically and socially at a rapid rate. They are a high quality bunch of individuals that enjoy playing together, are easy to coach, fun to work with, and well behaved.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Thankyous –

Thanks to the many parents who generously allow their boys to be coached by the Brunswick Junior Football Club. It is a privilege to play a role in the sporting development of young people at a crucial time in their lives.

Thanks too to those parents and siblings who volunteered (or were volunteered) to perform critical roles for the team throughout the year - many, every week. Without their efforts, the team doesn’t take to the field.

Lastly, thanks to the hard working BJFC Committee that have set the foundations for the establishment of a great club: great playing conditions, ample equipment and resources, supportive of the coaches and teams, visionary and effective. Here’s hoping that future committees carry on this terrific work.

Go Dragons!

17.7 U12 - Rob Purcell & Jude Allen

Season wrap

Under 12s started with 23 players (plus used 1 from the U11s) and across the year most had a shot playing in the backline, the midfield and forward. We did settle the structure earlier than previous years to suit the needs, confidence and skills of the players.

We welcomed two new players and families to the club.

We had 9 goal kickers across the year and had 9 players’ poll votes in the comp B&F, a fantastic effort. Congrats to Liam Stocky and Aiden Purcell who finished equal 7th. Chloe, Will C, Liam KC, Jonah, Nick, Isaiah, Si all polled votes.

After round 4, the post grading game, we went up to a higher grade thanks to our 3 wins and a draw, which is an achievement for our team.

We finished with 7 wins, 7 loses and a draw and missed out on playing the finals by 2 points! Realistically, we never scored enough goals and our ladder position was about right.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

The eventual grand final winners Ashburton only– beat us 6 goals to 2 and the other grand finalists 4 goals to 2. There was only two games in the season where I thought we couldn’t win at some point in the last quarter.

We always held our heads up high with the way we played. We always played with great spirit and fairness, a real credit to our team.

Some Highlights

Our road trips to Park Orchards and hanging on to win against the wind and our last quarter four goal come from behind win against Warrandyte where all players pulled together to get us over the line.

Our fighting efforts against Camberwell and Greythorn where we just fell short were great efforts and playing in a higher grade should be acknowledged.

The coaches had great support from the club committee throughout the year and from our parents and friends weekly and look forward to next year.

17.8 U13 - David La Greca & Dom Perrone

SEASON SUMMARY

Coming off 3 very successful seasons where we qualified for finals, we commenced our Under 13 season in Green Division this year. 4 Division jumps in 4 seasons proved our most difficult challenge yet. This year we were challenged both physically and mentally, playing against bigger and better teams and although competitive at times, we were out of our depth for most of the season.

As the season progressed, we adjusted our game plan to try to regain belief and confidence that we could compete against anybody. After winning the first 2 games against relatively undermanned opponents, we lost 10 games in a row, but we stuck to it and kept improving and growing as a team, showing glimpses (being one or two quarters) that we could match it with anyone. The main focus in our messages was to be as consistent as possible for 4 quarters. This started to improve and we probably played our best footy during the last month of the season. In 2016, the U13 didn’t “play to win” rather we concentrated on the playing style and

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 game plan. We were smaller and lighter than most– of our opponents so we did not want to simply kick the ball long and down the line where we would be out marked and turnover the ball easily.

We also rotated players equally off the bench and in different positions. We did this to be fair to all players in regards to time on the ground and to keep the education up on how to play different positions. This equal rotation policy often reduced the team’s ability to win a game as weaker performing players were given equal game time to stronger performers.

TRAINING & PLAYER INVOLVEMENT

Our aim is to get ALL players to play a part at training. Everyone is asked to put their hands up and answer questions with the confidence that their team mates will respect and value their opinions. Everyone is given a chance to speak and encouraged to put their suggestions and ideas forward.

It gets players thinking and paying attention by reviewing the weekend’s game and also how training ties into what we need to improve on for the next week.

This season our training incorporated endurance work, speed/agility drills and body weight exercises to focus on core and upper body strength. Stretching was also a main focus pre and post training/games with a lot of players going through different stages of growth and the game being a lot more physical at the Under 13 level.

We tried to improve the disposal skills of our group by both hand and foot and encouraged players to use their non-preferred side to at least “get out of jail”. We focused on pressure acts and tackling at training so as to become a more physical opponent.

