WELCOME: We hope your season is progressing well as we approach the mid-point of the football season for local competitions. The need to provide opportunities for coaches to continually enhance their knowledge by attending professional development has this year seen the Goldfields Coaches Association conduct a Coaches Seminar in Maryborough recently. In conjunction with the Central Victoria AFCA branch based in Bendigo we were able to attract quality presenters to Princes Park for a three hour seminar. The attendees on the day enjoyed having Footscray FC VFL head coach Ash Hansen and North Melbourne FC Performance Analyst Jason Lappin showing how they construct training drills, incorporate match components into all training activities and in general plan to improve and educate their players through training. Congratulations to all the coaches throughout the region who have undertaken a role with either a senior or junior interleague squad during the May/June period of the season. Several junior carnivals have been conducted and the AFL Victoria Country Championships were also successfully held statewide. In 2015 and beyond a new Level 1 re-accreditation process is required for all those who are seeking re-accreditation. The following documentation must be submitted to your Football Development Manager in order to gain Re-Accreditation: Coach Reaccreditation Checklist TO ENSURE THE PROCESS IS SUCCESSFUL PLEASE ENCLOSE THE FOLLOWING DOCUMENTS: AFCA Coach Education Reaccreditation form completed and signed Reference letter from Club President, School Principal or Auskick Manager If you are coaching at Under 13 or below you need to do the Junior online course which can be found at the link below: http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/index.php?id=575 If you are coaching at Under 14 or above you will need to do the Youth / Senior online course which can be accessed through the following link.. http://www.aflcommunityclub.com.au/index.php?id=1885 AFL Coaches Code of Conduct Form signed $85 payment for Reaccreditation - Four year period Cheque made payable to Australian Football League (Victoria) Limited or via direct deposit as per details on attached form Police Screening /Check undertaken if deemed necessary by AFL Victoria
GAME DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVES: JUNIOR GIRLS FOOTBALL A Junior Girls Football competition for U/12 players will commence in Ballarat on Monday July 13 at White Flat Reserve. Coordinated by Football Development Managers Tim Shearer and Brett Anderson, this competition will fill the gap in the player pathway for female footballers that exists between Auskick and the Youth Girls league for 13 to 18 year olds. Girls can play within the boys teams until the end of the year they turn 14 but it is widely recognised that many feel more comfortable playing within an all-female competition. Any currently registered player or new player will be eligible to play in this competition. We will train the girls, teach them the skills and requirements of the game and play matches every week for a six week period. Anybody seeking more information should contact Tim Shearer on 0408 586 536 or via tim.shearer@aflvic.com.au with those interested in coaching encouraged to participate. Below is a picture of the Ballarat and Western District Youth Girls representative teams after a match against each other last year during the Subway Shield. Future members of these teams may well be unearthed in our new Junior Girls League. Time will tell but now that the pathway is there we know the girls will show up to play. Coaching opportunities will be opening up for those interested in joining the fastest growing sector of our great game. GOLDFIELDS AFCA COACH OF THE MONTH Congratulations to our May Coach of the Month Winners. The Junior / Youth Category saw Hepburn FNC Under 12 Coach Jamie Grant take out the award. Jamie also coached in the Central Highlands FL in their successful Junior Interleague Program this year and was also a member of the AFL Goldfields Junior Academy Coaching Panel. The Senior Coach of the Month was Gavin Webb from the Lake Wendouree FNC. Gavin has moved from a playing role into the ranks of the non-playing coaches this season as his Lakers team has shown improvement on their 2014 performances. This improvement has them placed as one of the legitimate premiership challengers in the Ballarat FNL in 2015. Please click on the link below for the Flyer and nomination forms for details on the Coach of the Month / Coach of the Year. http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-9653-0-0-0&&news_task=detail&articleid=34506330 Jamie Grant (Hepburn FNC) Gavin Webb (Lake Wendouree FNC)
