Brunswick Junior Football Club !!!!!!!!

Report

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to the 2014 AGM !!!!!!!!

15 October 2014 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!On behalf of the President and Committee, I present for the consideration and approval of the

members a report for the year ended 30 September 2014, of the Brunswick Junior Football Club

Incorporated (BJFC).!

!This report contains material relevant to the business for the AGM, being:!

!• the minutes of the previous annual general meeting;!

• reports on the transactions of BJFC during the last financial year (financial reports); and!

• a list of officers of BJFC.!

!Other materials are also included, which are not necessary for the AGM but which may be of

interest to members.!

!!Luke Wilson!

Secretary!

Brunswick Junior Football Club 


Contents !!!1. 2014 BJFC Office Bearers!!2. 2014 President’s report!!3. 2014 Financial Statements!!4. 2013 AGM minutes!!5. 2014 Coaches reports and team records!!!!!!!!!!!

2014 BJFC Office Bearers !!!!!President - Libby O'Connor!

!Vice President - Alison Beswick (Registrations)!

!Secretary - Luke Wilson!

!Treasurer - Wendy Canobie!

!!Committee!

!Trevor Ludeman − Director of Coaching 


Ray McKenzie − YJFL Club Director 


Terri Drum − Canteen Manager 


Kylie Moreland − Communications Manager 


Wendy Perdrisat − Team Manager Coordinator 


Jenny Baker − Uniform and Apparel 


Jenny Wallace − Sponsorship and Promotion 


Greg Banova − Auskick Liason / Sponsorship and Promotion


2014 President’s report !!!!!!

President’s Report

Five years ago, a small group of committed people determined that there should be a football club for kids in the Brunswick community. The vision and commitment of those early ‘pioneers’ is reflected in the strengths of our club today. A club that has a strong sense of identity, an excellent governance structure, a commitment to the community in which it operates and a network of energetic and enthusiastic parents.

Over the past five years, the club has developed a strong set of guiding principles that have three elements of importance: the promotion of junior football, positive participation and the fostering of a community spirit. These principles have enabled the club to attract players and parents whose own values are aligned with those of the club.

This year has been a significant year for the club both on the field and off.

We have undertaken a number of activities for the first time and in doing so have demonstrated that the club has reached a level of maturity and competence.

2014 Activities

We have expanded our playing numbers from 125 to 175 with seven teams registered to play. All of our teams had a terrific season, supported by our outstanding coaches and their assistants. For the first time this year, the club conducted football clinic during the term two holidays. Players were taken through a series of drills in freezing conditions but rewarded with fabulous warming food at the end. The response was extremely positive and the football clinic will be listed on the clubs calendar for 2015.

The club works with a number of community stakeholders including the Brunswick Sports Club, the North Old Boys Football Club, Moreland City Council and a range of local businesses. This year, through the work of Jane O’Donnell, the club raised money for the breast cancer network. Jane suggested the activity and coordinated a group of people to make cupcakes which were sold over the Mother’s Day weekend. Over $1000 was raised and donated to the cause.

Representatives from the Committee and some of our coaches have been meeting with the North Old Boys, the senior club that we share the clubrooms with. The meetings have been working towards developing a shared pathway of common values and goals. The discussions have been fruitful and one of the outcomes will see some of the senior players mentoring our juniors over coming seasons.

The club received a community grant from Moreland City Council and used the funds to engage motivational speakers, such as Phil Cleary and dietician, Simone Austin.

This year, our ground was in pristine condition. As a consequence, we were successful in our bid to host the finals. For the club this was a major achievement. We were recognised by the league as a club that could deliver and through the takings in the canteen, was a financial success for the club. However, it was only possible because of the strong support we received from the parent network. The call went out for volunteers and we had parents committing for many tasks from ground management, canteen duties to cleaning up the clubrooms at the end of the day.

2014 marked the fifth anniversary of the club and the Dragons celebrated in style. The Social Sub Committee outperformed themselves for this occasion. The birthday

celebration was a very stylish, formal event held at the Estonian Club. A big thank you

again to the Social Committee for the hours of work that went into the planning and

execution of the ‘birthday bash’.

2014 Committee

A significant strength of our club is the Committee structure and the individuals who take

on the demanding roles within the Committee and the 2014 Committee has been

exceptional. The Committee meets monthly and in between Committee meetings, the

Executive and the Sub Committees meet. Each member has taken on a key leadership

role. The tasks have been varied but the output has been amazing. Alison Beswick, Vice

President has been responsible for the registrations of our 175 players and has

participated in a number of sub committees offering her support and wisdom. Luke

Wilson, Secretary, has been a guiding force keeping us all on track with his knowledge and

understanding of the rules and regulations that underpin our operations. Wendy Canobie,

Treasurer has ensured that finances are in order. Wendy also works quietly behind the

scenes providing support to the various subcommittees.

Ray McKenzie, YJFL Director keeps us informed of the work of the YJFL and is font of

knowledge on the rules and regulations. Trevor Ludeman, Director of Coaching and

mentor to the committee. Trevor’s extensive knowledge and experience is an invaluable

asset for the Committee. Wendy Perdrisat is the Team Managers Manager. Wendy has

developed a comprehensive guide book for team managers that the YJFL are now

interested in adopting. Jenny Baker has been responsible for the purchase and distribution

of apparel. She was also instrumental in the introduction of the training jumpers which

were designed by our players.

Jenny Wallace chairs our Sponsorship Sub Committee and has been responsible for securing

some major sponsors, including Nelson Alexander. Jenny is also an active participant on a

range of sub committees. Kylie Moreland is responsible for our eNews. Kylie ensures that

the parents and players are kept informed through her weekly posts. Kylie has also

written a number of submissions for funding, and is actively engaged with Auskick and

other sub committees. Greg Banova is our Auskick liaison person and has been a

tremendous ambassador for the club in this role. Greg is also an active participant on the

Sponsorship Sub Committee. Terri Drum is the Manager of our canteen. The canteen is

gaining a reputation for its exceptional food offering. This is due to Terri’s hard work and

commitment. This year Terri has had the support of a Manager, Holly Panigas and of

course the wonderful parent volunteers who come in every week.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to the Committee for their commitment and

dedication. We have achieved an enormous amount this year. The Committee has placed

the club in a strong position to continue to grow and prosper. It is one of the best

Committees I have worked with and despite the many hours that everyone puts in, we still

manage to have fun.

2014 Coaches, Team Managers and Volunteers

I would also like to thank the coaches and assistant coaches who also work tirelessly to

nurture, and enhance the development and improvement of football skills in our players.

To the parents who come to training nights to support the coaches and the players, a big

thank you.

Without the Team Managers, we could not get the players onto the field. The Team

Managers perform an extraordinary role coordinating parents and players and liaison with

other clubs on game day. Thank you to each of you for your time and commitment. To

those parents who provide support across the ground and in the canteen on game day,

thank you.

Our continued operation and our future is only possible with the ongoing support of our

parents, families and community stake holders. As we continue to grow, we will rely more

and more on volunteers to share the load. I would encourage all parents to consider what

role they can play in supporting the club.

On behalf of the Club I would like to thank all of our sponsors who have supported the

Club in the past 12 months. Without your support, our capacity to do many things in the

club would be limited.

Thank you to the Club and to the Committee in particular, who have supported me in my

role as President. I have felt privileged to be in this role and have enjoyed the success

that we have all achieved together.

I wish our players and families all the best over the Summer period and look forward to

catching up again in 2015 for another exciting year of football.

Go Dragons.

Libby O’Connor

President

BJFC

2014 Financial Statements !Treasurer’s Report 2014

I am pleased to present the Brunswick Junior Football Club financial statements and Treasurer Report for Season 2014. The following information reflects the activities and transactions for the period 1st October 2013 to 30th September 2014.

For Season 2014 we entered 7 teams into the YJFL (5 teams 2013) which increased number of registered players from 125 (2013) to 175 for 2014. To cater for the increase in numbers, training was conducted over two nights per week and games were played every weekend at the Gillon oval. The Canteen was open for operation every weekend which necessitated manager assistance, more parental volunteers and increased hours and usage of the grounds and pavilion.

New initiatives for the season was the hosting of YJFL semi and grand final games due to the excellent condition of the ground. Revenue raised via the canteen for these games resulted in a profit of $4594. During the July school holidays a two day Training Clinic for the players was conducted by volunteer coaches and parents on and off the field. This initiative resulted in a profit of $2806 and is expected to be conducted again next year.

