CEO Vikings Futsal Talks Futsal 2011 - Part 2

This program will be broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday 1 March 2011 across the Australian Community Radio Network.

We begin the program with something for the Coaches as we navigate the pre-season (sourced from the ASC). A short description of the physiology of the athlete and how that must be considered in preparing a player(s) and as the season progresses, how to maintain peak fitness and performance. Gone are the days of run around the outside of the oval and don't worry about the footballs till later. If you have a coach doing this rubbish, get another coach or a new club.

Then its on to Part 2 of our interview with CEO Vikings Futsal, Alasdair Miller. The CEO talks a ittle more about the business model used by Vikings Futsal, the need for Futsal to secure its own playing facilities and a fascinating update on the impact of the floods/cyclone in Queensland and Victoria on Vikings Futsal operations. They got hit hard, but the game goes on! Nothing much stops the Vikings Futsal mob for long. The CEO just talks plain sense. Its refreshing. Wish others could do the same! For those that have asked whether Vikings have considered coming into the ACT - the CEO answers that question in this part of the interview.

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Federation Cup Draw For 2011

The initial draw for the 2011 Federation Cup (mens and womens) has been completed.

Depending on who you follow, it looks good or not so good. All Premier League Clubs are participating, with Capital Football extending invitations to a small number of Clubs to join the competition.

Thre are plenty of pre-season games going on around the PL clubs, with many of them travellling to NSW to play. The Federation Cup will see some of them play each other and give an opportunity for the Football "brains trust" in every Club to observe their opposition in 2011.

Federation Cup form is not not an absolutel indicator of form, but it sure helps.

The competition groups for the Federation CUp are as follows, with a detailed playing schedule to follow soon:

Mens

Group A: Belconnen United, Canberra City, Canberra Olympic, Woden Valley, White Eagles, Tuggeranong United


Group B: Canberra FC, Monaro Panthers, Cooma Tigers, Queanbeyan City, Goulburn Strikers, Weston Creek

Womens

GroupA: Woden Valley, ANU WFC, Gungahlin United, Tuggeranong United




Group B: Belwest Foxes, Canberra FC, Weston Creek, Belconnen United

The Price We Pay for Not Owning Our Own Football and Futsal Facilities in the ACT Is Too High A Price to Pay!

We have precious little in the way of dedicated Futsal and Football playing facilities in the ACT, after so many years of running these sports. The difficulties this imposes on both games, at every level of the games, constitutes a major threat to the competitive viability of both games. Our flexibility to change how we organise Football and Futsal is very much limited by a lack of playing facilities, which we can control to effect change. The pressure from other sports on ACT Government public facilities drives what can be done for football. For futsal, we are int he hands of private owners who also service other sports. This must change if things are to improve.

Futsal has no home in the ACT. Nor does Football. We have no Futsal and Football complex in the ACT and our circumstances would indictae that this is the most obvious infrastructure development to be undertalen by Capital Football. The small but commendable introduction of a FIFA standard artificial surface at Hawker Enclosed is a step in the right direction, a beginning!

The Kambah 3 field is so often touted as the Capital Football centre for High Performance football - no one believes that! Not in its present confiuration. Not even close. However, there is no doubt that the Kambah fields area would make a fantastic multi playing surface hub for Football and Futsal. That's one view that has been around for a long time - and yet nothing has happened. Just talk! Same for the vacant space at Woden, near the Mawson playing fields. So much talk about it being a site for a FIFA standard playing surface (like Hawker enclosed) on the South Side of Canberra. Talk, talk, talk, inspection and wait, wait , wait. What's the plan, when and what will be done and where does the money come from? Is the ACT Government with us. We control nothing, we just wait for "crumbs from the master's table"! The artificial playing surfaces at Gold Creek High School are a terrific playing facility, alas, you need to take a long trek to a neighbouring field get to the toilets, as the school facilties are made available outside school hours.

We cannot rely on the good grace of the ACT Government. Nor should we. We should expect the ACT Government to be willing to make investments in the sport with the highest participation rate in the ACT. The tourism dollars generated by the Futsal Nationals and the Kanga Cup in the ACT, must be worth preserving and investing in. The AFL don't do anywhere near as much, nor are they likely too, but the sum contribution of nothing in the past and a bit in the future saw the ACt Government Minsters, Mr Barr, liberate $26 million over ten years ($2.6m per annum) from the Tourism and Chief Ministers respective buckets of public funds. So there is obvioulsy money around, just not much for Football or Futsal! And we accept it?

