Free Kick Presentation Issue 2008
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Granville Waratah Soccer Football Club Club Magazine - Season 2008 Presentation Issue 21 September 2008 FREE KICK Executive Committee for 2008 President Noel Dona Secretary Hector Guajardo Senior Vice President Rick Paye Junior Vice President Vikash Solanki Registrar/Assistant Secretary Tony Farrell Treasurer Vince Wyatt Equipment Officer Vikash Solanki TRUSTEES Mary Fox Tony Farrell LIFE MEMBERS L. Walker (dec.) H. F Jacobs (dec) A. Saggus (dec.) R. Burnett (dec.) D. Sutherland I. Tye (dec.) V. Wyatt J. Borg D. Shipton G. Kell J. Marsh Mrs B. Borg Mrs M. Fox YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! 62nd ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Tuesday, 4 November 2008 At the club house ROBIN THOMAS RESERVE Harris Street Parramatta COMMENCING 7.30 PM We have positions to fill in the Executive Committee. Have a say in how your club is run, make your club better for your children. President’s Report I have been involved with the club now for 10 years and for 8 of those years as club President. It has been a personal goal of mine (and I know of the committee) to ensure that for every season, at least one of the teams win a grand championship. For as long as Vince Wyatt’s can remember (and that’s 44 unbroken years with our club) we have always won at least one Grand Championship. Accordingly I have always felt that pressure to ensure this unbroken chain of success continues. This season, unfortunately, none of our teams managed to hold the grand champions trophy high on grand final day. Whilst I was (heart) broken on the day, strangely enough, I look back on the season now and see so many other victories that help bring a certain sense of contentment about what we have achieved. We managed a private clinic with Socceroos!! Wow – that’s worth a dozen grand championship!!!! The excitement and memories of that day will live with us forever! Knowing that one day young Hugh Guajardo will be telling his grandchildren how he scored against one of the Socceroos best ever, Harry Kewell, will always bring a smile to my face. Even today, remembering he the glowing faces of our young players in attendance, don’t stop warming my heart. Meeting Bill Henderson (read more about him later on) and hearing his stories was just a very proud moment for me as I consider myself truly lucky to know him and call him my friend…our friend!!! At the Association Annual Presentation Dinner, he was a guest speaker that kept the 400 in attendance wanting to be told more stories of his life. Hearing my under 8’s team celebrate their first and only win of the year, which was the last game of the season was a wonderful moment. They celebrated like it was a Grand Championship that brought a proud tear of joy to my eye. Reminding me why I coach. As was the gut wrenching loss of a golden goal (being a very questionable off side goal) with less than a minute in my under 18’s final. Whilst it was the worst ever feeling I have EVER felt in a sporting moment, watching how my team bonded after the game was a proud moment. Believe me, sitting as a team in silence having to listen to the opposition sing their victory songs after the game was a very, VERY tough thing to do. And yet this experience was a good experience as it was painful. Knowing that half of our players are new players to our club, reassures me that the clubs rebuilding is on track. Of course having so many new players means that we have lost a large number. The frustrating thing about coaching is that we aim to make our players better. The irony is, is that if they get good enough, they often get poached by representative teams in other clubs. Losing such players weakens our teams, but we go on in the knowledge that these players are better because of their experience in our club. Unfortunately this is what happened to last seasons grand champion under 13’s team coached by Hector. He had such a good team, players were poached. I guess we should be flattered…and proud. Seeing how our clubs committee is working together (of course more help is wanted) for you and your children is fantastic. I believe that over the next couple of years new parents will become committee members and the future of a club will be in good hands. To everyone who has donated their time and effort in to the operation and success of the club, I personally thank you. Be VERY proud of your club, because I am!!! NOEL DONA Secretary’s Report Another season over, where did it go? It seemed to go quickly, but we managed to pack a lot into one year. This season welcomed two under 6 sides, a huge under 8 side, a very competitive under 9’s and under 11’s, two under 13 sides, one under 14’s, one under 18’s and one senior side. Our under 6’s had a great introduction to soccer via the small sided game. 6 Green, coached by Gabi and Maurice, went the whole season undefeated. They also played a Gala Day at Lidcombe and had a great afternoon at Parramatta Stadium on Grand Final day, playing an exhibition game at half time. The children couldn’t contain their excitement as they lined up and ran out through the players’ tunnel onto the field. Under 6 Red, coached by Steve, also had a great season. According to Lisa, their manager and statistician, they won about 80% of their games – a fantastic effort for a first season. Congratulations, I really enjoyed watching these under 6 teams training – the coaches put the players through the same great drills and kept them focused – very hard to do with children that age! This year, the under 8’s was made up of both 7 and 8 year olds as we didn’t have enough players to field separate under 7’s and under 8’s. This team started the season slowly, but finished very strong. We had five teams playing in finals – U 9’s, U 11’s, U 13-3, U 13-4 and U 18-1 – a great effort from a small Club with only 10 teams. Our 10 teams include one roo-ball side and two small-sided – so that really brings it back to 7 teams in contention. What an incredible effort to get 5 of these teams into finals. Congratulations to Rick’s U13-3 team for making the grand final. There are some very good players in this team and I’m sure they will make themselves heard in 2009, playing Division 2. Under 9’s and under 11’s also played a final, but were eliminated early. A fantastic effort when you consider that these teams played most of the season short on players. Congratulations to both players and coaches for a great season. Under 13-4 were also final’s contenders and their coach, Colin, did a great job working with his team to get this far. Here’s hoping they go all the way to the grand final next year. Under 14-3 was a new team this year, recruiting many new players at the start of the season. It took these boys a few games to find themselves, but they finished the season very strong – racking up a few wins and shaking up the competition. I think that the boys’ skill and understanding of the game played a big part in finishing the season the way they did. Congratulations to all the players and coaches, Juan and Eddie. Under 18’s also played in the finals, but were eliminated. This is not the way the boys wanted to finish the season, but their level of commitment to the game – given their other obligations (study, work) makes their efforts to attend training and games on weekends, something to be proud of. Most of these players have belonged to this Club for a number of years and it’s very pleasing to see them mature as players and as young men. Thanks to the players and their coach Noel for a great season. We had one senior team this year, playing in division 8. The boys managed to finish the season well, but picked up a few major injuries throughout the year which resulted in some players being out for the season. These boys enjoyed their game and played well all year. Our Club’s objective to manage 10 teams this season was realized. Hopefully, we can pick up even more players next season and continue to build the strength of our Club. I would like to thank all our coaches and managers for the work and commitment they put into this season. A Club cannot exist without volunteers – special thanks to all the parents and family members who helped our Club this year – your involvement is greatly appreciated. Many thanks to the Club Committee for keeping everything on track and to Vickash for managing the canteen – it was a very successful year for the canteen, thanks Vickash for all your work. Our web master, Tony Farrell (what a God send!), kept our web site relevant and our system up-to-date. Many thanks for also being responsible for player registration, a great effort – thanks Tony. Many thanks to Noel and his networking skills – he chased any opportunities our way. A great example was the Socceroo Clinic, that saw a couple of our teams have the chance of a lifetime meeting and playing with some great soccer stars, including Harry Kewell! What a wonderful memory – great work Noel.