2014 Season

Information Booklet

About Rams Women

Welcome to Macarthur Rams Women’s FC Inc. Rams Women’s FC plays in the prestigious National Premier League (NPL) NSW Women’s 1 competition, the highest level of football in the State. Our home ground is Lynwood Park, Rangers Road, St Helens Park.

The Rams had a very successful season in 2012, with 3 teams reaching the semi-finals, and First Grade winning both the premiership and the Championship Grand Final. The 2013 season saw both First Grade and Under 14s make the series finals, both finishing the competition in 3rd place.

The Rams 1st Grade team boasts a number of highly successful Matildas players, including, Renee Rollason, , & . We are very privileged to have some of our 1st Grade players helping out during the season with training programs for our junior players.

The Rams Women’s FC Management Group

The 201 Rams Management Group comprises President Deborah Macdonald, Secretary John Murtagh, Petrina Greenwood, Tracey Chapman and Rob Stikovic. Its members bring a range of experience in key areas, including playing Football at an elite level, business management, accounting and football club administration. The Management Group is supported by its Adviser, Rob Laws, who is President of the Macarthur District Soccer Football Association, and past President of Rams Women’s FC.

The 2014 Management Team will be announced shortly.

It should be noted that the ‘Macarthur Rams Women’s FC Inc’ and the ‘Macarthur Rams FC Inc’ (mens) are two quite separate legal entities, with different management groups, constitutions and different coaching staff. Both clubs are supported by the ‘Macarthur Football Association (MFA)’, and both clubs share Lynwood Park as their home ground. (The MFA’s administration offices are also based at Lynwood Park). As the Rams men’s competition is played on Saturdays and the Rams women’s competition is played on Sundays, the two clubs don’t often cross each other’s paths. Having said that, both Management Groups liaise with each other for our mutual benefit. For example, we join forces to increase buying power when it comes to buying gear, trophies, canteen supplies, etc.

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Coaching

Our coaching staff is led by Technical Director, Richard Harrison. This role assists the coaching and development of players. Richard supports the coaches in all grades in day-to-day coaching needs, and he also provides another level of development by analysing individual players and working with them to improve technique. Richard is a crucial link between the Coaching Staff and the Management Team.

Richard brings to this role a wealth of experience as a high level player and coach in both and the UK. His qualifications include an Asia B Licence and FFA Class C Licence. Richard also brings to the Rams a wealth of on-field experience, having played with teams such as Leeds United, Lincoln City, England University XI, Macarthur Rams 1st Grade and Picton Rangers First Grade. His coaching experience includes Leeds United Academy (UK), Derby County FC Academy (UK), USA Women’s Program (4 years), Macarthur Rams Youth Academy, Macarthur Rams Under 20s Mens Coach, and Picton Rangers FC First Grade Men’s Coach. Richard’s fondest career highlights include playing at Lincoln City under the Leeds United’s legend, Allan Clarke, and winning the All-England Schoolboy Under-19 Tournament, when he was aged only 16.

Coaching our teams for the 2014 season will be:

Under 13s: Sam Alessi. Sam holds a Youth and Senior Coaching Licence. Sam was our 12s coach for the 2013 season. His coaching experience includes Under 12s and 14s girls, as well as all-age ladies; the Under 20s and 1st Grade University of NSW Mens State Division 1 team; coached Bringelly FC for 7 years in the NSW Men’s Premier League.

Under 15s: . Leah has a Senior Licence. She was our 14s coach in 2013. She has an amazing wealth of playing experience including representing Australia, playing for Boston Breakers (USA), Eskilstuna Untied (Sweden), and Canberra United.

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Under 17s: Rob Hutchinson. Rob was our 16s coach in 2013 season. Holding an FFA Senior Coaching Licence as well as an AFC Class C Licence, Rob has been a professional coach for more than 20 years and a professional educator for more than 30 years. His experience includes: Coerver Academy 9 years (Coerver is a renowned global football coaching program with a focus on ages 5-16); Head Coach of the Western Academy of Sport Women’s Football program; NSW State Coach for 4 years. Rob’s successes include 4 Schools State titles, 2 Schools National titles and winner of the 2012 Group B National Junior Championships (undefeated).

Senior Squad: Stephen Neligan. Steve is a welcome return to the Rams this year. He holds a C Licence, and brings to the Club a great deal of experience from his involvement in the Football NSW Skills Acquisition Program, as past coach of Football NSW Boys State teams, and as past 1st Grade coach in the NSW Womens Premier League competition. Having coached both Macarthur Rams Reserve Grade and Under 12s, Steve is very much looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground at Lynwood Park.

