M U R R A Y U N I T E D B U L L E T I N MUFC Newsletter, Issue 2 What s been happening Bright Red s hard work and dedication pay s off when awarded with the Fair Play Award It was a great experience for our Bright Red boys and girls, with some of them playing their first competition outside the local league. The hunger and drive to do the very best they can along with a positive attitude and good sportsmanship is something that is displayed by all the young players that have enrolled into the Bright Red SAP Program that is held by our own Senior Player, Gonzalo Freddi, along with the extra help of qualified and experienced Murray United staff. These boy s and girl s have made Murray United extremely proud and we look forward to watching and helping them grow not only their skills, but as young men and women in the years to come. The club took four teams (U9, U10 and U11 boys + U12 girls) to the 10th edition of the Boys & Girls Tournament that was hosted in Bendigo on Saturday 24th of March 2018. Each team played 4 games through the day and were pinned up against quality teams from all over Victoria, including the likes of South Melbourne and Oakleigh Cannons, with some of our Bright Red kids playing games for 2 different age groups. Special mention to our U11 Boy s, who were co- winners of the Fair Play Award for the U11 Boy's Age Group. The Fair Play award goes to the team with the tournament's best disciplinary record. The U11 s came equal on points (with 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss), which cemented the win for the Fair Play award to Murray. For the first time, Murray took a full girls team along to the tournament. A solid effort was displayed by our youngest girls, and they all did a great job playing against very good teams. Well done and big shout out to them for their performance! Well done to the U9 and U10 Boys who put in a strong performance and solid effort with the U9 s bringing home 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss along with the U10 s slotting in 1 win, 1 draw with 2 losses.
It is extremely clear that these boy s and girl s are deserving of the award after they showcased the skills they have learnt along with their positive attitudes during the half time 5v5 exhibition matches held half way through the seniors home game on the 5th of May. Congratulations to the Bright Red s. We wish you all the very best as you commence the second term of the SAP Program, as well as for the rest of the NPL season. Continuous Improvement and Progress Makes for a Bright Future for U18 s Recent weeks have seen tough games away against Melbourne City and Dandenong City. However the team was very competitive for much of these games; maintaining structure and tactical effort for much of the game. Victories against Nunawading and GV Suns have shown that the performances are competitive with many of our opposition this season. Consistency and confidence are the key elements. Dave Smith U18 s Coach Young U20 s Learning from their Results The U18 team have had a couple of challenging games recently. Although the results may not be always in our favour, we are seeing significant progress in skill development and game understanding. The role of the u18 Coach is about performance rather than results. It is also about preparing players for the demands of playing in the future. With that in mind, it is a great sign of progress that so many U16 players are performing to a high standard in U18 games, and also great to see so many of the U16 and U18 players being selected in the U20 squad. The teams inconsistences continue and the inability to control the game for any length of time has contributed to the results we have obtained. We have played 9 games and have lead or been drawn at half time in 8 of these games, with only one win and one draw to show for it. The age of the group (extremely young) has shown at critical moments during each game and it is up to the of The current crop of players certainly show that the future age players to stand up and lead from the front. of the club is very bright. Playing such a young group is great for the future of the club but we are playing in the now, and we need to start taking
these closely fought games and turning them into wins for MU. We will keep working hard and I believe that we are not far away from stringing some wins together. Darrel Mills Head Coach U20 s Chairmans Report I m pleased to report that April has been another successful month for the club as we continue to grow in strength. The seniors continue to build momentum and have accumulated 16 points from the first 10 rounds which is our best ever start to a senior season. The senior results are even more impressive considering we have such a small squad and have had to manage injuries within that small squad. A key challenge for the club as we plan for 2019 is to work toward building up our squad numbers from top to bottom across the whole club to release some of the pressure we currently have with players having to play more than one game each weekend. Having 10 born and bred local players start our senior match vs. Box Hill recently was another reminder that our region produces high quality players who now have the chance to regularly play NPL football