Alas, the departure of $26 million to the AFL, seems to have left Futsal and Football investment (in terms of ACT Government expenditure), high and dry! There has been no explanation from the CF Board as to the reason Football and Futsal missed a cut of this cake, nor did they go on the front foot and make a noise about it in the media. Its a subject that should be visited at the CF AGM. So, what's the plan now?

I know that Capital Football liaises with the ACT Government. So they should, as we are almost entirely dependent on the ACT Government for access to playing surfaces all over the ACT. The limitations on access to ACT Government playing surfaces (they are for they sports), menas that we are severely limited in how we can manage Football. As for Futsal, we hire facilties becasue we own nothing of our own - the wonderful "MPower Dome" facility is a good example of what can be done, but its not being by us!

The two ACT Football powerhouses of Belconnen United and Canberra FC own their playing surfaces and have developed good supporting infrastructure around them, while Capital Football, after all these years has established next nothing by way of a supporting playing infrastruture. Hawker Enclosed, as I have said, is a step in the right direction. It seems very unlikely that in the medium term, other ACT Football Clubs will do as Belco and CFC have done.

As to Futsal, we have three clubs in the ACT. The North and South Canberra Clubs are instruments of Capital Football, staffed by hard working volunteers, but in the contxt of this subject, little more than competition managers and venue co-ordinators. We shouldn't expect them by anything else. They don't raise and train teams. They are not like Belco or CFC. They have no capacity to do as say Vikings Futsal does when confronted with the same facilities issues. So its back to Capital Football. The other Club is Boomerangs FS and given the wonderful successes in the NSW Supa League, populated by creative, passionate, determined and business savvy people, they may turn out to be the savour of Futsal in the ACT on the subject of future Futsal facilites. I'll wager that had the Boomerangs FS been given a fraction of the ACT Government's grant to AFL, to sort out a playing centre for Futsal in the ACT, the solution to Futsal (if not Football's) infrastructre issues would already be solved and building begun.

If you go to metro NSW to play Futsal, you will find a robust Futsal environment and among the many Futsal Clubs, you will find community, NSW Government. Football NSW partnership arrangements and club Futsal owned / leased specific futsal facilties, and all this demonstrates is that it can be done and should be done. Same can be said for Football.

Its intersting to listen to the CEO Vikings Futsal talk about this important matter. Vikings know the value of creating Futsal specific facilties. This is a central activity in the Vikings Futsal business model. The CEO also speaks on other aspects of the Vikings approach to Futsal.

We desperately need  a Football / Futsal centre, a hub for our sport(s). But who will do it? Does the FFA care? What's the plan Capital Football Board?

It doesn't seem to stop Vikings Futsal.

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CEO Vikings Futsal Talks Futsal in 2011 - Part 1

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across teh Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 22 February 2011 at 7:00PM.

This program is Part 1 of an interview with CEO Vikings Fustal, Alasdair Miller. This candid discussion is around many aspects of Futsal in 2011 and going forward, from the Vikings Futsal perspective.

We need to get one thing straight before the interview -Vikings Futsal is all about Futsal. No distractions. Futsal as a sport in its own right.

Vikings Futsal is not part of the FFA's Futsal arrangements, nor do they pretend to speak for all in Futsal. But there can be no doubt of one thing, Vikings Futsal is a very substantial presence in Australia, New Zealand and has grown some remakable links to our region and elswhere in the world of Futsal. The Vikings Futsal business model is well worth  a close look. They know how to make Futsal work.

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COERVER® Coaching to offer World First Diploma in Youth Development in Canberra.

Sourced from Coerver Coaching media release.

Coerver are world leaders in the area of Football individual skill development. This course is a rare opportunity.

Alfred Galustian,(pictured below) Co-founder and International Director of Coerver Coaching will deliver Coerver Coaching’s World First Diploma in Youth Development in Canberra on 5/6 March, 2011.

 

Coerver Coaching is the World’s Number One skills teaching method. Australian football continues to develop and increase its focus on the technical elements of our players and this is a great opportunity to learn with one of the World leaders in technical development.

Alfred Galustian is the Skills Specialist Advisor to the English Premier League (EPL) to train the EPL Clubs’ Academy Directors, including Coaches from Manchester United, Manchester City, Newcastle United and West Ham. Alfred is also the Technical Advisor to the Football Federation Australia, as well as to the Japanese FA, French Football Federation and Chinese FA.

Coaches will explore the Coerver Coaching World's Number One skills teaching method and identify the key elements in technical development for our Youth players.

Alfred Galustian said, “This is a very exciting development for Coerver Coaching and Australian Coaches. The modern game is fast, exciting and increasingly skilful. Players are often coached in teams, on team patterns. What Coerver brings is that individual component, the ability for a Coach to improve his or her players’ individual skill. Increasingly it’s individual skills that can make or break a match and win the game.”