Revenue – is generated by way of player memberships, sponsorships, grants, canteen, bar, donations, raffles, training clinics and special celebrations. The amount of revenue raised from each activity does and will change constantly as the club continues to grow.

Cost of Sales – in order to generate revenue from the above streams there are costs directly related to each stream, thereby having an effect on the gross profit/loss. Revenue raised this year was $98,105 and the direct cost was $45,412 (46% of Sales).

Sponsorships and donations received (monetary, discounts received, supply of goods and services) from the following: BHP Billiton ($787), A-Grade Club Supplies, Brunswick Masters Football Club ($300), NOBS All Saints Coterie ($280), The Mouthguard Man ($250 + $120 vouchers), Nelson Alexander Real Estate ($2500), Café 2U ($565), LaMana Fresh, Heinz, Ty Perdrisat family, Jonas Walsh family, Max Barille family and The Grandview Hotel.

Grants – received a Community Grant from Moreland City Council of $900 towards a series of talks from motivational guest speakers. Guest speakers included Simone Austin, dietician and Phil Cleary.

Received notification of successful application for Sporting Uniform Grant from Vic Government Sport & Recreation for $1000 for next season – yet to receive funds.

Canteen – our major source of fund raising for the club. This year has seen another successfully run, fun, tasty, healthy and profitable canteen. Thanks to the enormous efforts contributed by Terri Drum and her family, all parental volunteers who helped and our new assistant manager, Holly Panigas. This position enabled shared weekend about and for the canteen to operate each weekend given the 7 teams involved. The assistant was paid for her time which totalled $2145 (107 hours), leaving a net profit from Canteen takings of $12559.

The Canteen takings were boosted by the club hosting two rounds of finals games at the Gillon oval. The YJFL (Moreland City Council) charged us $446.34 for this privilege. Taking into account the cost of supplies, payments to assistant manager and the league, the canteen made a surplus of $4594 over the two days of finals.

Another special event was the celebration of the club being 5 years old. The purpose of this celebration was to thank everyone involved with the club over the past five years and to be a fun night, not a fund raising event. The cost of running the party was $7947 less the sale of tickets $6240 leaving a deficit of $1707. Some glassware was purchased for this event which will be utilised at future functions.

Expenses – the YJFL costs are our largest expense along with ground rental and utilities charges. This season the league affiliation fees were $880 per team to register along with umpire fees, player accident and public liability insurance totalling $5520. Umpire services are variable as to age groups and whether teams participate in the final series. As teams age more umpires are allocated to the games. The YJFL offer a (compulsory) basic accident cover for players. However, the club upgraded player accident insurance per team ($205) to Gold status, with JLT Pty Ltd, which includes better medical cover and a paraplegic/quadriplegic cover.

For 2014 most player registrations and membership payments were received on-line via Sporting Pulse. The process worked well and helped with entering data into the accounting software. The total of Sporting Pulse fees for this service was $900, approximately $5 per player. This fee should be taken into account when determining the membership fees for next season.

Ground, Pavilion and Utilities costs – our share was calculated by the number of teams, number of training sessions at ground, number of home games played over a 26 week period. The total cost came to approximately $11,500 of which we paid $5446. This averages to $778 per team for 2014. Obviously with the increase in number of teams and usage of facilities and grounds, this cost will increase in the future. Next year it is expected training will be conducted over 3 days per week.

Coaching & Training Courses – a compulsory requirement of the YJFL for this season. New coaches attended league courses to obtain the required Level 1 certificate. The cost was $185 per coach. Training/medical courses were also attended to ensure each team had qualified trainers/runners at a cost of $75 per person.

Also included in training expenses (not a league requirement) was the cost of guest speakers, After School Care training and V-squad participants. The Committee decided to pay 50% of the V-squad fees (for first year) if any player was accepted for V-squad training for three years. The expectation being each player would continue playing for BJFC.

Equipment, apparel, footballs – including team bag and contents such as: boundary umpiring, goal, interchange, coaches, trainers, runners etc. apparel for each team. Medical supplies, ice packs, flags, timer, pump, footballs for game days. Training equipment, footballs, ball bags, bibs, witches hats, goal post pads, tackle bags etc. Throughout the season most of the team bags required more apparel and replacement of missing items and new medical supplies. The cost for all this equipment was $7755 which equates to approximately $1108 per team.

Bookkeeping Fees – The committee in 2013 resolved to pay for these services as Treasurer and bookkeeper. As a bookkeeper of any business knows, every transaction must be accounted for and entered into an accounting program. The task required approximately 6-8 hours per week attending to all data entry, chasing paper work, reconciliation of bank accounts, floats and producing financial reports as required for monthly committee meetings. The hours per week do vary depending on activities within the season. As the Club continues to grow the time and skills required to fulfil this position are important and necessary for the financial well-being of the club. The fees charged for data entry this season was $2137 (2% of Sales) for 142.5 hours.

!

!Recommendations

Player Membership Fees for season 2015 – As the following financial statements show, player memberships account for only 31% of total revenue raised, which means fees need to be more in-line with the costs of putting players on the field. For example: Actual total costs $42,442 divided by 7 teams = $6063 per team, divided by say 25 players = $242.50 per player. The actual fees charged this year were $190 (early bird), $210 and $147 for a sibling.

The cost of playing and non-playing apparel is not included in the player membership fee.

My recommendation to the Committee is to increase the 2015 player membership fees to $230 and $165 for siblings. As stated above the fees cover a small portion of the actual costs involved for each player to participate. Cash funds are reserved for the sustainability of the club and for refurbishment and improvements of facilities and grounds. As the club grows other grounds will need upgrading to accommodate our increasing number of players. The club supports players with new training equipment, financial assistance if required to enable participation and advanced squad training as has been done this year.

An early bird fee could be offered, however only 19 players took advantage of this option in 2014. I recommend that payment for membership be required when a player registers on-line via Sporting Pulse. An administration fee (approx. $5) is charged and deducted by Sporting Pulse for each member before transferring funds to the club.

Bar Managers – if we continue to provide bar services at functions and training nights, I recommend a manager to oversee the operation of the bar. Ideally a manager would arrange all the purchases and sales, banking of funds into the club bank account and reconciliation provided to the Treasurer each week. This procedure works well with the Canteen and Apparel (stock) which is entered into the accounting system giving accurate and up to date information.

Apparel & Stock on Hand (some old stock written off but can be used as spares)

Playing Apparel: Socks, Shorts, Jumpers value $3660. The excess playing stock at end is due to the girls team not eventuating but will be sold next season.

Non playing Apparel: Hoodies $2175, Training Tops $350 will be sold next season.

Remaining Canteen stock sold to Brunswick Cricket Club at cost - $86 yet to receive.

Bank Account - Bank Balance at end of September is $22,277.74 CR

Expected expenses to follow: Auditors Fee, Bank Fees, Merchant Fees, Extra medals $120.

Outstanding Debtors: St Johns College $100 and Glenroy Bakery – Pie warmer bond $100

Financial statements for the year are tabled below.

Audited Reports – The club’s financial transactions and data file have been audited by Lachlan Ezard of Kearney & Co., Accountants. The Auditor’s report and statement is attached to this report.

All the best for Season 2015 “Go Dragons”

Wendy Canobie, Treasurer, BJFC

Date: 14 October 2014

!!!

Brunswick Junior Football Club Inc.