SCHOOL FOOTBALL 2015 The annual Ballarat Primary Schools Lightning Premiership was held at Victoria Park on Friday 19 June. Thirty-one schools were represented on the day with schools divided into Division A, Division B and a Girls Division. Congratulations must go to all AFL Goldfields staff, SEDA Students who umpired the games and all school staff and students who participated in this successful day. The participants on the day also enjoyed having the Western Bulldogs FC fan engagement activities in attendance. In the finals - Division A: St. Francis Xavier proved too strong for Alfredton PS - Division B: St. Columba s defeated Ballan PS - Girls Division: Black Hill PS defeated Ballarat North PS NAB AFL AUSKICK Many thanks to all NAB Auskick Coordinators for your continued dedication to Junior Football in the Goldfields Region. In 2015 the numbers participating in Auskick have continued their upward trend of the last couple of years due in no small part to the clubs and coordinators who have promoted the program within their schools and local networks. Half Time Games in 2015: Our final Half Time game for the year is to run on July 25 th with several centres from across the Region being contacted to provide Auskick Rules participants and Grid game participants. Many thanks to our Regional District Managers and coordinators for their efforts in recruiting the players required to fill the teams required. AFL GOLDFIELDS AFCA & AFL CENTRAL VIC JOINT COACHING SEMINAR
GOLDFIELDS COACHES ASSOCIATION SEMINAR Current Footscray VFL Coach and Western Bulldogs FC Development Coach, Ashley Hansen, and North Melbourne FC High Performance Analyst, Jason Lappin, presented at our Maryborough Coaches Seminar on Sunday 21 June. Both Jason and Ashley provided very informative sessions to an interested crowd of approximately 30 local coaches predominantly from the Maryborough region but with attendees also representing Central Highlands FL, Bendigo FNL and TAC Cup teams. Ashley spoke on Training Programs and incorporating movements and actions into training drills so that they always appear game like. If it doesn t look like a game activity why are we doing it? Jason provided a practical session on Game Sense activities which coaches could use within their training schedules. He also provided insight into how to review a match and then modify training drills to work on the areas of the game relevant to your opponent or your own team s desired improvement. Attendance at a coaching seminar is a great way to improve your knowledge as a coach and gain some new ideas that you can implement immediately upon returning to club training. At this time of the year many players are struggling due to the weather and length of the season so introducing new drills or ideas can have a positive impact on training standards.
SCHOOL FOOTBALL As with every football season in the Ballarat region the various school football competitions have been under way during Term 2. The Ballarat Associated Schools competitions for 1 st XVIII, 2 nd XVIII, Intermediate Boys, Junior Boys and Senior Girls have all been playing regularly throughout the term with Grand Finals of the 1 st XVIII and 2 nd XVII scheduled for early in Term 3. St Patrick s College and Ballarat & Clarendon College will meet to decide the winner of the 1 st XVIII competition. Ballarat Grammar won their second consecutive BAS Senior Girls title when they defeated Ballarat & Clarendon College in the Grand Final on June 18. Premierships in the Intermediate and Junior Boys are determined by ladder placing which were still being determined at the time of this newsletters production. School Sport Victoria Lightning Premiership days have also been conducted during the term at Ballarat High School. Winners of the Senior Boys were Ballarat High School, Intermediate Boys was won by Phoenix College, Senior Girls won by Ballarat High School and Junior Girls won by Phoenix College. The Ballarat High School senior girls have subsequently gone on to win the Western Regional Final against Horsham College and now face the winner of the Western Metro Region in the next phase. Phoenix College was defeated by Horsham College in the Junior Girls Regional Final. The Senior Boys and Intermediate Boys Regional Finals were being contested in Warrnambool on Wednesday 24 June. AFL VICTORIA COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS Saturday 23 May saw the AFL Victoria Country Championships take place through regional Victoria with 16 matches played for interleague bragging rights. Locally the three Ballarat region leagues all utilised innovative approaches to their interleague campaigns with several coaching appointments showing that lateral thinking can create excellent opportunities to engage coaches that might not normally be able to contribute to an interleague program. The Central Highlands FL recorded another strong win, this time against Horsham District FL, with coach Greg Middleton enlisting a support crew that included three on field leaders responsible for the defensive, midfield and attacking zones of the ground. Middleton also utilised an off field assistant coaching structure that used current CHFL coaches including Stephen Frys from Smythesdale. The CHFL squad was pre-selected so that training did not require any selection issues and was able to focus on game plan and positional setups much more than traditionally achievable. The Ballarat FNL team was led by Shane Skontra for the second year with a strong success against traditional rival Bendigo FNL the reward for a well planned campaign. Damien Lubeek, who is coaching Creswick FNC in the Central Highlands FL this year, was retained on the coaching staff after the 2014 success. Skontra is working with the Ballarat FNC in a Coaching Director again this year and followed on from his role with the BFNL ion 2013 and two prior seasons coaching the CHFL interleague team.