Although the boys trained hard, we did have a lot of fun at training. We had goal kicking competitions, relays, joke telling, came up with nicknames and always finished a training session with a game…we have for 5 years now. It’s amazing how the competitiveness kicks in once the words “last goal wins” are yelled out!

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

We loved challenging players against different opponents– each week to help them get the best out each other. It also helped us identify player strengths and weaknesses which assisted in developing players into a number of roles throughout the season.

Our focus on strategy was to get the boys to lower their eyes for short lead up passes, play on more from marks and free kicks, look for opportunities to switch the play, handball to runners rather than kicking blind around corners, pass ball backwards from boundary line kicks and generally be less predictable to the opposition.

The turnaround in competitiveness from the beginning of the year shows our players were willing to work and put the things we learnt on the training track into Game Day no matter what the previous result was – difficult to do during a 10 week losing period! Players started talking more to each other on the ground as the year went on.

As coaches we constantly pushed the need for communication/talk on the field. It has been great seeing players improve both individually and as a team.

17.9 U14 – Peter Gleeson & Peter Grist

At under 14 level, the team now sits right in the middle of this third and final stage of junior development in the game.

Train to Train (12-16 years) – Consolidate basic sports specific skills and tactics (i.e. U13-Colts BJFC)

 Play to win and do their best  Focus on skill training and physical development over competition  Practice to competition ratio 60%/40% Players and coaches need to understand;

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

 Coping skills – physical and mental challenges– of competition  Pre-game plan  Communication  Concentration skills Play to win and do their best: Whereas in earlier levels of development, where the focus is less about winning and more about participating, competing and enjoying the game, players naturally begin to focus more on winning at this age and are encouraged to strive for this.

Whilst encouraging a winning culture, the coaches were very mindful of the language used to the players and made a conscious effort to not overly emphasize “winning games”. The language focused more on concentrating on our game plan and structure; carrying through what we had been doing at training into match play; competing hard and trying to win every contest and committing to try and give 100% effort all the time. The coaches explained that if we were able to execute all the strong aspects of our game as best we could, then the outcome would likely be good.

If this all went to plan and if we were good enough, winning should take care of itself.

Particularly against the bigger, better, more skillful sides, where the scoreboard didn’t show a victory; we found that there were many little “wins” that we could take from games. In fact, some of the more memorable team performances came in matches against better opposition: i.e. the teams that played off in finals.

Focus on skill training and physical development:

Pre-season: The team commenced pre-season training in February. Despite the usual unavailability of players at this time due to other sporting commitments, these sessions were fairly well attended. Early focus was on fitness, a time trial being part of this program.

Game focused training became a training priority quite early on but these sessions were often limited to short, sharp drills due to the limited space on the shared confines of Clifton Park.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Season proper: The team trained one night a week– (Wednesday) making the Practice to competition ratio less than the desired 60:40 ratio. Coaches constantly reminded players that the training time we had available was limited and precious and encouraged the team to waste as little of it as possible.

The topic of whether to schedule another second training night for next year in already crowded facilities will likely be up for discussion. The possibility of a night training with combined age groups is something which has been tabled and certainly has merit, both in being able to utilize the whole ground and encouraging competition/skill improvement with more advanced players.

This year we were fortunate to have the use of Ramsden Oval in Parkville to use as a second training base. The under 14 and 15 groups used this ground for a large majority of the season. This proved to be advantageous in that it allowed us the availability of more ground space and therefore made expanded half ground; and sometimes full ground drills to be possible.

Aerobic training/ Skill, speed, strength, core work/ Flexibility – growth of bones, muscles, tendon, ligaments: We were fortunate to once again have Oli Styant- Browne available at training most weeks. Oli was instrumental in working with the players in proper warm up, stretch and a series of exercises aimed at building strength, improving flexibility and ensuring that particularly soft tissue injuries were kept to a minimum. Players were familiar with this routine and were able to go through the routine independently, if required.

Throughout the season, the only prolonged absences were due to planned elective surgery and one player who was unfortunately hampered by separate hamstring injuries.

