Players FC Do Football For the Kids In After School Care - Its a Smash Hit!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm, 98.3mhz on Tuesday at 7:00PM. through the Australian Community Radion Network

In this program we speak to Anthony Hatton, of the club called Players FC. We’ve spoken to Anthony last year about his Club and football philosophy. Anthony Hatton is, to coin a phrase – “An Ideas Man”! He does a lot for Junior Football development, runs a football club that focuses on junior players, is the coach of the Girls Grammar U18 Div 1 team and is pioneering terrific junior football initiative – Players FC are delivering Football development and lots of fun to after school care in the ACT Primary Schools. Told you he was an ideas man – he is also an action man. Want it done, give a smart busy man the job – that’s Anthing Hatton and Players FC. Your primary school should pick up on this program – the kids love it.


An extra-ordinary thing happened in the Womens Pl match between Woden Valley and Brindabella Blues. A young player from Woden scored 8 goals – yes 8. And her younger sister scored 7 in the PL18s game. We’ll speak to Woden Valley Women’s PL coach , Ed Hollis – he must still be in state of amazement. Can you recall when something like this last happened in the PL?

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Hope your weekend of football went well. Mine was a mixed bag! Good coaches winning, good coaches doing it tough, a poor junior coach, winning teams and teams doing it tough. Whinging players, players enjoying football, parents happy their children are playing and unhappy parents. Makes me dizzy! Please read on!!

My Saturday started with an Under 13 Open game between Majura and Woden Valley. The game was played on a lousy surface but in good style and to a good technical standard. Both coaches played 1-4-3-3 and did it pretty well. It was pleasure to watch. Parents were supportive and both coaches spoke to their teams in terms of encouragement and with patience, the team after game talks were all good news. I quickly forgot who won and thought on aspects of each teams’ game that had impressed. It was a good place to be.


I then went on to watch a PL 16 game and saw an archetypal junior coach from football’s garden of misery, running a team that was being well beaten. His conduct was an embarrassment, his style more akin to bullying, harassment and verbal abuse of his players. When the other team scored it triggered unpleasantness. Had he looked closely I fancy he might have noticed that some of the players seem to have paid him the sternest rebuke – they were ignoring everything he said – though it must have hurt. He abused the ref and directed some unpleasantness at the opposing teams coach (who wisely withdrew). The parents were mute during his outbursts, and from the strained looks I concluded they had been there before and knew what was coming. A parent of a boy in the team told me they had struggled to get enough players each week. I can understand why. The same parent told me that this coach was a teacher at the school the team had come from – now that did surprise me, but it explained why the parents were so quiet.

A colleague in football remarked as we walked to our cars, saddened by what we had witnessed “Surely he can see this is no good?”. I though of my fathers favourite repost in such circumstances “There’s no known cure for stupidity”.