Coerver Coaching, was started by Alfred Galustian and former Chelsea player Charlie Cooke in 1984. Coerver Coaching currently operate in 28 countries including Australia, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

To register contact below:
Jason Lancsar

COERVER Coaching Asia Pacific
e. contact@coerveract.com
m. +61 421907788
w. http://www.coerveract.com/
w. http://www.coerver.com.au/
 
The co-founders of Coerver Charlie Cooke (left) and Alfred Galustian (right) talk about the Coerver method.

Boomerangs FS Victorious!

Boomerangs FS - king of the mountain. Great stuff!

The Boomerangs FS contested several Grand Finals of the NSW Supa League Futsal Championships. Season 2010 / 2011 has been a fantastic journey for all the Boomerangs teams and parents.

The Grand Finals were contested yesterday and the Boomerangs FS were victorious in the following grades:

1. Under 14 Boys
2. Under 14 Girls
3. Under 16 Boys
4. Youth Mens

I cannot emphasise just how significant the scope of the Boomerangs FS competitive efforts have been this season. All nine teams into the finals, won the Club Championship, had more of their teams in fianls than any other single club, were victorious in four Grand Finals and now are most likely to be eleveated to the top futsal competitive level in NSW (and there is none better in Australia). Wow!

Please, tell me one football or futsal achievement in recent years that comes close to the scope of this competitive effort by any ACT Club or representative program.

The Boomerangs FS was and is all about giving our young Futsal players a chance to be challenged at a higher level of Futsal. The Boomerangs FS underpinning philosophy was spot on, right from the start, the players responded and the rest speaks for itself.

The Boomerangs FS have demonstrated beyond any doubt that our young players, boys and girls, young men and women can compete effectively in the highly comeptitive competition run in metropolitan NSW.

The most remarkable thing about the success of the Boomernags FS is that it is the energy and determination of two local people (Senatore and Collins), together with parents and players who rose to the challenge, to whom all praise must go. This was not a Captial Football inspired or underwritten venture and the CF Futsal Standing COmmittee is nowhere to sighted. So it can be done!

The atmosphere and collaboration between families and players as they campaigned the season is like nothing I have seen in Futsal in the ACT, except perhaps sometimes in the Nationals. A terrific atmosphere. Its that good.

Next season, it is most likely that Boomerangs FS will be elevated to the NSW Premier League. The competitive bar will be lifted again.

Boomerangs FS is the place to be for the best Futsal on offer in the ACT. Get in contact with them for the next season. Its never too early.

Images provided by Boomerangs FS parents - many thanks.

Arsene Wenger Talks Plain Sense

Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal Coach, is an impressive individual.

Once again, in one short interview you find a few gems that apply to any level of Football. What is a player worth, developing your own players, losing players to other clubs, building a team takes time, winning, pressure on coaches and so on.

All these things are going on right now in the Premier League pre- season. There is a couterie of players who are moving from one club's training to another, trying to work out which club will have a roster that is best placed to win. Makes you sick! Just join a club, buy into the season and get on with playing the beautiful game. Give your club a chance.

The worst of it is that soon (well already for some) the same behaviour (less the money) will appear in some form in the Junior Clubs as they recruit for their Div 1 teams.

Everyone likes to win. Not every one can win. Either way, we can still have a good or bad season. Up to you. Give your club a chance.

Hope you enjoy it.

Football People Power In The ACT - We Need it!

Sourced from the SBS World Game, Craig Foster's Blog http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/craig-foster/blog/1040063/My-message-to-the-fans

The SBS World Game held a Football Fan Forum in Sydney. They intend to do more of these forums around Australia. We need a Football Fan Forum in ACT.

Why doesn't Capital Football organise a series of community forums. What are they scared of? We need a lot of positive engagement with the community and Clubs and the Captial Football Board.

Craig Foster reflects on the first Football Fan Forum. Everything he says is absoutely correct. We should take the same approach in the ACT region and we can start with the game here in the ACT redion and work up through the A league and W League to the Socceroos and Matildas.

We have no one to blame but oursleves if we don't have the Football (and Futsal) environement we want for our chidlren and our talented young players.

My message to the fans


The start of a new fan movement?

I certainly hope so, having spent last night talking football with a considerable group of football lovers in Sydney alongside various dignitaries such as Mark Bosnich and Sydney FC’s Edwin Lugt.
What a valuable and heartening experience it was.

Among the crowd a group of supporters whose football involvement stretched from running clubs, such as Mark Ambour of Waverley Old Boys, the head of the Eastern Suburbs Associoation Peter Hennessy, the boys from The Football Sack - a staple of the football twittersphere, former Deputy Mayor of Woollahra Marcus Ehrlich, the Chairman of the National Indigenous Chamber of Commerce Warren Mundine to the many Sydney FC fans who eagerly took the opportunity to question Edwin directly and plead their case for more involvement and engagement.