Fees

Rams fees have been one of the lowest in the competition for many years, with many other clubs setting their fees considerably higher than ours. This year, fees have been capped at the same rate for all clubs in the competition, and will be $1500. The fees contribute largely towards our highly experienced coaching structure, along with the increasing costs of players’ gear. Fees cover everything including referees’ fees and insurance. No other payment is required for the season. Payment of fees will be in three instalments as follows:

Instalment 1 - Upon selection at the information night (a week after trials): $500 Instalment 2 - Due when pre-season training commences (end of January): $500 Instalment 3 - Due before commencement of the competition (end of March): $500

If it is easier you can set up a direct payment to our account and start paying as soon as you are selected to spread the cost evenly between the end of trials and March.

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Players’ Gear

Players are provided with the following gear:

Training: shorts, shirt, socks and jacket, training ball (youth) & bag Match day: playing shorts and socks, tracksuit, club polo shirt

In the weeks following selections we will be sizing and ordering gear. Fitting and measurements will be held at the Clubhouse on dates to be advised.

Training gear must be worn to all training sessions (with no exceptions or additions - except for skins if a player desires). Players must wear their polo and tracksuit to games with black casual shoes such as Rabens, Vans or black joggers.

Training

Summer training will be held for 6 weeks leading up to a Christmas break. It will be 2 nights per week and will commence on Tuesday 5th November, finishing up on Thursday 12th December. We will break for a few weeks before commencing pre-season training in late January. Pre-season training will take place on Tuesday & Thursday nights - Youth teams from 6.00pm to 7.30pm and Seniors from 7.30pm to 9pm. This year’s training field is yet to be announced, however it will be a field located within the Campbelltown Local Government Area. We will advise as soon as we have confirmation.

The Season

Football NSW is yet to announce the commencement date for the season. The season usually begins in late March and runs for 22 rounds until August, with the Grand Final in September. Every second game is a home game played at Lynwood Park, and alternate games are played away.

FNSW recently completed a review of the Women’s Premier League, and as a result the competition has been split into two leagues called (NPL) NSW Women’s 1, and National Premier Leagues (NPL) Women’s 2. We are in the top league, NPL NSW Women’s 1.

The teams playing in the 2014 competition are:

Macarthur Rams Illawarra Stingrays Marconi Stallions Manly United Blacktown Spartans Sydney University Northbridge FC 5

North West Sydney Koalas

As you can see from the list above, unlike local association competitions, clubs in the NPL Women’s 1 are based right across the Sydney Metropolitan Area, so you can expect to travel to these areas.

What you can expect from the Club

Rams Women’s FC has a friendly culture, with an emphasis on sportsmanship in both players and supporters. You will be part of a close and supportive club culture where players and families are involved in Club activities during the season.

With an extremely high quality coaching staff, the Club places an emphasis on player development. We are committed to encouraging and training players to a level of eligibility for selection to Metro South, State, W-League team and National teams. With many of our players having been selected to these levels over the years, the Macarthur Rams Women’s FC has strong links to these levels of elite Football.

We have been working on a program specifically targeted at the development of our goalkeepers. In 2013 we worked with Davide Del Giovine (Sydney FC Womens Goalkeeper Coach) and hope to continue a high level of dedicated coaching to our goalkeepers in every team in 2014.

We will also provide the services of a physiotherapist/strapper to attend our 17s and senior games.

The Club aims to provide fair game time for all players. We do not have a policy of promising equal game time amongst players or a certain percentage of time that a player will be on the field. However, with our coaching methods our aim is that each player receives sufficient time to develop within our program and achieve set targets.

The Management Group is fairly new and has already brought many fresh ideas to the Club, and your input and suggestions will be most welcome.

What the Club expects from you

As a player and as a parent, the transition from ‘park soccer’ to Premier League Football is a significant step. While it is a privilege to be selected to play at this elite level, there are a number of responsibilities and expectations upon you, that you should be aware of before you make this commitment. If your daughter is selected to play for Rams, you should seriously consider the expectations of the Club.

Players are expected to be proud to wear the Rams strip. 6

Players, parents and supporters are expected to show respect for the Club, its management, coaches and other players.

Players must be at training and games on time. Repeated incidents of lateness sends a clear message to the Club that a player and/or their parents are not ready for the commitment required at this level.

Training is compulsory for all players. Players may be excused from training if they are ill, however players who are injured but not ill, are expected to attend both training and games.

Parents are expected to support their children, other players and the Club in a positive way. Negative criticism of your child, another child or the Club is counter-productive, and can create disharmony within the team and the Club.