Train in daily in competitive situation – practice matches, competitive games/drills: A large component of training revolved around game sense activities. A big focus was on players winning their own contested football in pressure situations and being able to make good, quick decisions and execute accurate disposal. An equal importance was then placed on the willingness and ability to “do something else “in terms of second and third efforts. 64

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

We built on the basic game plan from under 13s– and encouraged the use of the switch kick to open up space and allow fast ball movement. The team also worked on forward entry and positioning and leading of forward targets; full back kick ins with the huddle and break; and stoppage/clearances.

Late in the season we were able to combine with the under 15 squad and often finished training with a 20-30 minute practice match.

Game day: Strategies pre-game centred very much around sticking to the game plan. The coaches mostly emphasized 2 or 3 main points of focus. These varied, depending on the opposition and the ground and weather conditions.

The common theme was always about “being first to the ball/winning your own ball/winning the contest”. After winning the ball, the message was to “follow up with another effort/run on/shepherd/move to a position of advantage”. These were all aspects of the game that had been worked on during training. The clear message was to try and execute these skills to the best level that we could.

Communication: Pre game, the team would separate into groups consisting of forwards, mids and backs. Each group would discuss its strategy together and with the input of one of the coaches. Usually a member of the leadership group or one of the key position players from each line would lead this. Oli, Richard Oborne and Dean Dagiandas should each be thanked for their input in this area.

At quarter and half breaks, a member or members of the leadership group would get the team together in a huddle to give last minute instruction and motivation before resuming onfield positions.

The season overall: The team competed in the Under 14 Blue division. After the opening 4 grading games it had a 2:2 win/loss ratio and subsequently stayed in this division.

At season’s end, the team had won 5 games and lost 10, managing to cling onto 5th position but finish 3 games behind the 4th placed Preston and well out of finals contention.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Essentially the Blue division became a competition– for finals spots amongst the top 4 sides and a competition between the bottom 4, for bragging rights only.

So tight was the makeup of the lower half of the ladder, that with 1 round to go, a loss would almost certainly have landed Brunswick 8th position and a wooden spoon. Luckily, a healthy win enabled the team to hang on to 5th position by 0.61 of a %.

Once again, our team was well off for numbers. We were fortunate to gain 2 new, experienced and very capable players to the squad from other clubs so that our registered players totaled 27. Of course these numbers meant that again there was the necessity at times to rotate players out to enable the maximum number of 24 to be selected on game day. This has been the norm for this group for several years now, so it did not cause any real issues within the squad.

On the occasions when numbers were not reduced sufficiently through illness, injury or other reasons, players who were required to rotate out mostly had the option of playing up an age level with the under 15 team. Several players took this opportunity and performed well at the higher level.

On a performance level, the team should believe that it fitted well and was competitive in this division. Finishing fifth was telling in that, in reality, we were not always quite up to the standard of the top 4 sides. We were often outsized and sometimes out skilled, but observation would show that the team rarely lacked the required endeavour to compete with even the better sides.

In fact, as the season progressed, some of the better team performances occurred against the top sides of the competition. The spirited showings against grand finalists Warrandyte and Banyule, games in which Brunswick lead for good periods, showed that the team could match it with the best. The difference was that we were unable to play consistent, hard football for 4 quarters.

The lapses in concentration and intensity allowed good sides to take advantage and score heavily against us at crucial times in matches.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

It was satisfying to see that in the final round of –the season, with nothing more to play for than ranking in the bottom 4, the team was able to produce 4 quarters of consistent, free flowing and exciting football; arguably its best for the year.

It was a good way to finish the year and hopefully shows that when this group commits to producing a full game of consistent effort, the result can be very pleasing indeed.

A parting note: This report will prove to be my final correspondence as coach of this team. After 5 years of coaching these boys from under 10 to under 14 footballers, I feel it is time that they heard from someone else; another voice. The experience of being a part of this team since 2011 and coaching this group from 2012 has been very rewarding and enjoyable.

I thank all of the players and particularly all of the parents over this time for their help, support and faith in allowing me to perform this job. It is a privilege to have been involved with you all. I will still be very much involved with the team and am excited to witness things from a different perspective.

Lastly to the players, things will not change for you. Continue to work hard for each other and continue to try and perform at the best of your ability for the benefit of the team. There are still many great unwritten stories for this group. I look forward to them.

Peter Gleeson.