It’s far too rare in football for everyone to come together, well, at least from the fans' perspective.

Football Federation Australia meets with the clubs and media. Players meet with the fans at various times. But the fans rarely have the chance to meet with those responsible for managing the game they love so much.

It is a phenomenon that is quite common abroad. In England, during my time at Crystal Palace, the Chairman and club owner and team manager would meet with the fans several times a season to talk directly.
This process was seen as necessary in the running of the club, within a football culture that recognizes the invaluable connection between the club and those who support it and keep it alive.

As any fan will tell you, the chance to speak directly and praise or voice frustrations brings them closer to the club and makes them feel an important part of the game.
Issues discussed last night ranged from the ticket prices at Sydney FC to the stadium suitability, player recruitment, the brand of the club and the confusion over what Sydney stands for over the past six years, marquee players and the value of Dwight Yorke in season one, and how Sydney can connect with the fans more regularly.

Much of the two hours were spent on the need for greater football understanding at head office and the necessity to engage our own football family who can ensure the survival and prosperity of the A-League. If the game will only reach out and make them a part of the journey.

The AFC Asian Cup was raised, and the question asked about what it can do for the game.
I congratulated FFA for its achievement in gaining the hosting rights for the 2015 edition of the tournament.
It is a fantastic achievement and a diplomatic success to be endorsed as the only bidder. I explained that the 2015 AFC Asian Cup offers Australia massive benefits in three areas: tourism, business and diplomacy.

:: Tourism because nothing else Australia can undertake can bring a billion Asian eyeballs to bear on the gifts our country has to offer, not even Oprah;
:: Business because Austrade’s Business Club Australia is skilled in using these tournaments to connect business leaders from the fifteen countries with our own at events built around the games;
:: Diplomatic because the opportunity for the Australian State and Federal Governments to engage with their brethren from many of our major Asian trading partners and political partners is extraordinary.
All of this serves simply to position football as the one game that can deliver such immense benefits for our relationship regionally.

FFA can leverage this position to continue football’s rise in both prominence and influence nationally.
There was a broad range of topics discussed and I was pleased to gain an insight into the frustrations and joys of being an Australian football fan, but in the end, after thanking all for showing their passion by coming along, I left the fans with the following challenge:

Get organized!

This must be the start of a new fan movement that sees all the disparate groups come together under an umbrella organization to focus the huge numbers who love the game into a single force.
I have said many times that if football ever gets organized as a single entity we are exceptionally powerful as the largest sporting constituency in the country, a power that can be wielded at all levels of commerce and government to ensure a greater share of resources the game needs by virtue of our size.
Well, now is the time.
Football is about emotion and the fans must separate their passion into the different areas: their club, the Socceroos and the game itself.

Parochialism reigns when it comes to one’s club, as it should. But when the national game and the national team are concerned, we all have a shared agenda, a combined mission to push the interests of the game, which takes collaboration.
So following from the success of the fans forum, I urge all the fan groups around the country to begin the process of getting together to create a single voice.
When this happens, Australian football will hit light speed in it's development.

Canberra United Annual Awards Presentation

Sourced from Capital Football website http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/site/news.php?id=1222

Canberra United held their annual awards function at Regatta Point, Canberra, on Sunday 13th February. And take a look at the photos below - WOW - they did it in style. (Where is your dinner suit Mr Barr - this is not the AFL!)

The team in formal dress

Player of the Year – SALLY SHIPARD

Player’s Player of the Year – CAITLIN COOPER

Rising Star – EMILY VAN EGMOND


2XX Supporters Award – SALLY SHIPARD


Leprechauns Trophy – ELLYSE PERRY

The presentation also saw the release of the club’s unique Official Yearbook. The 68-page full-colour publication is available to supporters, priced $15, upon request from Canberra United Media Manager, Russ Gibbs, at media@capitalfootball.com.au

If You Want Something Done In The ACT - Start Demanding More of Capital Football and the FFA! - And Be Prepared to Do Something About It Yourself

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across the Asutralian Community Radio Network on Tuesday 15 Febriary 2011 at 7:00PM.

Tonight’s program begins with the Boomerangs FS, that Canberra Futsal Club that is campaigning so successfully in the NSW Futsal Supa League. They have won the club championship, got all 9 teams in the final series and have 4 teams in the Grand Finals this weekend in Sydney.