PO Box 120, Brunswick West 3055

Profit & Loss (with last year)

1st October 2013 To 30th September 2014

Account No. Account Name (7 teams) 2014 (5 teams) 2013

4-0000 Income

4-1000 Player Memberships $30,420.73 $21,774.00

4-2000 Sponsorships $4,051.00 $2,630.00

4-2200 Grant - DPCD $0.00 $1,000.00

4-3000 Other Income

4-3001 Playing Apparel Sales $10,139.00 $6,165.00

4-3002 Canteen Takings $26,152.32 $16,798.21

4-3003 Meal Takings $7,991.55 $6,242.65

4-3004 Sale of Drinks $1,887.05 $2,172.85

4-3005 Sale of Stickers/Photo books $0.00 $180.00

4-3006 Non Playing Apparel Sales $5,498.00 $2,015.00

4-3007 Donations $625.50 $1,231.50

4-3008 Interest Income $0.00 $74.22

4-3010 Raffles $0.00 $1,959.25

4-3011 5th Birthday Celebrations $6,240.00 $0.00

4-3020 Training Clinic $4,050.00 $0.00

4-3030 Active After School Coaching $1,050.00 $0.00

Total Income $98,105.15 $62,242.68

5-0000 Cost Of Sales

5-1003 Canteen Supplies $11,448.06 $9,355.35

5-1005 Meal Preparation Supplies $7,533.85 $4,793.02

5-1006 Presentation Night/Day $0.00 $1,008.36

5-1007 Drinks Supplies $1,070.85 $1,309.20

5-1008 Stickers/Photobooks Supplies $0.00 $119.90

5-1009 Non Playing Apparel $4,790.50 $3,579.40

5-1010 Playing Apparel $11,873.73 $6,791.40

5-1011 Sporting Pulse Fees $899.22 $0.00

5-1012 5th Birthday Celebration 2014 $7,946.84 $0.00

5-1013 Training Clinic $1,243.90 $0.00

5-1150 Closing Balance - Stock

5-1160 Apparel - Non Playing $520.00 ($1,390.00)

5-1170 Apparel - Playing ($1,914.00) ($1,271.00)

Total Closing Balance - Stock ($1,394.00) ($2,661.00)

Total Cost Of Sales $45,412.95 $24,295.63

Gross Profit $52,692.20 $37,947.05

6-0000 Expenses

6-1000 Yarra League Playing Exp

6-1001 League Affiliation Fees $6,160.00 $4,400.00

6-1002 League Umpire Services $3,649.10 $2,046.30

6-1003 League Training Courses $3,605.00 $1,347.50

6-1006 Freight Delivery Fees $40.00 $40.00

6-2000 Equipment

6-2001 Footballs $4,172.95 $4,591.55

Account No. Account Name (7 teams) 2014 (5 teams) 2013

6-2002 Umpire Apparel & Equipment $2,726.25 $2,647.12

6-2003 Player/Coaches expenses $855.53 $1,106.76

6-3000 General Expenses

6-3001 Advertising & Marketing $240.99 $645.65

6-3002 Audit Fees $572.00 $0.00

6-3003 Bank fees & charges $917.76 $857.89

6-3005 Postage Printing Stationery $432.78 $126.76

6-3006 Medical Supplies $519.91 $65.00

6-3007 Public Liability Insurance $432.00 $432.01

6-3008 Player Accident Insurance $1,438.50 $685.00

6-3009 Trophies Medals Photographs $2,288.91 $2,657.25

6-3010 Computer communications $602.28 $569.35

6-3012 Clubroom Facilities $465.00 $1,479.28

6-3013 Canteen Expenses $2,910.04 $735.69

6-3014 Donations/Gifts $1,164.70 $797.87

6-3015 Utilities Charges & Rent $5,446.34 $4,400.00

6-3016 Asset Protection Insurance $255.01 $255.00

6-3017 Depreciation $859.96 $489.00

6-3018 Bookkeeping Fees $2,137.50 $0.00

6-3019 Guest Speakers $550.00 $0.00

Total Expenses $42,442.51 $30,374.98

Operating Profit $10,249.69 $7,572.07

8-0000 Other Income

8-1000 Grants $900.00 $0.00

Total Other Income $900.00 $0.00

Net Profit/(Loss) $11,149.69 $7,572.07

2013 AGM minutes !!Brunswick Junior Football Club!Annual General Meeting!!Minutes of Meeting held at Gillon Oval!30 October 2013!!Attendees: !Ray Nardella, Riad Khoury, Gavin George, Wendy Canobie, Ray McKenzie, Mal Baulch, Terri Drum, Kylie Moreland, Jenny Baker, Jenny Wallace, Trevor Ludeman, Luke Wilson, Greg Banova, Libby O’Connor, Wendy Perdrisat, Georgie Kanizaj, Kath Kelly !!Ratification of Annual Report including the Financial Report for the year ending 30 September 2013 of the Brunswick Junior Football Club!!Moved: Ray McKenzie!Seconded: Riad Khoury!!Endorsed unanimously.!!Election of 2014 Office Bearers!!The President called for nominations for the six executive positions.!!The following nominations were received!President: Libby O’Connor!Vice President: Alison Beswick!Secretary: Luke Wilson!Treasurer: Wendy Canobie!Club Director: Ray McKenzie!Director of Coaching: Trevor Ludeman!!Nominations were unopposed and unanimously accepted by those present.!!Committee Nominations!The President called for nominations to the Committee.!The following people nominated!!Greg Banova!Jenny Wallace!Jenny Baker!Kylie Moreland!Terri Drum!Wendy Perdrisat!!The nominations were unanimously accepted by those present.!!The President thanked the retiring Committee for their work, and wished the new Committee all the best in their endeavours in 2014.!The new Committee thanked the retiring President for his work over the preceding 12 months.!!

2014 Coaching and team reports !!!DIRECTOR OF COACHING REPORT !

Season 2014 represented the second year of this position, with the concept being to provide

mentoring, advice and develop a Coaching Manual to ensure consistent coaching advice and

approach.

As the Club grows this position will also grow into two Coaching positions, one for Junior

(Tackers-U12) and one for Youth football (U13 to Colts). The 2013 Manual was examined by Steve

Teakel at AFL Victoria, with changes and updates made and distributed to all Coaches prior to the

commencement of the 2014 season.

Coaches for Season 2015 have been confirmed with all Coaches returning, with the exception of

David Pizzey, one of our longest serving coaches, having a well-earned break. It is pleasing that

David will still continue on to assist the U14’s in some position next year. John Ross will coach the

team with David Jackson and Adam Ramage to join Ross Coverdale and Trevor Ludeman with the

U15’s.

Pre-season & practice matches

Pre-season commenced at Clifton Park on Friday for Tackers, U10 and U11. This day was

consistent with the cricket training that was also conducted on Friday nights, the idea being to

minimise disruption to routines. Wednesday nights was adopted for the other teams. For 2015

using Clifton Oval for pre-season will require different times for training as this oval really is

limited for size (2-3 teams maximum).

For next year Tuesday nights may be available, depending on the use of this night for senior

training. New senior coach Ron Rooney shifted the traditional training night to a Monday to assist

with player recovery. If this night is available next year we may be able to allocate it to teams.

Two practice matches were conducted this year against Flemington and West Coburg juniors. Both

days were well attended and hopefully, dependant on ground availability, we can host Flemington

at Gillon and return to West Coburg in 2015.

Run & carry and the importance of bouncing the ball

The bouncing of the ball is a critical component to the game and to ball drop: that is you need to be

able to bounce with both left and right hands so that you can drop the ball onto either foot.

Consequently, each team had access to 24 training balls so that each player could practice bouncing

the ball on the warm up laps. This practice is unique to BJFC and assists in player development.

Coaching accreditation

The YJFL rules require all Coaches to complete Level 1 accreditation and all Coaches have met this

standard. This is a modest cost to the Club with these training courses costing approximately $180

per course.

This year we have paid for coaches to seek further training through the “Accelerate” program,

which costs $100 per coach. This is an online module requiring 11 hours tuition. This training

module has been extended to Anthony McIntosh (U10), Peter Gleeson & Peter Grist (U13) and

David Jackson (U14) who indicated they would like to complete this extra education.

Finals

The success of the Club is not necessarily defined by finals or Premierships, but by teaching the

players to be competitive and hopefully having an opportunity to make the finals. Too many

players go through their careers never experiencing finals football.

This year the Club was able to reach finals for 4 out of the 5 available teams with the U10 (Black) &

U12’s (Black) making their first Semi Final appearance, U11 (Red) and U14 (Brown) winning the

first semi but losing the Preliminary finals. This was a great credit to all involved, parents, players

and coaches.

Season 2014 & out of age groups

Player’s numbers for each team have been confirmed with most players returning. In our first

year of competition (2010) the U10’s commenced the season with a 50/50 split of U10 and Tackers.

In the YJFL players can play 2 years out of their age group (i.e. U10 could play U12).

Over the past 4 years this has been reduced, with U13 players required to assist the U14’s on three

occasions. Other players played outside their age group to ensure players did not miss out on a

game.

In terms of under aged players, Coaches have been instructed to discuss with parents the option of

staying another year, particularly if the player has struggled in their age group or is physically

small. It is club policy that players should play in their age group.

Training for 2014

Training during the home and away rounds was limited to Tackers 7’s & 8’s to U10 commencing at

5.00pm on Friday nights (3 teams) with and U11 on Wednesday nights. The U12, 13 & 14’s teams

commenced at 5.45pm.

