Welcome Welcome to the third edition of the Northern Region Coaches Association e-newsletter for season 2014. What a terrific season of football we have seen across the region. Thank you to all the coaches in our region who have made such a strong contribution to the game in 2014. The role of the coach is a very responsible and influential one. You are the 'significant other' in players' lives beside their close network of family, friends, teachers, etc. It is to this end that AFL Victoria takes coaching and its outcomes very seriously. We see you shaping, influencing and supporting the social, physical and emotional development of the participants in your care. Our responsibility at AFL Victoria is to create an environment where coaches, like you, are equipped and supported in your role. This newsletter provides a cross section of information that coaches can read, utilise and pass on to help improve the standard of coaching across the state. The role of a coach is a responsible and influential one no matter what level you are at as you significantly shape, influence and support the social, physical and emotional development of the participants in your team. Wishing you a safe, happy and healthy off season. Committee Northern AFCA is headed up by a committee of volunteers with a vast array of football and coaching experience. The 2014 Northern AFCA Committee Members are as follows: Office Bearers: Michael Rawlinson (President) Phiv Demetriou (Executive Officer) Darren Stanton (Vice-President) Greg Humphreys (Secretary) Ivan Jones (Treasurer) Committee: Mark Morgan Peter Weightman Tim Hore Peter Kennedy Ian Roberts Murray Crisp Roger Fyfe Andrew Shakespeare
2014 NORTHERN AFCA ~COACH OF THE YEAR~ On Wednesday 3 rd of September, the Northern branch of the Australian Football Coaches Association (AFCA) held its annual Coach of the Year Evening at Rydges Bell City in Preston. 2014 saw our biggest event yet with a record number of people attending. Over 260 guests were in attendance, representing football clubs and Auskick centres from throughout the region. We were pleased to welcome special guests from the Northern AFCA Committee, the Northern Football League, AFL Victoria, the Northern Blues FC and the Carlton FC. Before the awards were presented we were fortunate enough to have five special guest speakers, entertain the audience. The guests were: Nick Maxwell (2010 Collingwood Premiership Captain) Paul Hudson (1998 All Australian) Rob Wiley (1980 Richmond Premiership Player) David Rodan (185 AFL Games) Louise Stevenson (Drafted at no. 26 Western Bulldogs 2014) Nick, Paul, Rob, David, Louise and participated in a panel style question and answer, which gave great insight into their various football backgrounds, as they answered questions from the floor. The ability of all five to relate their stories to the grass-roots coaches in the audience was invaluable, and it was a privilege to have such quality football people join us on the night. A huge thank you must go to all who attended and made the night a success, with particular note to our special guests for donating their time, and our MC David Henning who did a fantastic job throughout the evening. A big thank you too must go to the Northern AFCA Committee for the ongoing effort that they have put in to continue to improve the quality and calibre of coaching within the region.
We congratulate all the nominees from the Northern Football Region across the following categories, with special mention to the winners who have been highlighted. SENIOR Robert Hyde (Greensborough FC) WINNER Travis Hodgson (Fitzroy Stars FC) Matthew McLennan (Northcote Park FC) Stephen Saddington (North Heidelberg FC) Craig Hunter (Heidelberg FC) Robert Hyde of the Greensborough FC with Paul Hudson 1998 All Australian FEMALE Jessica Dal Pos (Darebin Women s Sports Club) WINNER Abbie Galea (West Preston Lakeside FC) Maddy Haydar (Ivanhoe JFC) YOUTH Paul Broderick (Fitzroy JFC) WINNER Steven Musico (Mill Park FC) Mat Robinson (South Morang FC) Masaki Miki (Heidelberg JFC) Paul King (St Mary s Greensborough JFC) Robert Bolzon (St Mary s Greensborough JFC) Brendan Andrews (Keon Park Stars FC) Kevin Lewis (Hurstbridge FC) David Witchell (Banyule JFC) Scott Plant (Macleod JFC) Dale Mayne (Banyule JFC) Jessica Dal Pos of Darebin Women s Sports Club with Louise Stevenson drafted Bulldogs Player 2014 Paul Broderick of Fitzroy JFC with Nick Maxwell, 2010 Collingwood Premiership Captain