Boomerangs FS is the best futsal experience for players and families in the ACT, including probably the Nationals. The esprit de corps among the players of all ages and parents is fantastic. The remarkable thing is that Capital Football nor the Futsal Standing Committee had anything worth recording, to do with this most substantial achievement in Futsal in the ACT in many years. Makes you think!

Boomerangs FS is a private initiative by two football / futsal people. They simply took matters into their own hands and demonstrated to all that where there is a will there is a way. We need more of this in ACT Football and Futsal.

Boomerangs FS are now probably one of the most available and rewarding marketing opportunities for business in the ACT, among all our sports clubs / teams in the ACT. Sponsors take note and contact the Boomerangs, you will not be disappointed.

Tonights theme – getting off your backside, demanding more, much more of our peak body Capital Football, doing a little more where you can for the Club your child plays for or the one you support, getting to games, putting your hand in your pocket for a few dollars to help the clubs help young players.

Importantly, make your voice heard with your local MLA and ensure the ACT Government take our very, very large Football / Futsal constituency seriously. You should do it because we are not getting anywhere near enough raw, uncompromising effort from the CF Board. When was the last time you saw some fire and brimstone in support of Football on the CF website, or the CF Board giving a press conference to push the future needs of Football or Futsal in the ACT? We are so meek and mild we at present just what we deserve from the ACT Government. It’s as embarrassing as it is crippling for our game(s).

Capital Football’s strategic document is called “Going For Goals”. How many big ones have we kicked this year and did it factor in the possibility that the ACT Government would liberate $26 million over ten years? Did they go hunting for it? Now that is one big "own goal" for sure. The  failure of the “A League For Canberra” bid, a study in betrayal by the FFA, only served to lead the ACT Government towards AFL.

We want something akin to the $26 million over ten years the Minister shelled out to the AFL for a new AFL franchise club in western Sydney, a place where the FFA failed to mobilise a very much larger Football and Futsal constituency. Rest assured the AFL will be in Canberra in force, because they are real good at mobilising AFL clubs to make connections with communities. We haven’t got an A league Club that reckons we are worth the effort.

Very recently, the SBS World Game began a Community Forum in Sydney, one of a number they intend to conduct around Australia. ( http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/videos/18/Experts ) They started in Sydney, the subjects revolved around the A league problems. I have selected some of Craig Foster’s comments to illustrate the underlying issues in our football community. He makes a lot of sense, oozes passion for the game, doesn't "admire" problems and tells it just the way he sees it. Doesn't get any better. And thank goodness for the SBS World Game! You can translate the same themes Foster speaks on in this forum to our ACT Football environment. The key word is “community”. I am still knocked out by Fosters project to establish the Asia Pacific Football Institute, which  he makes mention of in the forum.

I hope the SBS World Game forum comes to the Canberra. We need a “forum”. We are the most disabused Football community by the FFA in Australia. I reckon our forum would make fantastic television.

When was the last time you attended a community consultation run by Capital Football? I can tell you - when the CEO and Technical Director of the day lauched the new HPP. It was probably the best thing they did on that subject, then the CF Board got involved. I guess that would dampen anyone's enthusiasm.

When did either Mens’ , Women’s’, Junior Football or Futsal standing committees hold public forums to discuss the game in the ACT?

We should do it. Why don’t the Zone Reps get it organised and invited the CF Board to attend? I’m not fussed about the format as long as the public can attend and participate. What are they scared of??
The CF Board’s response to the Ron Smith HPP review should be explained and discussed with the football community and not at arm’s length through the new Technical Director, Club or Zone reps. The report is now available on the CF Website in the “Library” section, but nothing else.
We just seem to be going not much of anywhere in the bigger picture in either Football or Futsal in the ACT. We are doing what we have always done, which in some respects is fine, but not the full story, surely?

The CF AGM will be held shortly and some Board positions will spill (3). Time people who are not happy at the present time (and there are plenty of them in all the Clubs) got moving and looking for alternative candidates among the many smart and enterprising people in the football community.

Download Podast here:

Capital Football High Performence Review Report by Ron Smith Is Available

The Capital Football Review of the High Performance Program  Report undertaken by Ron Smith is available on the Capital Football website.
You will find it in the Library section of the Website. So go to the homepage, then to "About Us", then to "Library" and finally to the High performance section and it should be the document listed on the top of this sub section.

The direct link is below.

http://www.capitalfootball.com.au/userfiles/CF%20Review%20Report.pdf

Futsal - Positions, Formations, Player Characteristics and Consistency

Sourced from Buffulo Futsal at http://www.bflofutsal.com/talkfutsal/

A very useful basic discussion about Futsal.