The Maryborough Castlemaine District FNL team fell to a defeat against Ellinbank & District FL at Maryborough but with first time coach Luke Treacy in charge were not disgraced. It was interesting to see former VFL player and current Redan FNC player Ryan Waight working on the coaching staff for the MCDFNL. It is exciting to see that traditional league and club rivalries can be broken down in the search for an innovative and effective coaching structure for all the interleague programs within the Ballarat region. PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE REGION
JUNIOR INTERLEAGUE MCDFNL vs Riddell DFL U/14 Riddell DFL 11.4 (70) defeated MCDFNL 2.2 (14) MCDFNL Coach: Jason Anderson U/16 MCDFNL 13.9 (87) defeated Riddell DFL 1.5 (11) MCDFNL Coach: Brandon Weatherson CHFL vs MCDFNL U/14 CHFL 11.12 (78) defeated MCDFNL 2.3 (15) CHFL Coach: Jamie Grant MCDFNL Coach: Jason Anderson U/16 CHFL 4.17 (41) defeated MCDFNL 2.2 (14) CHFL Coach: Johnno Leoncini MCDFNL Coach: Brandon Weatherson Ballarat FL vs Riddell DFL U/12 Ballarat FNL 6.8 (44) defeated Riddell DFL 2.6 (18) Ballarat FNL Coach: Dale Murley U/13 Ballarat FNL 7.2 (44) defeated Riddell DFL 5.10 (40) Ballarat FNL Coach: Jason Lappin U/14 Riddell DFL 6.3 (39) defeated Ballarat FNL 4.3 (27) Ballarat FNL Coach: Mick Elliott U/15 Ballarat FNL 9.8 (44) defeated Riddell DFL 5.10 (40) Ballarat FNL Coach: Jamie Gepp U/16.5 Ballarat FNL 11.12 (78) defeated Riddell DFL 6.5 (41) Ballarat FNL Coach: John Ferguson Ballarat FL vs Bendigo JFL U/12 Bendigo JFL 9.7 (61) defeated Ballarat FNL 3.3 (21) Ballarat FNL Coach: Dale Murley U/13 Ballarat FNL 3.4 (22) defeated Bendigo JFL 2.4 (16) Ballarat FNL Coach: Jason Lappin U/14 Bendigo JFL 7.6 (48) defeated Ballarat FNL 4.12 (36) Ballarat FNL Coach: Mick Elliott U/15 Ballarat FNL 8.5 (53) defeated Bendigo JFL 5.11 (41) Ballarat FNL Coach: Jamie Gepp U/16.5 Ballarat FNL 11.7 (73) defeated Bendigo JFL 9.6 (60) Ballarat FNL Coach: John Ferguson Youth Girls Ballarat FNL 3.5 (23) defeated Bendigo JFL 2.6 (18) Ballarat FNL Coach: Tim Shearer CHFL vs CDFNL U/14 CHFL 7.5 (47) defeated CDFL 3.9 (27) CHFL Coach: Jamie Grant U/16 CDFL 12.10 (82) defeated CHFL 8.14 (62) CHFL Coach: Johnno Leoncini Upcoming Junior Interleague games AFL Goldfields vs AFL Barwon U/13, U/14, U/15, U/16 and Youth Girls to be played on Sunday 5 July at Hamlyn Park Geelong V/Line Cup U/15 Regional Trials to be played in Ararat on Wednesday 1 July and Wednesday 8 July.
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