Leave the coaching to the coach. The style of football played at the Premier League level is in accordance with the National Coaching Curriculum set by the Football Federation of Australia. This may be quite different from that which you’ve experienced at a park soccer level. For example, players are encouraged to play the ball out from the back and use the 1-4-3-3 formation, rather than over-relying on a long ball. This is risky, especially for young players, but it’s preparing them for the way the game is played at an elite level as adopted throughout Australia and overseas. Coaches in every club in the NPL Women’s leagues have an agreement to adhere to this style. While your coaching from the sideline may be with the best of intentions, it may be contrary to what the Coach has taught your daughter, and this will only end in confusion and poor play. So please let the Coaches get on with their jobs, and refrain from coaching from the sideline.

The Club raises much needed funding from running the canteen and barbecue at each home game. This money assists our Club to provide the highest level of coaching and facilities in the competition. We rely on parents helping out during the day for their allotted time. The current arrangement is that we have one team per day hosting the canteen/barbecue, meaning that your team will get around 3 turns per season. This is not negotiable and is expected as part of your acceptance of a position at the Club.

Players and parents are required to sign the Club’s Code of Conduct. Serious breaches of this Code by a player, parents or their supporters may result in the player facing sanctions or being dismissed from the Club.

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Competition Structure

There are 8 clubs in the NPL NSW Women’s 1 competition. Each club has 5 teams: Under 13s, Under 15s, Under 17s, Reserve Grade and First Grade. Games are played on Sundays. All 5 teams from one club play against all 5 teams from an opposing club on the same day. Each age group plays at the same time every week. For example, if this Sunday’s fixture was Macarthur Rams versus Marconi Stallions, the game times would be as follows:

Under 12s: 9.00am Under 14s: 10.00am Under 16s: 11.30am Reserves: 1.00pm Firsts: 3.00pm

Please note that players must arrive at the field one hour before game time. Players are required to show their support for the Club and their fellow players by remaining at the field to watch at least the first half of the game following theirs.

Championships and Finals

Clubs in the NPL Women’s competition strive for three titles:

• Overall Club Championship • Grade/Age Group Championship, and • Grand Final

In past seasons, 3 competition points are awarded for a win, 1 point for a draw, and 0 for a loss. Football NSW is yet to announce whether there will be any changes to this points system.

The Overall Club Championship is won by the Club whose First Grade, Reserve Grade and Under 17s competition points added together at the end of the season, are higher than those of any other club. The Under 13s and Under 15s competition points do not count in the Club Championship. This is a very positive change to the rules, as it enables coaches in these younger age groups to concentrate more on player development than on winning games.

The Championship for each grade/age group is won by the team that finishes the competition with more competition points than any other team in its competition. This is commonly known as the ‘first past the post’ system.

After the last round, the teams that finished in the top 5 of their grade/age group play a series of Semi-Finals, Finals and then the Grand Final.

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Promotion and Relegation

Just like the English Premier League, the NPL NSW Women’s 1 competition works on a promotion/relegation system. Football NSW is yet to announce how many clubs from will be promoted and relegated each year, but it’s likely to be the clubs finishing last and/or second last in the Women’s 1 league facing relegation, and the clubs finishing first and/or second in the Women’s 2 league offered promotion. Rams Women’s FC has played in the highest level league in NSW since its inception, and like every club in the competition, one of our key objectives is to avoid relegation. Because promotion and relegation is determined by a club’s aggregate competition points, it is especially important that we do well in First Grade, Reserve Grade and Under 17s.

Tournaments

The pre-season usually includes participation by the youth teams in the Proctor Cup. This two-day weekend tournament is held at Bathurst each year in February and is a wonderful way for teams to bond before commencing the season.

Due to the number of games played, full team numbers are required and therefore attendance at the tournament by players is compulsory.

Later in the year the Under 12s are involved in the Cup, which is held at Football NSW, Valentine Park, Glenwood. This tournament is run over 4-5 days. Due to Football NSW’s recent change to the age groups in the junior NPL Women’s competitions, it is likely that the Cheryl Salisbury Cup will become an under 13 competition.

Sponsorship

We offer several packages of sponsorship deals within the Club. If you are involved in a business that would like to be a part of and support our great Club, we would love to chat with you about the sponsorship options.

Finally

Thank you for showing an interest in our Club, and best of luck for the trials. Should your child be offered a position and you accept, be assured that you’ll be joining a highly successful club with a strong tradition of sportsmanship, fair play and a commitment to the development of our junior players.

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