Communication

At a YJFL seminar in 2013 it was recognised that communication between Coaches and parents is

vitally important.

For 2014 all coaches provide an update, which coincided with the end of the grading matches.

This was provided to all parents which identified what was to be achieved throughout season

2014. This update to parents was to identify how the teams were travelling and what the

expectations would be for season 2014.

Australian Institute of Sport & umpiring

This year the Club was able to provide Coaches into local primary schools, through an “after care”

program. This was paid for by the AIS and allowed Ella Baulch and Adrian Smith (both Club

Umpires) to conduct AFL coaching sessions and promote the Club at the same time to local

schools. It is anticipated that this program will continue for next season.

Ella Baulch has been confirmed as Club umpire for next year, which is great news. Adrian Smith

carried a hip injury into the season and had to stop 4 games short.

Adrian has confirmed that he would like to continue on for season 2015, once the injury (surgery)

has been resolved.

School Holiday Camp

This year the club conducted its own football clinic over two days with, on average, 40 players

attending each day. On cold and windy conditions this was well attended. This was a great way

for players to experience another voice, with coaches from the older age groups taking the Tackers

and U10’s. A guest speaker was arranged, being a dietician’s presentation at lunch on day 1. This

was a great initiative with the lunch being provided by the Club on both days, with parents taking

the time off school holidays to assist in this program.

The Club was also fortunate with the Senior Coach Ron Rooney being available to take the U14’s

players for a session, which introduced new exercises, experience, input and advice from a senior

coach.

Equipment

The provisions of twenty four (24) synthetic footballs for each team for training, seven (7) match 1

balls for home and away ground and the provision of leather footballs for U13 (size 3) and U14 2

(size 4) accounted for $4172. Further equipment such as bags, bibs, cones, drink bottles ruck bag 3

$18 each1

$70 each2

Shared with NOBSPC total cost $2503

and three new team bags came to a further $2726. Education of Coaches with Level 1 courses came

to $855.53, with a further $400 to be spent on the “Accelerate” program. Overall cost for season

2014 came to $8153.

Generally, the synthetic training footballs can be used again the next season, which means that not

all footballs are discarded at the end of each year. Replacements are made and the “top up” of each

team’s supplies is made prior to pre-season.

!

TACKERS 7s


The year for the 7s was one of steady and encouraging development for the boys. This

development came in their skills in the game, in their sense of 'team' and fair play and the

friendships made.




As coaches while working on skills was a focus, just as important was respect for the umpire and

opposition and simply having a go. We are proud of the way the boys took to the training track

and field each week. 





Prior to the season start there was uncertainty as to whether we could get the numbers. The

decision to have a separate 7s and 8s team was a good one rather than the blended option. This

certainly allowed the 7s to develop at their own pace, and learn the game together.  





Both coaches on the ground in the first 8 rounds of the season provided the opportunity to direct

the boys to 'get to the right spaces' and start learning the rhythm of each game. This saw some

good early season development. In the first four games, a focus on some simple messaging had the

team learning some basics such as not kicking across goal and the importance of getting up as soon

as possible after being knocked over. 





Bigger grounds in early games proved a challenge, with our smaller team 'running out of legs' late

in the game against bigger opposition. After the early rounds when for home games we shortened

the ground, the boys were able to round games out for longer. For future years we would

encourage the 3/4 length grounds for 7s team from game 1.





By mid-season with some weekly challenges to players, we saw each of the boys starting to

respond to their own particular goals. Some boys played on from a mark several times per game,

others given the specific task of kicking in from full back, while some knocked the ball on. It has to

be said that week in week out the one area where Brunswick excelled against all opposition was

tackling. Across the whole team attack on the ball and locking on to opposition with the ball was a

real feature.

While as coaches we did not actively pursue the 'Ross Lyon' mantra of 'lock down' defence,

tackling did allow our team to bring the game back to even terms for parts of games. 





Attendance at training was remarkable through cold, windy and sometimes rainy evenings. But

the promise of pizza seemed to pull us through, an inspired training motivational idea unique to

the club I think!  In late season it was clear that they boys had started to learn the strengths of their

teammates and were working well as a team together.  The results of this were a number of games

where goals were kicked and finally the boys were able to celebrate the rewards of their hard work

for the season. Running in threes became the messaging that was successfully taken on by the team

over the last four games. For coaches and the large band of support staff (aka parents, siblings etc.)

this was fantastic to see. In a number of games we had ball movement end to end happening,

enabling the boys to display some of the skills they had been working on at training. We even had

an instance where one of our boys kicked on his non preferred side in a game on the run! 





Coaching the boys was made easy due to the significant investment of time and encouragement

given by our great team manager Jan de Geir, with Kate Douglas doing just as well when Jan,

suffering from exhaustion, had to go overseas for a number of weeks. Thanks to both Jan and Kate. 





As coaches the importance of the support and encouragement of parents, guardians and other

family members really cannot be underestimated.  We were impressed, not only by the positive

messaging given to our team by all, but the spirit with which umpires and opposition were

acknowledged. The primary focus that was supported was to play hard, have fun and be fair.

 Assistance at training was also strong feature and greatly appreciated.  





To the Committee and for the leadership shown by Trevor as director of coaching, thank you for

providing the opportunity for the boys to start their journey in the team and community that is

BJFC. Most importantly to the boys, you can all be proud of your achievements for the year. While

most weeks, the opposition teams were bigger and more experienced, you have all developed

great skills, worked together and become a great team. Well done.

Duncan Exton & Brendan Geary

!

TACKERS 8s

Overview

The Tackers 8s were represented in 2014 by boys from approximately eight different schools

throughout the inner north: Coburg, Brunswick (West, Central and East), North Fitzroy, Northcote

and Essendon. Six players had played for BJFC Under 9s in 2013; of the remainder, several had one

or more years of Auskick experience; others had little or no competitive game experience. All came

together to form a very sound and capable football team.

Overall, there was a significant improvement in the skills, application, focus and game sense of

every player over the course of the season. This was an obvious and pleasing outcome for the team

and parents and bodes well for the continued development of the boys and BJFC into 2015.

Pre-season training kicked off with over 30 listed players. The decision was taken to create an

additional team of bottom age players (Tackers 7s), with the appointment of two additional

coaches and team manager.

Training

Training was enthusiastically attended right from the commencement of the pre-season. The move

to 5pm Friday nights (Tackers training was held on Wednesday nights in 2013) at Gillon Oval

worked well for the team, as well as providing direct and unfettered practice opportunities on the

Dragons’ home ground. Training consistently attracted 16 or more players throughout the season.

Further, the boys, especially those unfamiliar how a football club functioned, quickly adapted to

the routine of training: warm up, skill drills, games, game-sense activities and pizza after the

game!

Getting to know each other has also been a focus at training. With each round, the level of

camaraderie and chat between the boys on and off the field grew and this is an aspect the coaches

were keen to encourage and reinforce.

A high priority was the running of drills designed to assist players develop correct technique and

proper execution of the fundamentals: kicking, handballing, marking, bouncing, picking the ball

up off the ground, bouncing. The development of game sense was another major training focus.

Approximately half of training time was set aside for the game or competition simulation.

To all parents reading this report, it is difficult to cover and develop all the relevant skills in the

time allocated to training. As such, we would like to encourage parents (outside of training and the

game environment) to assist in consolidating any skill learnt at training. We feel this (and moving

into 2015) is an important time for the boys to develop good habits. Kicking, marking, handballing

and running and bouncing we suggest are the most important at this stage. Repetition and keeping

it fun are key. At this age, rapid progress is all but assured.

Match days

The team adapted well to the game day routine: arrive, kick to kick with team mates, coaches

address in the rooms, meet the umpire, team positions, out on the ground for a warm up,

announcement of captain for the day, coin toss, siren sounds and game on!

The coaches were committed to ensuring that every player was named in every position over the

course of the year. It was also fortuitous that on many occasions, starting with 18 or fewer players

means that all players received 100% game time on the field with no interchange bench! Starting

positions were changed every 3 rounds and most players are moved into a new position at half

time. This approach was generally considered to have worked well for players and coaches.

The Tackers 8s played all season with at least one coach out on the ground. While this worked

well, it will be an important next step for the boys’ development to play without direct coach

instruction during the game. With at least one full year of football under their belts, we are hopeful

that this will be a smooth transition.