17.10 U15 - John Ross & David Jackson

2016 proved to be a challenging year for our boy’s right from the 1st grading game. We played Warrandyte and were beaten by 30 goals. This tends to happen when you are basically mismatched against a group of more athletic, bigger and more physically developed boys. Throughout the year we were tested by other sides and the win loss record was four wins to eleven losses (some games we lost by a couple of goals and one by only a few points).

The upside of this was that as a team we were able to cope with it, and realize that in football there is always going to be times when things will not be easy and you 67

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 may have to front up week after week, grit your –teeth and get on with it. We did this, and all our boys applied themselves positively throughout the year, and I think enjoyed their season. Which from my perspective was the most important thing. We took it seriously and tried to win but in some games we were simply outclassed, we got tougher and more resilient as the year progressed. As coaches we tried to address the areas that we needed to improve on, but keeping the boys positive and enjoying their football was also important.

Training, consisted of lots of skill work, game related drills and game sense activities at Ransford Oval on a Wednesday and even more skill work and running at Princes Park on a Thursday. Thursday was optional, our numbers varied from 8-12.

The one thing I noticed in relation to this optional night was that the boys that attended regularly, their development was dramatic, their tackling and ball skills both handballing and kicking improved significantly go figure?

It was rewarding to see that the effort put into skills paid dividends on Sundays. Boys were able to distribute the ball confidently by hand when under pressure. This acquisition of skills was one of our main ingredients in our Game Plan on game day, to be able to share the ball by hand in tight situations kept us in games and certainly gave many of the boys added confidence to win the footy and not panic when they got it, just move it off to another player who has more space. The range of capabilities across the group was as with most junior teams significant, this I thought was important to address. To do this I certainly tried to put as much work into the boys with less confidence and also lesser skill set as possible, often singling individual boys out for kicking or handballing tuition by Brendan or Dave or with other parents who were there to help on training nights.

As coaches we need to be aware that these boys are the ones that are most likely to walk away from the game and so need to be encouraged and helped with their confidence. To improve their confidence and develop a team morale each week I wrote a Match Report and tried to say one or two positive things about each boy (all players) in the report. In the Match Report we also published the tackle count

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 for all team members, this was designed to encourage– players to lay tackles, generally each week we would have 4-5 boys laying as many as 6-8 tackles per game. This certainly helped some boys to get into the game by tackling, as well explaining to all that it was an expected part of our game plan. In the Report I also added an Interesting Facts section, weird facts from the internet, this was included to get all boys reading the report, also we had some other themes and stories that the boys embraced, it was a bit of fun and bonded the team.

It got to the stage that the boys would look forward to the report each week. It was taxing and often didn’t get published until the last minute. I did 13 out of 15, fell behind in the end but certainly had a bit of fun with it.

If you want to have a look at one, look on the website under Under-15 Match Reports, just an idea if you want to include it in your program next year, obviously it can be done in a number of ways.

I felt it gave the group a sense of belonging and family, also most boys looked forward to reading something positive about their performance even if we were beaten by 10 goals. I also pointed areas that I felt we needed to improve on and discussed other aspects of play that could be improved, it certainly gave me a chance to teach and bond the group.

Another thing we did throughout the year was a dinner at La Porchetta for all players and parents, this was a good night we trained at Princes Park ran to the City Baths for a swim and organized to meet at 7.30 with parents at La Porchetta just near the Vic Market. Turned out to be a good night.

Presentation Day was also a little different for our group, we had a BBQ at my place and Dave and I organized for all players to receive an award based on their contribution to the team for the year. This was done by purchasing books and tops etc. from Savers and making up award certificates for each player’s contribution throughout the year. The purpose of this was to make sure all boys and families had a positive presentation day not just the B&F etc. We had a good day and a bit of fun all players received recognition for their efforts throughout the year.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

BJFC is a really positive environment for all the– boys that play for the club and if we can develop their skills, make them better players, but also give them the opportunity to enjoy us as coaches and appreciate their teammates, then we are enriching their lives and hopefully providing them with a more interesting and memorable experience in football and life.

17.11 U15 Girls - Tim Purdey & Peter Caldow

It is no secret that girls’ and women’s football is on the rise and the Brunswick Under 15 Girls encapsulated that growth and development in season 2016.