Sports Rage - One Big Reason We Have Trouble Getting Referees and Club Officials / Volunteers

Sourced from http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/sportrage/about.asp

The impact of sport rage on officials

 

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data in January 2002 indicating that there had been a 26% decline in the number of officials participating in sport between 1997 and 2001.

In addition, national research conducted by the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) in March 2002 indicated that lack of respect for, and abuse of officials, significantly contributed to the decline.

The research shows the most common reasons for an official quitting are the high level of abuse they receive and the lack of respect for their role in sport.

As a result, the industry faces a major challenge in the recruitment and retention of officials.

 

The impact of sport rage on clubs

 

In addition to officials quitting their posts, sport rage is also reflecting badly on clubs involved. In many cases this is resulting in:An unsafe environment for players, officials, coaches, spectators and volunteers

1.  A decrease in levels of player participation
2. Withdrawal of much needed financial support from sponsors
3. An increased risk of litigation against the club.

Triangles, Triangles and More Triangles - Where Did The 1-4-3-3 System Come From?

Sourced from http://au.fourfourtwo.com/blogs.aspx?CIaBEID=2308 by Gregory Parker, Jan 24 2011 08:51

Here is another short article on the 1-4-3-3 system of play.

A good summay of its evolution, but importantly, the author points to the critical element in this system of play (well any systen when it comes right down to it) - the need for players on and off the ball to constantly create working triangles. No triangles, no passing options - simple as that and kids need to get this geometric shape trained in so that it is a deeply entrenched preferential behaviour when playing and particularly under pressure of time and space.

The diagram illustrates the matter nicely. Start referring to the positions by their numbers - helps convey the roles and responsibilities for each position. This diagram has the midfield three players in "point forward" - that is positions 6, 8 and 10. The other configuration required by the FFA in later years is "point back".


Hope you find this helpful as we geear up to begin training all those junior / youth players arond the ACT.

Figure 1. A basic modern style 1-4-3-3 System



Where Did The 433 System Come From?


Did the Dutch invent the 4-3-3 system? No they did not. But they did give us "Total Football" and a whole different way to look at the game. Total Football utilized space in a different way, used a circular motion of players with take over roles, and pressing. Rinus Michels was the developer of this type of football, which placed heavy physical demands on players. Valeriy Lobanovskyi (Dynamo) in the early 1970s also had similar ways of looking at the game. Michels style of football was developed during his time with Ajax, which he then demonstrated to the world in the 1974 World Cup using the 4-3-3 formation. Michels would later take "Total Football" to Barcelona, where other Dutch greats followed. The Spanish have since developed a new style of football, based on this Dutch influence culminating in the 2010 World Cup win.
The 4-3-3 system can be traced back to the 1920/30s. Football was in a period of change. Herbert Chapman (Arsenal, Northhampton, Leeds) is credited with the development of the W M system. Football had now evolved from 2-3-5 to 3-2-2-3. By the late 1950s football looked different again with the evolution of the 4-2-4 system or use of a 4th back. While the initial developments leading to the 4-2-4 were devised by Marton Bukovi . The credit for creating the 4-2-4 lies with two different people: Flavio Costa, the Brazilian national coach and another Hungarian, Bela Guttman. By the 1962 World Cup, Brazil had developed the 4-2-4 system to such an extent that it resembled 4-3-3 when Zagallo would play back deep into the midfield. The great Alf Ramsey also experimented heavily with a 4-3-3 system in the 1950s and 60s. He was the last coach of England to win the world cup (1966). During the world cup final, however, he played a 4-1-3-2 (4-4-2?) system. That is another story. The formation seemed to evolve quickly over the 1960s and early 70s in different parts of the world. By 1974 the timing was perfect for Michels to unveil "Total Football" with a new variation of the 4-3-3 system. The system was evolved further by Cryuff and Van Gaal with the 3-4-3 variation.

The Dutch may not have invented 4-3-3, but they did give us "Total Football" which used a wonderful 4-3-3 system, a different way to view space, and a system to develop young players. The 4-3-3 is an exciting system and there are many different ways to play the system (not just midfield triangle facing forwards or backwards). It is not just 3 lines of players. It is how these players interact together and move, that determines how a 4-3-3 system works. It is more about individual and team tactics, than formation (the Brazilians understand this well). The 4-3-3 system creates more triangles than other systems (see figure 1) and is a great system for our elite youth teams to learn from. It can create a very attacking style of football, but again this gets down to the tactics of the coach. I have great respect for other formations as well. The 4-2-3-1 system appears to be better understood by community and representative players as an interim step or alternate formation, from my experience. The triangulation of the formation is perhaps the most important aspect here. To give a player 3 or 4 passing options in attack is very important. It all starts with the 6 and 7 year olds in 4v4 games.