Coaching addresses between quarters focussed mostly on the positive teamwork aspects of the

game, player recovery (water and oranges!) and tempering player enthusiasm! The coaches were

also keen to point out the “one percenters” performed by individual players. Specifically naming a

player for performing, what typically is an unheralded deed, made a noticeable difference to a

player. The pat on the back by a team mate goes a long way in building each players confidence.

Parents were encouraged to call out a player for doing something that may have gone unnoticed.

This “buy in” made the kids aware that these deeds were noticed by family and friends alike.

Post-game one coach briefly addressed the opposition players and a medallion was awarded to the

opposition best player (home games only). Players shake hands with the opposition, which is

critical for learning of the spirit in which the game ought to be played, and learning of the concept

of good sportsmanship. Game day formalities rounded out with a return to the club rooms and a

hearty rendition of the team song. This is great for team morale, and just like what the AFL teams

do!

The progress of the Tackers 8s from the first practice game to the end of the season was substantial.

Notwithstanding this, the challenge of Friday night training after a long week at school, a stop/

start fixture, cold nights and wet, and heavy ground conditions, makes for a long season. Full

credit must go to all of the boys for sticking to the task right to the end.

In terms of individual skill execution, the Tackers 8s could compile a highlights reel to match any

junior team: lots of running bounces and open play, long kicking, tackling, bumping, blind turns,

‘speccie’ pack marks, ‘selling candy’, impossible snaps at goal, bursting through packs, and bags of

goals kicked. In every game, there was at least one player that executed a skill or performed a

memorable piece of play they hadn’t done previously. These were exciting signs and the Tackers 8s

performed exceptionally.

Final word

Congratulations must go to all the Tackers 8 players for a fine year completed. The coaches, Jude

and Anthony, wish to thanks all the parents for supporting their kids – getting them to the game,

volunteering on game day, helping out at training, serving pizza, camaraderie, humorous

comments from the sidelines and a million other things.

A special thanks also to our tireless Team Manager, Caroline Leitch, who did a power of unseen

work and largely unappreciated, that helped keep the Tackers 8s juggernaut in motion. No mean

feat.

We look forward to seeing everyone in the BJFC community again in 2015.

Jude Allan & Anthony McIntosh - Coach - Caroline Leitch - Team Manager

Go Dragons!

!

Under 10 Black

Firstly, we would like to say how much we enjoyed the year as a team, as coaches and supporters.

The team had great drive to win, demonstrated by the number of times we came from behind to

snatch victory. Even in our last game, the final, we believe five more minutes and we would have

got the goal we needed. Just to make finals was a great achievement given a large number of the

team was playing their first year of competitive footy.

Some of the many highlights from the season included, 9 game winning streak, a thrilling 4 point

win over Doncaster (the best 10 point to 7 point game of football we’ve ever seen), 14 of our

players kicking goals (with Adam Jirik kicking the most goals in the competition), 9 players polling

votes in the competition best and fairest with 3 in the top ten, 8 players making their debut for the

club, a kick on the siren to win one game and an individual 5 goal haul by Aiden Purcell.

We had good numbers but it was disappointing to lose players through the year and it definitely

had an effect on our finals result. Both Will Currie and Tristan Bonetto (broken arms) and Si

Markwick (hip) couldn’t play in the final meaning we were down on our normal rotations. Thanks

go to Jonah Allen (U9 tackers) stepping up and played a great game off half back.

I’m proud to say that no player ever complained about coming to interchange bench throughout

the year. We were also pleased that players volunteered to play for the opposition on a number of

occasions.

We got great numbers to training most nights and despite the Friday night time slot (not ideal for

youngsters or coaches), we always had great enthusiasm from the players and had lots of fun. I

hope the players remember how awesome those autumn sunsets are. We had great support on the

track from Brad, Shane, Eils and Ritchie.

The team goals we set early were for everyone to make a contribution. This included getting a kick,

mark, handball and we always stressed the importance to the team to tackle, shepherd, talk and

support each other. Our weekly team talks included consistent messaging around always being in

the game and always talk to your teammates to help them. We worked hard to further develop

players skills and experience and in a really competitive league, we had no massive wins and only

one large loss (to the eventually premiers).

We tried hard to teach the team how to play competitive football, improve as an individual player

and how to make a contribution to the team, regardless of your position, skill and ability.

The sight of our players linking up from the backline and streaming forward with handballs and

kicks to space was a thrilling sight and something that all coaches and supporters love to see.

We also achieved our goal of having the players experience the forward, midfield (centre, wings

and onballers) and defence positions over the year. Once we got to the end of the year, we settled

the team down into a structure that we thought was our strongest. Experienced players on each

line supported by less experience players on that line.

We’d like to thank all the parents and supporters for the great support we received during the year,

on and off the field. Sunday never could come quick enough which is a sure sign that something

good is going on. Thanks to game day helpers Georgie, Di, Nick, Brad, Jules, Steve, Sue Ellen and

Scotty.

Finally, I’d like to highlight the spirit that the team played with throughout the year. The sporting

intent of our players, parents and support volunteers was tested on occasions but stayed strong.

We committed to the clubs high standards and we can hold our heads high in meeting those

standards.

We encourage all the players to come back next year for the under 11’s. Go Dragons!

Mark Currie and Rob Purcell

!

Under 11 Black

Coming off a very successful season last year where we made the Grand Final in Red

Division, the Under 11’s were moved up a grade into Black Division this year.

For the first 6 training sessions prior to the season commencing, all players were sat down

as a group and a constant theme was repeated - the 2 things that this team stands for

above and beyond all else. I strongly believe these two things have contributed to our

success and have created a strong bond between our players - Discipline and Respect.

!

Discipline – This includes things such as getting to training and games on time, learning

and playing in different positions, playing for each other, putting the team first as well as

learning and following team rules. Even smaller things like picking up cones, handing in

bibs and not throwing water bottles contribute to the culture of the side, where players are

taught to treat everything like it’s their own.

Respect – Respecting your team mates, coaches, opponents and this club. It was made

very clear that there is absolutely no tolerance for bullying, swearing, fighting or bad

sportsmanship. I am proud to say that we have had zero issues in 2 years with this group.

We have won and lost, and each time we have shown respect for our opponent.

The aim of this side is that everybody needs to be made to feel comfortable and a part of

this team. Scott and I have seen all of our players learn to respect each other, make new

friends and become a TEAM. We had 16 different goal kickers out of 23 players (the most

of any other side in the competition). We also had 10 players polling votes in the YJFL

League B&F (the most of any other side in the competition).

THE SEASON AT A GLANCE…

In our first 4 grading games of the season, we would win two and lose two. The two we

lost were to Richmond and Macleod (who were re-graded into a higher division). Not a

bad start. In our next 5 matches, we won two and lost three. By Round 9, we had 5 wins

and 4 losses and the race for the finals was going to be a tight one.

In Round 10 we would face Richmond at home and lose by 6 points. That week, other

results went our way and we were still in the mix to make finals footy. We then went on to

win the next 3 games in a row before losing to Camberwell.

In the last game of the season we played Canterbury at home. It was down to us or them

for the final top 4 spot in a must win game. We beat Canterbury convincingly by 5 goals

that day and made the finals finishing in 3rd spot.

We played Ashburton in our first final in what was to be a nail biting finale. We hit the

lead for the first time throughout the day with just under 3 minutes to play and then

sealed it with about a minute remaining to win by 10 points!

In the semi-final against Richmond, we were right in it until half time. In fact, we had

more scoring shots at that stage. After that, Richmond simply over ran us and the better

side won on the day. I know a lot of our players were disappointed; however, our focus all

year was to give it our best until the final siren no matter what the result. Our players can

certainly be very proud of their efforts and achievements this year.

AN INSIGHT INTO OUR TRAINING…

The team was once again fortunate enough to have the help of a number of very dedicated

and knowledgeable people this season. Every training session this year was structured so

that we covered all the basic skills and then moved to more advanced drills. All of these

incorporated fitness and agility while using a footy in the meantime. We used cones and

ladders and the natural competitors in the side stepped it up every week with everyone

trying to “out do” each other.

We understand there are kids at different skill levels and we spent a lot of time with ALL

kids trying to teach them correct techniques and encouraging them to improve.

We spent many training hours on all the fundamental skills such as kicking, handballing,

marking, bouncing and picking up the ball. Then we moved onto more advanced drills

such as shepherding, kicking to a lead, contested possession and contested marking just to

name a few. We also introduced a “Possession” drill to help our leading and kicking to a

target under pressure. The improvements were clearly visible on match days.