In our second season our numbers grew from 13 to 20 players, with 10 new players to the team, nine of whom were playing their first season of footy. The one who wasn’t was Krstel Petrevski who was to be our superstar from Halls Creek in WA, winning our B&F, the League goal kicking and medal! Look out for Krstel’s name in a AFL Women’s draft in the not too distant future.

Krstel aside, we were a team of first and second year players and the emphasis from a coaching perspective was – and will remain for some time yet – on the basics of the game, particularly kicking and handballing. The reality is that girls starting in their mid-teens haven’t had the years of playing with a footy that boys have and it is easy to forget that it isn’t the easiest thing to handle and dispose of, especially in the heat of a game. Therefore, we deliberately spent much of our time at training on learning and practising our skills, including in match practice drills. From a coaching perspective girls footy at this level is about development, development, development.

One skill that the girls picked up straight away was tackling and they were just ferocious at it. Also, after a difficult set of grading games in Division 2, when we predominantly played against teams who went on to play in Division 1, the girls started to become more confident in their attack on the ball and they realized the importance of trying to win every contest during a game.

After the grading games we dropped to Division 3 and had immediate success. We recorded our first ever win against Blackburn at Ransford Oval by a whopping 50

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 points, which was a 127-point turnaround from playing– the same team two rounds prior. We had regained some key players from injury but it was still a wonderful indicator of how we were improving.

We then had a patch where we won our first ever away game (against Glen Iris) but struggled in losses against the two eventual grand finalists. But then the coach went away and Peter Caldow took over and the team absolutely hit its straps, with three massive wins, including a 75-point smashing of Ashburton, who went on to win the flag. There is talk of Peter moving to the Hawthorn coaching panel in 2017!

Despite the coach returning, the winning run continued for the final three home- and-away games, including our first win over a St Mary’s side (always hard to beat) and our first victory at Gillon Oval (we don’t tend to enjoy the really big grounds).

It was then on to our first finals series, having finished third on the ladder, where we played St Mary’s, but this time in very different conditions to a fortnight before. It was a big, hard track which ended up favouring our opponents. We definitely preferred the smaller, heavier grounds. Even though we lost the game, it was a great learning experience for the girls (and the coach) as we now know we need to be fitter if we want to win finals. We also learned just how important it is to take your chances when you have them (especially early in the game when we were on top) and the cost of not following basic team rules, such as keeping the ball away from the danger zone in defence. All in all, the effort could not be faulted on the day and we were all very proud of the girls for their break-out season.

This team will progress to the newly created Under 16s in 2017, which will suit our development more than going straight to Youth Girls. We are also aiming to have a team compete at a younger age level.

The wonderful thing about this season has been watching the way the girls improved week-on-week. It was particularly noticeable with the first-year players as they learned the basic skills at training and gained more confidence in the 71

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

matches. The improvement of the second-year players– was also pronounced. They started to look like footballers. They were talking more, putting in shepherds, directing play and running to better positions on the ground.

Thanks and well done to the girls for their efforts and thanks also to the parents for their wonderful support during the season. There is nothing better than only having to worry about coaching the team and knowing all the other jobs are taken care of.

The future is truly exciting for this team, for girls footy at Brunswick and for the female version of our great game generally. May it continue to grow!

17.12 Colts - Trevor Ludeman, Ross Coverdale & James Mitchell

There are three stages to the development of junior footballers, with “Train to Train” being the last stage prior to commencing senior football.

Train to Train (12-16 years) – Consolidate basic sports specific skills and tactics (i.e. U13-Colts BJFC)

 Play to win and do their best  Focus on skill training and physical development over competition  Practice to competition ratio 60%/40% Players and coaches need to understand;

 Aerobic training  Skill, speed, strength, core work  Flexibility – growth of bones, muscles, tendon, ligaments  Train in daily in competitive situation – practice matches, competitive games/drills  Strategy  Coping skills – physical and mental challenges of competition  Pre-game plan  Communication  Concentration skills

Focus on skill training and physical development: This year pre-season commenced with the seniors in November 2015 and ten players came to training over this 8 week period prior to Christmas holidays. Pre-season then recommenced in late January, although attendance was sporadic given that

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 other sports were also been played, predominantly– cricket, making it hard for players to attend.

Training commenced for twice per week in March, which is the first time players at this age group have trained more than once per week. Although it is known other junior teams already train twice per week at both U15 and Colts levels. Training twice per week would bring the “practice to competition ratio” up to the traditional 60/40 split.

