Belnorth Newsletter: Junior Re-Grading, Parking Etiquette, Team Photos, Playing Rules, Coaching Tips & Courses

June 4, 2024

U10-U18 Re-grading & Fixtures

Capital Football have conducted their re-grading of the U10-U18 competitions and have published round 5 games on Dribl for this coming Saturday.

Rounds 6 onward are planned to be published COB tomorrow, Wednesday. Points tables have been reset, irrespective of team movements between divisions.

Parking Etiquette

On Saturday morning, 1st of June at approximately 10:20, a woman was reported to be standing in car spots trying to reserve spaces in the Turon Place parking lot. This caused a lot of rage among many cars/families at a busy time.

This behaviour and entitlement isn’t acceptable. There is to be no reserving of parking spots at Kaleen 1.

Do you know your Playing Rules?

From under 6 to over 55, playing rules and formats differ.

Check out the link below for more information about the different age groups.

What about U5s? U5 have no formal playing format or rules, but the U6 and U7 standards are a good guide with slightly smaller fields and shorter game times.

Coaching tips for U5-U9 and beyond

A reminder to coaches and parents, it’s important to emphasise to kids the goals is to have fun and to play in a safe and fair way.

If a team is winning comfortably, the team coach should challenge his players to complete three passes before a goal and give the opposing team a chance to complete some passes before they start defending. We want kids to enjoy themselves and keep playing, we don’t want them in tears.

On the safety front, coaches and parents should encourage players to stay on their feet. Slide tackling for the sake of it should be frowned upon, especially if it collects “ball and all”, risking injury.

Lastly, coaches and managers should ensure players get a fair go at playing during every game. A Fair Game Time calculator and resources are available here.

Do you know your Spectator & Technical Areas?

Only teams and officials are allowed in Technical Areas. Please respect our Spectator and Technical areas at Kaleen and similar rules at away venues.

You can brush up on Spectator and Technical Areas here.

2nd Batch of U5-U9 Domino’s POTM Vouchers

The second batch of U5-U9 Domino’s player of the match vouchers will be available to collect this coming Saturday game day at the Central Hub, Kaleen.

Hanging out for a pizza during this cold weather? Check out Domino’s 3 large pizzas plus 3 sides deal. Support Domino’s Belconnen, Kippax and Dickson who generously supply us with the Domino’s POTM vouchers.

Coaching, Managers, CVOs and ARs

A quick reminder that Coaches and Managers can’t be Club Vested Officials (CVOs) or volunteer Assistant Referees (ARs) at the same time.

Prior to games, it is suggested that teams designate volunteers, possibly on a roster, to fill any required AR and CVO roles. This will allow coaches and managers to concentrate on their duties.

Team Photos 26/6 & 27/6 @ Eastlake Gungahlin

Junior Team Photos this season will be conducted at Eastlake Gungahlin by Michael Thompson Photography (MTP), over two weeknights, Wednesday the 26th of June and Thursday the 27th of June.

Eastlake Gungahlin is a good place to tuck into a meal before or after the photo sessions. For those coming on Wednesdays it’s Pizza Night. Thursdays are Steak Night along with 2 for 1 Cakes and there is a Meat Raffle!

You can book a table at Eastlake Gungahlin via phone 6147 5511.

Where: Eastlake Gungahlin, 51 Hinder St, Gungahlin ACT 2912

When: Wednesday the 26th of June and Thursday the 27th of June (specific team days/times here)

Parking: Underground parking is off Efkarpidis Street or there is more parking over the road.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please bring your cleaned boots and put them on just prior to the photo. Don’t come into the club wearing your boots. This often brings unwanted grass into the club and is not appreciated.

Team session times can be found here.

Kanga Cup Pools Finalised

The Final Pools for the Kanga Cup for our 12 teams that have entered.