With all these skills and drills accounted for, there was always an element of fun at

training. Every training session finished with a game. We had some great contests playing

“last goal wins” and all players had a chance to kick that winning goal. We had marking

and goal kicking competitions - snaps, banana kicks, torpedo’s and even drop kicks….and

of course, goal kicking competitions from all angles.

A big focus this season was to get ALL players to play a part at training. Each session

started with the team going for a jog and having a chat between themselves about the

weekend’s game. They would come back and I would ask every one of them a question. It

has been great to see their confidence levels grow each week. Some of the quieter players

were very hesitant in the beginning to speak out, but by the end of the season they were

willing to put their hands up and answer as their team mates respected and valued their

opinions.

We also provided one on one feedback during training sessions as well. Players were taken

aside and asked how they were going, what they were doing well and what they could

improve on. Each player took the positive feedback on board and worked hard to improve

their game.

THANK YOU’s:

Scott Mackenzie for his work assistant coach this season. He has great knowledge of the

game and is great with the kids. Always willing to offer his advice and encouragement

and teach the kids the right way to do things. It’s very easy to coach with Scott; we have

the same lines of thinking in regards to the kids and look forward to doing it all again next

year.

Gavin George on his role as team manager. Thanks for your efforts over the last 3 years.

Gavin did a great job posting team sheets, results, organising match day requirements,

updating websites and putting together various presentations. Appreciate all your effort

helping the side.

Special thanks go to Chris Drysdale, Ray McKenzie, David Brophy, Tim Reade, Greg

Banova, Dom Perrone, Mick Davis and John Manias. Thanks for your efforts each and

every week both at training and on game days!

I also wish to thank all parents for their assistance in volunteering for various roles

throughout the year.

Finally, thank you to the Under 11 team for another outstanding season.

This team has made a Grand Final and now a Preliminary final in a higher division in

successive years. Over the past 2 seasons, most of our players have played in 5 finals. It

has been great to see the constant improvement both as individuals and as a very strong

team with great values.

Congratulations on a fantastic season and I look forward to seeing you playing for the

Dragons in 2015!

David La Greca & Scott MacKenzie

Under 12 Red

Another football year has come to a close for the Brunswick Dragons. Although the season ended

on a somewhat disappointing note, I think it would be hard to argue that this year has been

anything but a roaring success for the under 12 team. To spend most of the season in the top 2, to

win 10 of the 15 home and away games played and to play in a final for the first time was a

tremendous effort and a sign of significant improvement in this young group.

From the playing list of 2013, we retained all but 3 players and added 4. Two of these were new to

the club and 2 had returned after playing with the Dragons previously in 2012. This meant that we

had 25 players on the team list which potentially could have caused selection issues, given the

limit of 24 allowed to be named on game day. Fortunately the need to enforce that difficult

omission never eventuated as there was at least one player unavailable for each of the games

played.

Another proud achievement this year was that these 9 players, Otis Styant-Browne, George Kelly,

Sam Oborne, Riley Vicary, Romney Markwick, James Gleeson, Kallum Athanasiadis, Luke George

and Ewan Baulch now in their fourth consecutive year with the club, notched up 50 game

milestones. Each of these players was a member of this original playing group that began as under

10s in 2011. Well done to these players on a great achievement and ongoing commitment to the

football club.

Again there was a change in the coaching department with Peter Grist taking on the Assistant

Coach role for season 2014. Peter has been a very welcome and valuable addition to the team,

bringing great ideas, simple philosophies and a real no-nonsense, straight talking approach to

teaching. His communication with the boys, with the parents and with the coaching team was

noticeable and appreciated by all. Peter, I thank you personally for your great input into what has

been a successful coaching partnership.

Of course keeping 25 players focused and organised at training every week is not easy for 2

coaches alone.

Thankfully the coaching team was supplemented by 3 dads who were all there regularly on a

Wednesday evening helping with drills and keeping the boys in line. My special thanks go to these

members of the coaching department: Stephen Moloney, Richard Oborne and Oli Styant-Browne.

There are many and varied roles which need to be performed every week to keep a team running.

Thank you to all the family members who willingly fulfilled the roles of Runner, Trainer, Boundary

Umpire, Goal Umpire, Interchange Steward, Scoreboard Operator, Time Keeper, Umpire Escort,

Ground Manager, Water Carrier, Orange Cutter, Volunteers in the canteen on match days, Pizza

Servers/Sellers on training nights and to all the authors of our match reports for the year. Also

thanks for another big season of action caught by the lens of Kath Kelly and information and

photos uploaded to our website reliably by Kylie Moreland.

Not surprisingly the biggest thank you of all goes out to our wonderful Team Manager, Wendy

Perdrisat, who again has kept the whole team informed, organised and running like clockwork.

This year Wendy has managed our under 12 team, been a member of our club committee and

performed the role of Team Manager Coordinator; a very large commitment of time and effort.

Partly due to these extra roles and busy work life, Wendy has made the decision to relinquish the

Team Manager role next year. Personally and on behalf of the team, I extend huge thanks to Wendy

for 3 years of dedicated hard work.

The place will be different without her in this position but she has certainly paved the way for

someone to step up and continue the good work.

The improvement and greater consistency of the on field performance of the team was not a total

surprise to me. At the end of last season I noted that the team was playing more consistently and

(although not winning a lot of games) was maintaining pressure and effort until the end of

matches. This was a trait that I saw the group had maintained this year and it was now beginning

to translate into more solid team performances and more regular victories.

At the start of the season the boys were challenged individually with a short survey. Each player

was asked to think about why he played the game; how he should behave and treat others; aspects

of improvement and how he wanted others to view the Dragons as a team.

Certainly a key word to come from this was “respect” and this was a constant theme fed back to

the boys at training and on game day. The coaches repeated the notion to “train like you play”.

This helped with attitude and concentration at training and slowly helped the boys realise that “if

you wouldn’t do it in a game; don’t do it at training.”

Another result from the survey was the boys’ desire to improve skills, particularly kicking. Peter

Grist and Steve Moloney addressed this at pre-training kicking and skills clinics on Wednesdays.

This helped the players with kicking technique and also showed the boys where to place the kick:

i.e. out in front of a moving player.

The coaches concentrated on teaching some very simple but important aspects of the game; asking

the players to focus on 4 main key elements.

1. Be first to the ball/win the contest

2. Run on/follow up/second efforts to shepherd/help/be an option.

3. Don’t bounce the ball in the first 10 steps.

4. Use your voice/communicate.

These were repeated and reinforced each week. At training, drills focused on practising these

disciplines, particularly winning the contested football and running on for another effort. The

improvement in these areas showed on the field, where improved hardness at the contest and

willingness to run on, protect and shepherd a team mate not only kept us in games for longer, it

often eventually wore down the opposition and allowed us to grind out a win.

The season in summary. Firstly improving the win: loss ratio from 4 and 11 in season 2013 to 10

and 5 this year and playing in a final was a major step forward.

A big positive was that many of the middle tier players improved the consistency of their games

and so could be relied on to make a contribution in their given role, whether that was to contest

hard and run in the midfield or simply to play a reliable defensive game, contest, hold the ball up

and negate the influence of a dangerous opponent.

The team beat every other team in the division at least once during the year (apart from a 14 point

loss to Richmond who were later promoted). This displayed that the group was good enough to

win against all comers when it played its best football. The run home towards the end of the

season was always going to be a massive challenge; coming up against some of the bigger, better

skilled opposition. Some heavy defeats gave our percentage a real hit and we dropped from

second to fourth (equal on points with 2nd & 3rd but with an inferior percentage).

The semi-final against St Damians was a better effort from the team in terms of endeavour and

willingness to go in and win the ball.

In the end the team was once again overpowered by a bigger, stronger team that used the ball

more cleanly and skilfully than we did. We were able to keep the ball inside our attacking 50 for

good periods but could not finish off where it mattered; on the scoreboard.

Taking everything into consideration, I think that fourth was probably about where we were at for

the overall season. I think we were superior to sides that finished below us; being able to play

hard, competitive and at times open flowing football against these teams. When it came to the top

sides however, we were outmuscled, outplayed and occasionally appeared uncompetitive.

My frank assessment as to the reasons for this, certainly compared to these teams, is that overall

our basic skills are still far short of where they need to be. As a whole, the team still struggles to

reliably hit a target by foot, overhead marking is generally poor and the number of simple chest

marks being dropped is not acceptable.