Senior Coach Luke Mahoney summing up the need for pre-season as get fit to complete pre-season, don’t do pre-season to get fit!

It was during pre-season with the senior squad that I realized that this was the first time the players had trained outside their playing group and they really enjoyed the experience of training with a more skilled group: you could see their skills improve as their concentration improved, as each player did not want to be the one the kicked or handballed the errant ball that hit the ground or missed the player! In terms of fitness, I doubt whether the seniors however enjoyed the 400m and 1 kilometre time trials when none of them could catch Angus Norman – the closest was 15 seconds in arrears! (Angus’s time being 3.03 for the kilometre) While the fastest time recorded over 20 metres was Jack Ludeman at 2.9secs.

Home & Away training 2017

In terms of training twice per week, attendance at training during the year was very good on a Thursday (20+ players) but poor on a Tuesday (<10), while the overall statistics kept during the year reveal attendance at around 70%.

A session during pre-season on the white board illustrated, that of the 168 hours per week and, allowing for 2 hours homework per night (inc some on Sat), all players would still have 50 hours up their sleeve: be it for a second sport or part time job. Hence it would be about how organised they were going to be with their school life, home life, part time job and training (3hrs per week = 1.7%).

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

The observation and conclusion to twice weekly– training is that those players that should have come twice per week didn’t and these players are the ones that need to improve fitness and skills. The highly skilled and fit players who did come twice per week, we let down by those that did not attend on a Tuesday night. Twice during the year the squad trained with the seniors to overcome the shortage on a Tuesday night and these players enjoyed the experience.

The lack of commitment to training was discussed prior to mid-year with the leadership group, with the alternative that Tuesday night training with the seniors be contemplated and the squad would train together on a Thursday night. This initiative being interrupted by wet seasonal conditions and the transfer of training to the hockey center and the mid-year break.

In the 2015 U15 Coaches report I identified the need to go to merit based system of team selection (i.e. based on fitness, skill level, and attendance at training). Unfortunately this was prejudiced by lack of team numbers (21 team players), so all players were able to play regardless of their effort during the year.

The philosophy at junior level is to encourage participation for all players, however, there needs to be recognition by both players and parents that there is a responsibility for the players to improve their skill level and fitness. After all at the U15/Colts level, most players are now in their 6-7th year of football (100 games +), in a team sport, whilst mutual obligation and responsibility is necessary for team success. After all should a player who has only trained in 10 sessions get a game with those that have trained 27 times? Is it fair on the team to carry unfit player or one where the skill level is not at the required level?

Training for 2017

In terms of 2017, what the Colts pre-season experience with the Senior team did inform was that instead of training as separate teams, it would be beneficial for 2-3 teams to train together so that full ground drills can be completed. It would also give an opportunity for the skilled players in the lower age groups to train at a higher level, while those that need to improve their skills across 74

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

ALL age groups could have more “one on one– “training, given that there would be more coaches at each session.

Aerobic training – the average beep test for a 15-16 year old is 12.5 and I would anticipate that the top 10-12 players would achieve this this standard, while the bottom dozen would be anywhere around 10. The last time we beep tested players was at the U14 level (variation from 9 to 14.5). Hence fitness testing should be completed at the start of the season and retested later on to see what improvements players have made to their fitness.

Skill, speed, strength, core work – Core work and pre-warm up sessions concentrated on strength and core work commenced last year at the U15 level. Players know the exercises that need to be completed to assist in improving their core, which will then reduce injury to backs and hamstrings and assist in players standing their ground in a marking contest or competing in ruck & stoppages. This core work being completed by players prior to the commencement of training in the warm up.

Flexibility – growth of bones, muscles, tendon, and ligaments – Only one player had shin splints this year, while damage to ligaments (foot) was also only experienced by one player. Major injuries fortunately were limited during the year with a broken collarbone and two concussions.

Train in daily in competitive situation – practice matches, competitive games/drills. Training focused on game sense activities to place players under pressure, improve decision making and involved different scenarios such as:

 Full back kick in and huddle;

 Centre square/boundary throw in/stoppages;

 Forward entry.

Strategy & pre-game: Game day focused on game plans, and strategy was based around ground size and conditions. The focus was on implementing these plans learnt from “game sense activities” .

