13th March 2011

Greetings everyone..... the football season is now truly upon us with training of all teams well underway.
As I mentioned in my previous report, training has commenced later than usual this season so as to give our fields more rest & time for recovery from last season & the excessive off season wet weather.

This week sees the start of the competition with the Third Division Men's on Wednesday night, Colts & U15 Boys on Friday night, our U12's & U13's on Saturday morning & the U15 Girls on Monday night....the weekly draw will be displayed on the front page - lets show our teams plenty of support! I also ask all our parents, coaches & players to observe our Code of Conduct at all games with friendly & positive behaviour.

This season's sign on was very successful with over 300 Juniors & 60 Seniors registering to play...this shows great, positive growth for our club, especially in the younger age groups. Our Registrar Nadine is in the process of completing all of these registrations for the start of the competition...please remember our NO PAY, NO PLAY policy for all our Senior & Junior players..your registration fees MUST be finalised or a payment plan in place for    you/your child to commence the season.

Unfortunately our committee have come under fire from some members who don't fully understand what it takes to acquire & allocate coaches to teams and seem to have unrealistic expectations of our not-for-profit, volunteer run community club. I can assure you that the time & effort put in by our volunteers, all of whom have jobs & families, is extraordinary and that we are doing everything we can to have the season start as smoothly & successfully as possible. With 35 teams and all but three with coaches, and considering the time available to us & compared to previous seasons, this is a great result and those positions are well on the way to being filled.

On a brighter note, I would like to extend a huge thank you to the coaches & parents who have shown patience,cooperation & politeness in this busy period and welcome you all to our club.

The committee & I are always available for any query or assistance and I would like to direct you to the 'YOUR COMMITTEE' section on the front page noticeboard to familiarise yourself with each of our committee members duties.

I ask you to support our sponsors who are so important to our club and remember to always keep a close eye on the website for all updates & news.

Again, welcome & I wish you all a great season.

Mark Bustin
Club President