Football tactics develop over time, sometimes together but in different parts of the world. Culture will play its part on how football is played, as well. The trends today suggest that speed and distance players cover in games will increase. Players may not be regarded as just a forward, midfielder or back but may have multiple roles. Are we seeing the development of a "total footballer"? The development of the "total footballer" will allow for new approaches and formations to the game. Learning the basics of the game will still be the most important thing in football. Which is the best training method? Game sense training, formation training, reductionist/didactic type training or a mix?

A New Football Website Devoted To Womens Football!

There is a new source of information on the web devoted entirely to Womens Football. The title is "The Womens Game". It is really worth a look. More power to them I say!

Go here and have a look for yourself: http://www.thewomensgame.com/


Below is an extract from the website "About Us" page:

Welcome to TheWomensGame website!

We are a site dedicated to women's football in general and Australian Women's Football in particular. You have heard all the stats and we could cite them ad nauseum but it comes down to the fact that football is the fastest growing womens participation sport and in Australia we have some of the best female footballers in the world.

Let's celebrate this from the grassroots level to the international level.

Our Aim

 To provide one one stop shop for all information in the women's game whether you are from Tasmania, the Northern Territory or Western Australia. This includes a noticeboard, news, interviews, photos and match reports.

Your task

We can't do this alone so we need the help of the women's football community to provide us with match reports, images, news and you have the opportunity to post on the noticeboard.


All information can be sent to admin@thewomensgame.com This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Thank you for your support!

Triage for youth football coaches – how to cure a sickly team

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

We have begun or are about to begin the 2011 pre-season. Trials have begun and many more in Junior Football Clubs will commence soon.
The selection processes at the Clubs can be a painful and disheartening experience for many young players and parents. You just hope the Clubs have their act together, keep nepotisim at bay, ensure that parents and players understand that playing in the Club at the desired level the previous season  is no guarantee of selection for the next, and that competent coaches are making the decisions.

A lot of unecessary sadness in junior/youth football originates in the pre-season selection process. It can affect attitudes of parents and players for years to come.

Players cut from trials should be given reasons for their non selection, that's very important, because we don't want to loose these players from the game and if they are young, next season they will have grown and just may surprise.

Players not selected at one level in their age group must be actively and carefully managed into another team in the Club.

But someone has to decide. Most Club coahes and officials find this process stressful. Its at this time the we parents need to keep our feet on the ground and keep any disappointment we may privately feel for our children, well hidden. Focus on the positives of playing the beautiful game and enjoy them playing , whatever team they play in this season. We never get these days back!
When the selections are over, training commences, you know the season has really begun.

Trial games are very, very important at every level of the game, particularly in junior / youth football. Regular attendance at training (however many times you train a week) should be a not- negotiable component of being in a Football team in Junior or Youth Football - at any level of in the competition.

Coaches  struggle every week with developing / improving their team, making them more competitive. Its a rocky road.

This article provides some very useful advice:

Triage for youth football coaches – how to cure a sickly team

Analysis of your players' strengths and weaknesses – both individually and as a group – should take place during matches, not during training sessions.

Tests such as timed sprints, how long it takes a player to dribble round a line of cones, the number of times they can juggle the ball and how many passes to a static player they can make in 30 seconds are irrelevant when assessing how well your players perform during a match.

Players can even display a lot of skills when playing with their friends during small-sided games but it's not much use if they can't apply their skills in a pressurised match situation. So that's where the analysis should take place.

How to analyse team performance

As soon as the whistle goes to start a match, you're like a doctor faced with an injured patient and, as you are certain to be faced with a number of problems, triage is required. Which symptom is the most worrying? Which problem is potentially life threatening and needs immediate treatment?
Triage can be completed during the first half of a match and the result will help you give an effective half-time team talk. It will almost certainly provide the focus of your next coaching session.
To make an accurate diagnosis, you need to examine your patient in a logical, progressive way.

First, what are the symptoms?

When you are mentally or physically writing down your team's symptoms (i.e., their problems), be careful to avoid generalities.
Statements such as "we need to work harder", or "we must shoot more" are too vague to be helpful, especially when talking to your players at half time. So be specific: perhaps players off the ball are not moving to support the ball carrier or players in good shooting positions are reluctant to "pull the trigger".

Which problem is the most serious?

The next stage in the process is to decide which problem needs addressing first. If your players made better use of the space on the pitch and supported each other more, would you have more or easier shooting opportunities?
Or is the reluctance to shoot so severe that they won't/can't shoot even if they get within two yards of the goal? If so, you may decide that this is the most worrying symptom.
But before a cure can be found, we need to find out what is causing the symptom that is worrying us so much. More analysis is required.
Who is responsible?
"Everyone" doesn't play for your team so they can't be responsible for the problems. You must name names. Are Lucy, Chloe and Alex not moving after they pass the ball? Is Hannah not shooting when she gets the chance?