The team focus has very much been about winning the contested football and I think that this is an

area where this side has been very good for the majority of the season. Certainly this is consistent

with the amount of time in games where we have had possession of the football.

Being able to get the ball is one thing but keeping possession of it relies on the ability to pass it off

cleanly and skilfully and not give the ball back to the opposition with poor disposal or fumbled

chances.

This is a part of the game that perhaps we need to focus on heavily next pre-season. It is simply an

area that must improve before we can move on to teach and put into practise any other (even

simple) structures or plays.

The coaches have already spoken about this and are very aware that this is an issue that needs

addressing. The challenge will be how to most effectively and efficiently utilise limited training

time whilst addressing the broad range of abilities and requirements of the playing group.

Having said that, season 2014 really was a step in the right direction for this team and the boys

should be enormously proud of what they have achieved. The players should realise that, as a

collective, they are capable of playing very hard, competitive, winning football. They also should

know that if improvement is to continue next year it will only be through the commitment and

hard work of every member of the team.

My sincere hope is that everyone involved with this group, players, families and friends, enjoyed

the year as a Dragon and felt that he or she belonged and contributed to the good of the team.

Peter Gleeson – Peter Grist

Under 13 Blue/Black

!Season In Brief

• Full list of 25 players signed up for the 2014 season.

• 5 new signings: Alex Artis, Aaron Tsarouhas, Otis Bailey, Tristan Roberts and Mudaser

Almergane.

• 3 returning players: Zak Alderhoven, Lennox Egan and Ali Araci.

• ‘50 game’ milestones for Lennox Egan, Gus Pyers, Alex Artis and Levi Jackson.

• Unfortunately we lost Jonas Walsh for the season to a leg injury (but look forward to his return in

2015).

• 50% win/loss record for the year with 7 wins and losses (after 1 win from first 6 rounds). 


• Played first 5 rounds in Blue division before returning to Black.

• Finished 5th on the ladder behind Parkside, Hawthorn Citz, Glen Iris and Fitzroy.

• Wins over both grand finalists, Glen Iris and Fitzroy.

!

Pre-season

Strong pre-season with the team list filling quickly before the season started. Training sessions on

Clifton Park and two tough practice matches against Kensington (away) and West Coburg (home).

!

The Team

All players had the opportunity to play a range of positions throughout the season as well as

within games. This is how an opposition team may have seen us line up during the year.

• Backs: Carl, Alex, Otis, Lennox, Baz, Michael, Gus, Zak

• Midfield: Clarrie, Jimmy, Ali, Max, Anurag, Liem, Erik, Daniel

• Forwards: Eamon, Aaron, Angus, Ben, Ciaran, Caleb, Levi, Tristan

With a very healthy bench throughout the season, most players did there bit by helping fill the

ranks of our U14’s, cut down by injury or that of our opposition when needed to even up sides.

The Season - ‘Out of the Blue’

Bemused with the news that we had progressed to Blue Division, we faced Park Orchards at home

with some apprehension. However, after a strong 31 point win against a team that had trounced us

in previous years, we began to believe we might be able to mix it with the higher grade.

Rounds 2 – 5 found us playing teams far bigger and stronger. We were left feeling like we were not

just out of our division but almost out of our age group. Following heavy losses to Ashburton,

Doncaster Heights, Beverley Hills and Kew Comets and left with a percentage of 22.6%, the league

finally took pity on us and agreed to our earlier requests to move back to Black.

‘Back in Black’

Time to regroup and find our feet again. Despite us go down to Hawthorn Citizens at home in a

very low scoring game (0.6.6 – 1.4.10) we at least were back in a competitive competition. With our

backs against the wall and almost half way through the season, round 7 saw us playing away

against the Camberwell Sharks. In a light drizzle the Dragons came out to play. A strong 40 point

win saw us kick away with a 6 goal last quarter.

With our next game against a winless Warrandyte our confidence was sky high again. The pre-

game warm up was our best yet. The team seemed to be really switched on. The balls moved

quickly and cleanly and the calling was loud. However we forgot to take it out onto the ground

and as if playing in hand knitted jumpers it all started to unravel. Even with most of the play we

just couldn’t shake our opposition. Warrandyte could smell blood and once again the ‘pocket of

despair’ was our undoing! This began the echoing calls from the coaches box to ‘centre the ball’

and ‘switch the play’ for the rest of the season.

Feeling like a Roo’s supporter you just couldn’t guarantee which team would turn up each week.

This also indicated how close the competition was, where any team could win on the day if they

really wanted it. This was illustrated with narrow wins over ladder leaders (Fitzroy) and 2nd (Glen

Iris) and our only other loss to 4th placed Parkside.

If not for the regarding elevation at the start of the season I’m sure we would have been very

competitive if we had made the finals. This I am sure will be great motivation for next season.

Our Wednesday evening training sessions concentrated on different themes each week. After

dynamic stretching and warm up routines run by the ever reliable assistant coach David Jackson,

themes such as ‘first-to-ball’, ‘switching play’ and ‘hot hands’, focused on developing skills that

built on our team strengths. These skills were then put into practice most weeks with half ground

game sense. From round 8 we engaged David Roberts as our digital media manager (videoing

games).

These videos have become a handy coaching resource as well as great entertainment. We can now

relive those great moments and hopefully learn from some not so great moments.

The last three games particularly saw huge improvements in our use of the football. In particular

there were multiple kick/mark passages with players leading out uncontested into space and

moving the ball quickly and confidently through the mid field. Without the stats to confirm it, I am

confident in saying that a majority of our scores in these final few games where kicked from set

shots from marks in front of goal. Play that if deployed in earlier games may have got us over the

line in at least 2 or 3 of our close losses.

Congratulations to the boys who poled in the YJFL Best and Fairest awards. The club was well

represented across all teams. In U13 Black, Jimmy Manias and Angus Ross were in the top ten with

Jimmy 4th (18 votes), Angus 8th (13 votes). Others who poled were Lennox, Clarrie, Alex and

Aaron.

• BJFC U13 Best & Fairest (top 5 votes) Jimmy 115, Alex 79, Clarrie 73, Baz 65, Angus 65.

• BJFC U13 Goal Kicking (top 5) Jimmy 14, Eamon 11, Clarrie 10, Otis 7, Levi 5.

Final Ladder

"

Grand Final won by Fitzroy over Glen Iris.

‘The wrap’

Although we didn’t make finals this year, the mood across the playing group remained positive

with friendships and networks growing stronger as the season progressed. The resolve during the

last few games to play team footy was taken on by all players. We started to play with our brains

not just our feet. From a coaching viewpoint this inclusive and creative play was a highlight of the

season. Unfortunately the season came to an end far too quickly. If we can bottle that essence and

bring it back next year, we should be in for a big 2015. Well done boys! Remember summer is just

and extended pre-season, ‘keep on kicking’.

Support

Thanks to all parents and families who availed themselves to the thousand-and-one jobs that go

into getting the team on the park each week, with assistance at training, in the canteen and general

match day duties. Also, thanks to the wider Brunswick JFC community that makes coming to the

footy so much fun.

Special thanks to David Jackson for his astute assistance throughout the year and most of all, the

Herculean work done by Team Manager Bronwyn Tanti in keeping the machine well oiled.

The staff mainly consisted of:

• Bronwyn Tanti, team manager

• David Pizzey - coach

• David Jackson - assistant coach

• Brendon Jones, Alex Machione - runners

• Terry Hogan - trainer

• Simon Barrile - water

• Peter Tsarouhas, Jonas Walsh - game stats

• David Roberts - video media

With match day roles from John Ross, Chris Artis, Paul Jones, Don Newgreen, Cameron Eaton,

David Alderhoven, Nick Button, Damian Hamling and Sam Araci (Fiona Kenneally - oranges,

Libby O’Connor - boardroom muscle and cupcakes).

Also to the strong representation in the boardroom by club President Libby, Vice President

(registrations) Ali Beswick and committee member Jenny Wallace (sponsorship). Apologies to

anyone I have overlooked.

Sadly we bid farewell to Anurag Gaire who has been an integral part of our midfield for the past

three years. He racked up 42 games and won last year’s U12 Coaches Award. We wish them all the

best for the future.

Lastly, I wish to sadly acknowledge the tragic loss of Tom Gannan early in the season. He was a

great supporter of the team and club, and was an active assistant at training last year (before

snapping his achilles). Always willing to assist when required he will be greatly missed. So on

behalf of the club and the team, I would like to extend our sincere condolences to Daniel and his

family and would also like to compliment Daniel on his courage and the positive way he carried

himself throughout this very difficult period.