JUNIOR Brett Pollard (West Preston JFC) WINNER Bernie Girolami (St Mary s Greensborough JFC) Brian Anderson (Heidelberg JFC) Mark Kankaanpaa (Yarrambat FC) John McInerney (Heidelberg JFC) Frasier Neilson & Mark Frost (Banyule JFC) Tim Donohue (Ivanhoe JFC) Darren Rigg (Montmorency JFC) Brett Pollard of West Preston JFC and David Rodan 185 games, AFL Player AUSKICK Andrew Green (Northcote Auskick) WINNER Darren Driscoll (Fitzroy/Carlton Auskick) Michael Christiansen (Mill Park Auskick) Lisa Baggio (Research Auskick) Matthew Meehan (Preston Auskick) Tony Raddino (Mill Park) Jodi Weightman (Preston Auskick) James Merrett (Watsonia Auskick) Adam Sevas (Mill Park Auskick) Andrew Green of Northcote Auskick and Rob Wiley, 1980 Richmond Premiership Player AUSKICK VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR Darren Rigg (Montmorency Auskick) - WINNER Auskick of the Year Darren Rigg of Montmorency Auskick and Nick Maxwell 2010 Collingwood Premiership Captain
AUSKICK DISTRICT MANAGER RECOGNITION Roger Fyfe Banyule District Linda Palmer Darebin District Belinda Mertzanidis Greensborough District Murray Crisp Whittlesea District Mark Whitelock Nillumbik District Auskick District Managers Murray Crisp, Belinda Mertzanidis, Linda Palmer and Roger Fyfe with Auskick Volunteer of the Year Darren Rigg and Nick Maxwell CONTRIBUTION TO FOOTBALL - FEMALE Jo Hogan (Fitzroy JFC/Fitzroy Carlton Auskick) WINNER Jodie Ward-Davies (Watsonia Auskick) Nadine Christall (Wallan JFC) CONTRIBUTION TO FOOTBALL - MALE Rob Windsor (Yarrambat FC) WINNER Jo Hogan of Fitzroy JFC and Fitzroy Carlton Auskick with founding President of Northern AFCA 1993, Roger Fyfe Rob Windsor of Yarrambat FC with founding President of Northern AFCA 1993, Roger Fyfe
2014 Northern AFCA Committee members Guest Panelists Nick Maxwell, Paul Hudson, Rob Wiley, David Rodan, Louise Stevenson taking questions from the audience
Northern Reaccreditation Reminder For all Coaches in the Northern Region whose coaching accreditation expires at the end of 2014, please note that if you wish to coach again in 2015 & beyond you are required to renew your accreditation. You can access the reaccreditation form by heading to: http://www.nfl.org.au/fileadmin/user_upload/2014_documents/2014_afca_reaccreditation_form.p df (This will be updated to a 2015 form shortly in the interim this document will suffice). Alternatively, please follow these steps to access the document: Head to www.nfl.org.au Under the Blue Zone tab click on AFL Vic Northern Development Scroll down until you see the link to 2014/2015 Coach Education Reaccreditation Form and follow the steps from there Northern Region Football Activities This year we have again seen very strong interest shown in all activities run by Northern AFCA/AFL Vic Northern Region. During Term 3 we conducted our annual Primary School based LGA Cup competitions that are open to all Schools within the Banyule, Darebin, Nillumbik & Whittlesea Council areas. During a 6 week period we saw well over 1,000 students participating in these competitions. These tournaments are a fantastic way for girls to get involved in our game at a young age & have no doubt contributed to the growth of this area in our Region. Our Coaching Coordinator nights continue to be well attended, with over 25 different clubs represented at the various seminars throughout the season. We anticipate this area continuing to grow significantly in the coming seasons. The last 10 weeks has also seen us heavily involved in the establishment & coaching of the AFL Victoria Northern Knights David Zaharakis Squad. This squad is made up of approximately 25 boys who either have 1 parent born overseas or are of indigenous heritage. Seeing the boys develop over the course of the program was extremely rewarding & culminated with a number of matches against other similar squads at Punt Road Oval on Sunday 10 th August.