U9 Male Shield: Frill-Neck Lizards (Pool A), Kangaroos (Pool B), Quokkas (Pool C), Belnorth Dragons (Pool D)
U10 Female Plate: Warriors
U10 Male Plate: Blue (Pool B)
U10 Male Shield: Raiders (Pool A), Lime Lemurs (Pool B)
U11 Female Plate: Dragons
U11 Male Plate: Blues (Pool B)
U11 Male Shield: Allstars (Pool A)
U12 Male Plate: Spartans (Pool A)

And don’t forget, Belnorth FC provides financial assistance to Belnorth teams to enter the 2024 Kanga Cup. Further details available here.

Coerver First Skills Sessions Continue

Coerver Coaching ACT will be delivering skills sessions throughout the 2024 season to support coaches and players from U5 to U9 teams. As part of this program Belnorth coaches are encouraged to be actively involved, as Coerver Coaching ACT will also use these sessions to support your coaching development.

The sessions will assist players in becoming more confident and creative by teaching the following topics:

Ball Mastery
Running with the Ball
First Touch
Receiving & Passing
1v1 Game Moves
Finishing (Scoring Goals)

This Friday’s sessions (7/6/2024) are:

U6 Open: 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm on field 3
U8/U9 Girls: 6:15 pm to 6:45 pm on field 3

The U6/U7 Girls & U9 Open Coerver sessions that were cancelled on Friday the 31st of May, have been rescheduled to Friday 14th of June at 5:30 pm and 6:15 pm respectively, at Kaleen field 3.

Coaching Course

Interested in upping yours skills as a U10-U18 or seniors coach? Then the Foundation of Football Course (FOFC) is for you!

The next FOFC is at the end of July with details below.

Dates: Friday 26th July & Friday 2nd August 6 pm to 10 pm

Location: Hawker Football Centre, Walhallow St, Hawker ACT

Cost: $100

The course is aimed at volunteer parents and coaches working with advanced beginner to competent level players or players aged up to approximately fifteen (15) years old.

It involves practical sessions covering the basics of techniques as well as learning about basic playing principles of the game. The course is mostly practical and not graded.

You can register here.

Club Shop Hiatus

With sale volumes now reduced the Club Shop is pausing operations to give the volunteers who run it a break.

If you need socks or shorts, please email admin@belnorth.org.

Season Dates

26/6 to 27/6: Junior Team Photos (Eastlake Gungahlin)
6/7: No U5-U15 games
7/7 to 12/7: Kanga Cup
13/7 to 14/7: No Junior or Senior Games
17/8 to 18/8: Seniors Last round
31/8: U16-U18 Last round
24/8 to 1/9: Seniors Championship series
7/9: U5-U15 last round
7/9 to 15/9: U16-U18 Championship series
7/9: Senior Presentation (Belconnen Labor Club)
14/9: U12-U18 Presentation (Belconnen Labor Club)
22/9: U5-U11 Presentation (UC Kaleen High School)
17/9 to 30/9 ACT Sportsgrounds Shutdown

The full 2024 calendar can be found here.

Current Belnorth FC Vacancies

The below vital roles are currently vacant.

Small Side Games Registrar (volunteer/committee): Manages the registration and running of the U10 and U11 age groups along with general committee member duties (e.g. meetings, decisions)
Operations Manager (volunteer/committee): organisation of equipment (distribution, auditing and ordering). Trophy Liaison (coordination role with registrars). Presentation day organisation (coordination role with committee). Event Organisation (coordination role)
Vice President (volunteer/committee): Responsible for assisting the President.
Technical Director (paid): responsible for developing, implementing and nurturing player and coach development through sound program design and development for Belnorth. In assuming a technical leadership role, the TD provides mentorship to coaches and players in all programs and fosters good sportsmanship in a safe and fun environment. Further details here.
Club Changers (volunteer): Assist with implementing Club Changer modules.
General Helpers (Volunteers).
Coaches & Managers (Volunteers).

Every volunteer, whether a coach, manager, CVO, referee or committee member, helps the club tick.

If you want to help, please email admin@belnorth.org.

“A team is more than a collection of people. It is a process of give and take.” – Barbara Glacel