on their doorstep. Our local AWFA clubs deserve a lot of credit for producing our current senior players. Our Under 13 s are certainly attracting a lot of attention across the whole state with their results thus far this season and sitting at the top of the table. Well done to Ricky Piltz and his team on what you have achieved so far and we look forward to you continuing to work hard to maintain top position. Whilst results are not the main focus of our junior program, it is pleasing to see the success our Under 13 s are having. All our junior teams are developing well and can now look forward to having their next 8 games at home. A special thanks to Jordan Brejcha, Glen O Regan, Troy Hamilton and Mark Watson who continue to provide us with so many high-quality photos of our players in action each week. We sincerely thank our sponsors for the significant financial contribution they make to the club which allows the club to survive and prosper and brings NPL football to our region. Keep on marching! Darren Yates MUFC Chairman
Catching up with the Technical Director Measuring Success One of the things I ve been quietly observing is our public acknowledgement of success. The example that imminently springs to mind is the U13 squad who are (rightly so) at the pointy end of the U13 ladder. A great reward for the players, parents and the coaches worth ethic and commitment. The other great aspect to this success is the desire to remain connected, a sense of belonging. In addition this highlights that it can also offer a much broader measurement of what success looks like. To try and explain; Why wouldn t you cheat at Mario Kart if you could? Why wouldn t you put god mode on and use your invincibility to finish the game? Why? Because the point isn t to finish the game. The point is to overcome challenges where at first you weren t able to. To experience this sense of growth and to experience that process of progress. We need obstacles to overcome in order to experience meaning and meaning is created when a connection to something is made. You can t order meaning. Real meaning comes from connecting deeply to something other than yourself, while at the same time exercising your personal strengths, growing as well as challenging yourself in the service of becoming a better version of yourself. The fact that we are trying to become the best version of ourselves as footballers shows connection. So, well done to the Under 13 s your performance and commitment thus far as it is, is being suitable recognised. Well done to those players regularly playing more than one game, well done to those players that don t complain that the playing shirt they have got is too small or too big because they are excited to have one at all. Well done to all those players that couldn t care less what the number is on the back of the shirt, well done to players who arrive early for training and games not because they have to but because they want to, well done to all those players who don t care if someone else has the newest pair of boots, well done for putting yourself out there, when it would be easier to do nothing. Well done because you are the type of person that will try something new and fail, but you will keep trying and you will get better! Well done because you put others interests before yours and get a kick out of how successful that is. Well done, because no matter how many times someone else tells you how much better than you they are, you will consistently out-perform them and well done for challenging your coaches to ensure they provide the best possible environment for you to learn and grow. Well done on your success and I am very proud of each and every player at our club! Adam Carty Technical Director
We would like to extend our gratitude to Nu Fruit as a continuing key sponsor of the clubs Bright Red Academy Program. Nu Fruit is a major wholesaler of quality fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as nuts, cut flowers, seedlings and water which is now also online. Nu Fruit is widely recognised as an industry leader delivering quality, fresh produce to leading supermarkets across Victoria, NSW, SA and to our regional cafes, restaurants and hospitality services. Big thank you to Dean Campagna and his extended family for their ongoing support, it is greatly appreciated by all.
Purchase Our Merchandise Available for purchase via https://one-sports.net.au/club-partners-locker-room/murray-united-fc/
First Team Isaac Read Joshua Mulcahy Alexander West Abdulkerim Koc (GK) Lewis Greenwood Tom Morrison Ashley Dunn Fletcher Caponecchia Gonzalo Freddi Halil Gur Ryan Giles Sean Pye Harry Drummond Connor Caponecchia Zac Walker Melkie Woldemichael
Thank You To Our Sponsors Contact Us Home Ground: 1 University Drive, WEST WODONGA VIC 3690 Postal: Po Box 5118 WODONGA VIC 3690 Club Administrator: Deanne Sweetland- Club Admin 0468 772 848 info@murrayunitedfc.com.au NPL Juniors U12-U16 Adam Carty- Technical Director td@murrayunitedfc.com.au NPL Seniors U18, U20 & Senior Men Elliot Jones- Senior Coach seniorcoach@murrayunitedfc.com.au Marketing & Media Jordan Brejcha- Director of Media & Marketing media@murrayunitedfc.com.au Match Day Events: Serena Brejcha- Match Day Coordinator matchday@murrayunitedfc.com.au