David Pizzey - David Jackson

!

Under 14 - Brown

Overview

Well what a year! Success not measured in premierships but being able to compete in Brown

Division and still make the finals. We had informed the parents at the commencement of the

season that the win/loss ratio of the previous two years (93%) could not be expected, given that we

would be competing against many clubs with two teams in each age group, with the top teams

having been relegated from Gold Division. Our expectation was to be competitive but that

finishing in the finals could not be automatic. From a coaching perspective this level of

competition would provide an environment that would make the players learn from this

experience and assist in player development.

We were fortunate to gain three new players this year being Stefan Stangherlin, Ravi Vallence and 4

Finnian O’Callaghan who replaced Lennox Egan (u13), Daniel Pisano and Josh Dries.

Stefan who had come from a soccer background and playing in his first year won the league and

club goal kicking (30 goals), while Ravi (also first year) turned into a versatile forward, backman

and ruckman.

Our experience from previous years in relation to injury and player availability was that the team

was very resilient and did not suffer from injury, so the 22 players on the list (down from 24) was

expected to be sufficient to get through a season. Oddly most of the injuries were not from football

but school or other sports. Broken thumbs (x3) (Finnian Eaton, basketball, James Andrianakis

(thumb & ankle), Kristian Panagiotidis (broken hand), Jack Sabatino (hamstring - school football).

The injuries from football were Jack Ludeman (concussion + bursitis) and Declan Ramage (broken

thumb at training). Overall the team resilience was tested with a number of games using U13

players (x3 games) or playing with 17 players (twice). Examination of games played revealed that:

• 10 players x 17 games;

• 5 players x 16 games;

• 4 players x 15 games;

• 3 players x 12 games or less. !

This resulted in a loss of 31 games with the maximum being 374 and 343 being played by this

group.

From 2013 player waiting list4

The expectation for 2015 will be that an enlarged playing list is required given that the U15 game

will be faster resulting in higher impact collisions, more injuries, while players will be needed to be

rested to facilitate recovery and ensure the load is shared across a greater playing group.

Brown Division & finals

The final ladder after home & away is displayed below with Hawthorn Citizens beating Bulleen

Templestowe to become Premiers for 2014.

!

Overall this competition was very even with four (4) losses to Beverley Hills, Kew Rovers,

Hawthorn and Bulleen Templestowe. Later in the year the team was able to win against Bulleen

Templestowe and Hawthorn Citizens. With the exception of Bundoora and Park Orchards, all

games were very close. Playing the top three teams in the first 4 games meant that the team was

relegated to the middle of the ladder throughout most of the season, with the final run home of 7

wins to overtake Surrey Park in the last game and finish 3rd.

The “one that got away” was the loss to Beverly Hills in round 8 where the team thought the lower

side would not be a serious contender, only to be blown away in the first half. A lesson in never

under estimate the opposition, regardless of ladder position!

This meant that the last 7 games had to be won to make the finals, which included wins over

Bulleen Templestowe at Bulleen which was won of the strongest wins (16 points) all year against a

quality opposition. The team showed great persistence to accomplish this feat.

The First Semi Final was against Kew Rovers who we hadn’t beaten, with the loss at Gillon earlier 5

in the year against Kew being influenced by player injury. A tight game against a more skilful

opposition saw the half backline keep the team in the game throughout, while goals were hard to

1 Bulleen Templestowe 15 11 3 1 0 0 0 1154 544 212.13 46 76.67

2 Hawthorn Citizens M 15 11 3 1 0 0 0 1171 647 180.99 46 76.67

3 Brunswick 15 11 4 0 0 0 0 842 585 143.93 44 73.33

4 Kew Rovers 15 10 5 0 0 0 0 884 579 152.68 40 66.67

5 Surrey Park B 15 10 5 0 0 0 0 688 492 139.84 40 66.67

6 Ashburton R 15 7 8 0 0 0 0 655 797 82.18 28 46.67

7 Doncaster B 15 6 9 0 0 0 0 822 745 110.34 24 40.00

8 Beverley Hills 15 6 9 0 0 0 0 685 781 87.71 24 40.00

9 Bundoora 15 6 9 0 0 0 0 595 1242 47.91 24 40.00

10 Park Orchards R 15 0 15 0 0 0 0 233 1100 21.18 0 0.00

Only played once in home & away rounds5

http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15156969&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15150217&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15155545&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15154727&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15160405&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15157140&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15160767&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15159008&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15160132&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467http://www.sportingpulse.com/team_info.cgi?id=15151183&client=1-3817-96490-302467-15155545&compID=302467

come by with the game rebounding between each half backline. The final result being a win by 4

points (9-12-66 to 9-8-62).

The preliminary final against Hawthorn demonstrated how good this team was with a 6-5-35 first

term to 4 points, with the overall score being 12-13-85 to Brunswick 3-6-24. Hawthorn being too

tall, too strong, too fast and very skilled.

Season 2015

The playing group has now experienced five (5) years of junior & youth football which has meant

that all players have been given a game regardless of ability. That is player selection was not based

on merit. This will change for 2015 as for the team to compete at the U15 level the playing list

needs to be expanded to a “squad” of say 25-30 players, where selection will be via merit. This will

groom the squad for Colts in 2016 (16-17 years) and their eventual entry into the higher level at

VAFA U18’s & U19’s or TAC.

As the evidence identifies the larger clubs with 2-3 teams grade the teams accordingly, with

players not making the “first” team selected to play “second” team. Given that next year’s U15’s

will not have a second team then players from the squad will need to be rotated and rested from

time to time, while injury and player unavailability at this level will also be contributors to player

availability. I don’t expect injuries from school and other sports to decline in year 9. Even this year

demonstrated that if the squad had been 24 (club team cap), then the team would still have had to

play on 5 occasions with only 19 players. Although the “evening up” rules assist on these

occasions, the playing of games without a bench to give players a rest or allow for injury is not

conducive to player welfare.

A squad of 25-30 players would also contribute to competition for positions with players treating

“training” as a space where skill level is to be improved and not merely a social gathering place/

space to turn up. The U14 team overall has a very good attitude to training but it can still be

improved.

Training & skill development

At a training and skill development level the U14’s are now into their “third” segment of football

development , being to consolidate basic sports, specific skills and tactics at this youth level. This 6

segment is identified as the “Train to Train” where players and coaches are expected to:

• Play to win and do their best; • Focus on skill training and physical development over competition; • Practice to competition ratio 60%/40%. !

1-Fundamentals 6-9 years – 2 Learning to Train 9-12 years – 3- Train to train 13-16 years – p6 of BJFC Coaching Manual.6

Players and coaches need to understand;

• Aerobic training; • Skill, speed, strength, core work; • Flexibility – growth of bones, muscles, tendon, ligaments; • Train in daily in competitive situation – practice matches, competitive games/drills; • Strategy; • Coping skills – physical and mental challenges of competition; • Pre-game plan; • Communication; • Concentration skills. !

In relation to these criteria

• Aerobic – In terms of fitness levels a beep test was conducted in preseason and revealed an

excellent standard of fitness with 10 players scoring 10 and above, with the highest being

Angus Norman (13.5) and eight players between 7.8 to 9.1.

• Strategy, pre-game plans - All games required specific game plans, dependant on conditions

and player numbers and generally players carried these out. The Hawthorn Citizens game in

the wet at Gillon was an excellent example of players carrying out the game plan of hugging

the southern boundary and not let Hawthorn switch the ball across the half back line.

The team had great flexibility, as a result from 2013 where players were tested in 4 week blocks

(forward, back & centre) throughout the season.

Generally most of the U14 players can play most positions, given that the basic skills for AFL

football is the ability to run, contest and read the play. The only limiting factor will be “match ups”

based on physical size.

This year we also assisted player development by providing individual training to improve player

skill level, in particular kicking. Adam Ramage and Riad Khouri were able to assist in this task

with individual tuition provided to some of our lesser skilled players. This approach worked and

those players have now improved their kicking ability, but will still need to work on this skill and

also on their non-preferred side. In retrospect I should have provided individual training earlier on

(U11, 12, 13) to these players.

Leadership

Next year will also require the identification of a leadership group, which will regulate behaviour,

training, fitness and recovery expectations. I have confidence in our top players providing this

leadership, as they are a great group of players who treat each other with respect.

Thank you

A big thankyou goes to all parents who support their children in playing football