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

Concentration skills & Coping skills – physical– and mental challenges of competition. This team has had a consistent message for the past 7 years is that teams win games by those who can concentrate the longest. Given that the skill level across all teams is about the same, then the issue will come down to which players can carry out the game plan, undertake specific instructions etc.

I have always said to players that you don’t have to necessarily have a great skill set, as long as you are fit, can run all day with an opposition player and have good leg speed, which will make any opposition players task difficult in obtaining a possession.

Communication – With the addition of James Mitchell to the coaching panel, this enabled the team to be divided into 3 parts at each quarter time break with each coach responsible for a specific area such as forwards, backline and center/ruck This simplifies the messages to each group, usually to maximum of three (3) and not confuse the entire playing group with directions not relevant to their area/part of the ground.

Summary

This year we were very fortunate to have James Mitchell appointed so that the Coaching Panel of 3 would always have a backup during the week for twice weekly training Further the Panel was then able to divide the game day duties into forwards, backline and centre/mid field. The focus on this year was to build on:

 Forward entries, rolling up and back to create space and this obviously worked with 140 goals scored this year – a credit to James instructions;  Backline – was about huddle, protecting dangerous space, switching the play and Ross was instrumental in getting the players to carry out these set plays;  Stoppages, ruck. Boundary throw ins, we adopted an offensive strategy at the start of the year (in a line facing towards goal) through to “third man up” and “man on man” in the finals.

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016

This coupled with Anthony Sabatino on game– day as “Stan the Statistician” enabled players to gain an instant appreciation of work rate, while coach’s messages could be directed to each specific group and not overload the entire playing group.

Of interest is that over the past 6 years the KPI on tackling was always somewhere between 10-15 tackles per quarter– while this year the team was achieving well above this total, which indicates a preparedness to work and do the 1% percenters!

In the Grand Final address on Sunday I quoted an Olympian coach who said that Team Sports are defined by how well athletes understand each other in coming together to succeed. The coaching of the players on the above game plans etc. enables the players to better understand the game and that it is not about “see ball get ball” from their junior playing days. As a coaching group we believe we started to establish the standards and criteria for the player’s education as they have progressed from junior football, to Colts and then eventually transition into senior football.

Although the team lost the Grand Final to Fitzroy, it nonetheless was a successful year finishing top and losing only three games to Fitzroy 2 & 3 teams. The greatest win and effort was the Second semi-final win to beat Fitzroy (3) for the first time and with only two players available on the bench, with Jessie Doherty coming up from the U15 team to assist. By the end of the last quarter and with injured players there were no players left to come onto the field.

The team demonstrated great resilience and stamina in leading all day with a comprehensive win. The standout was Angus Norman who must have laid a dozen tackles. Winning the final meant the team had earnt the two week break, which was fortunate to allow time for the five (5) injured players to return.

The Grand Final was a close game, impacted by the loss of Captain William Mott early into the third quarter with concussion. At this point William had 15

Brunswick Junior Football Club AGM Report 2016 possessions playing across centre half back. –This unsettled the side and Fitzroy responded by kicking a number of goals to lead by 28 points at the end of the third quarter.

A regrouping of the team in the ¾ time break and the Dragons responded and attacked relentlessly through the last quarter to reduce the margin to 10 points. A gallant fight back!

2010-2016

The record reveals that this team has had a win/loss ratio of 72% over the past 7 years and played in 10 finals and won two premierships: a great achievement. The team has had a great introduction, experience and education in AFL football. I am sure they will look back on their junior football careers and appreciate how lucky they were to play together and to have experienced the success that they achieved.

Retirement

This is the last Coaches report from both myself and Ross Coverdale. For me it has been a great experience in taking this group of players from U10’s to U16’s over the past seven (7) years as coach of the “pioneers”. Ross came to the Club in 2013 from West Coburg with a number of players, which were instrumental in adding to the Clubs 2013 Premiership. The team and club has been very fortunate in having Ross as a Coach, as he has been wonderful addition to the coaching panel, offered a different perspective and voice, in addition to his recruiting skills in attracting numerous players to this team over the past 4 years.

Both our sons Jack & Gus will no doubt continue with the Brunswick Dragons so we will both be around for 2017 as “wise sages” from the boundary line.

Thanks to all parents for their support over the past seven years!