Where does it happen?

Failure to shoot at goal usually happens in the final third (the third of the pitch nearest your opponent's goal) but not always. If it is in the final third, does the problem only happen on the one side of the pitch?
Poor support play can happen anywhere but it may be restricted to one part of the pitch. Do your players turn into statues only in the middle or defensive third?
Knowing where the problem occurs will help you when planning the corrective coaching session.

When does it happen?

Does the problem only happen in the first few minutes of the match? Or all the time?
OK, I've done the triage. I know what I've got to fix first. How do I find the cure?
The first place to look for cures is in footy4kids. There are hundreds of pages of tips and "how to" articles and you're sure to find something that will help you and your team.
But for a range of specialist coaching solutions, check out the great selection of products at my shop by clicking here.

And don't forget that you can send me your football coaching problems and I'll send you personalised advice. It's all part of the service!

When should I administer the cure?

Once you have identified the most critical problem afflicting your team, you will want to correct it as quickly as possible. But beware of trying to administer the cure during half time.
Young players should not be subjected to a lecture from you as soon as they walk off the pitch. They will probably be tired and possibly feeling stressed if things are not going too well. At this moment they need encouragement, not criticism, and they most certainly don't need to listen to a lecture.
So unless you can effect a cure by simply moving one or two players to different positions, save the corrections for the next coaching session.

A Journalist's Report On The Nike Academy, Tom Rogic and "The Chance"!

This is a fascinating interview. We speak to the journalist, Aidan Ormond, who works as a freelance for the excellent Football magazine, FourFourTwo (http://au.fourfourtwo.com/). Aidan was invited by Nike to become "embedded" with the "The Chance" and cover the progress of the Australian players. Aidan had a lot of time to observe the entire process at close range and he shares his observations with the NPL. There just has to be a good movie or min-series script in this story!

 The four young players from the Pacific region - Rogic is second from the left

 Tom Rogic in action in the final game - make or brake time!

And this is where they layed the final game of the "The Chance". Wow!!


As you are aware, ACT Premier League (ANU) player and Futsalroo, Tom Rogic, was awarded a scholarship to the very prestigious Nike Academy.

By any measure in Football this was a remarkable achievement.

There is a lot to this story. Rogic was one of four players from the Pacific region (3 x Australian, 1 x NZ) to make it through to the final 100 players who sort to claim one of those final eight scholarships. From a baseline of 75,00 young talented players from all around the world. It was a stern test of a young man's resolve among so many other richly talented young players.

Just how much talent is out there? And how many young talented Australian Football players go unnoticed? Too many I reckon. And if it wasn't for the Nike Challenge, would young Rogic get a real chance at being as good as he wants to be? I'd like to think so, but I doubt we do anywhere near enough for the best of our young talented players between 17 - 20 years of age. It reamins "a tragic vacant space"!

Well done Nike! This program was very correctly titled "The Chance" and it is a programs that does something psotive in Football all around the globe and for us in the ACT, a local result!

Don't miss this interview.

The pictures are sourced from Aidan Ormond and the gallery for the "The Chance" final game can be found at http://au.fourfourtwo.com/Gallery/245785,nike-chance-final-at-mk-dons-stadium-pic-special.aspx

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North Canberra Futsal To Run A Futsal Development Program

The following advice from North Canberra Futsal (NCF) to their players / parents was forwarded to the NPL. Very interesting!

It seems that NCF have got organised and intends to run a Futsal development clinic . I assume that registration may be limited to NCF players, but if you play in the South Canberra Futsal (SCF) competition and want to particpate, best you contact the President of North Canberra Futsal ( http://www.northcanberrafutsal.com.au/public/default.asp ). No direct contact is listed on the documentation below, which is a bit inconvenient.

This is how the NCF Academy describes itself:

"NEW ‘INTERNATIONAL STYLE’ FUTSAL ACADEMY



The North Canberra Futsal in conjunction with Total Futsal Concepts is very proud and excited to announce the introduction of its new ‘International style’ futsal academy. This is the first total concept futsal academy in the ACT and it is modelled on the very successful and effective Spanish, Italian and Brazilian academies of coaching futsal which primarily encourages and promotes:


 futsal creativity;
 speed and agility in movement around the court;
 tactical positioning on the court and applying proven game plans;
 finishing goal scoring opportunities;
 strategically ‘thinking’ to the sport of futsal;
 close ball control and building confidence to try something new with the ball;
 dribbling skills and improving the ‘touch on the ball’; and
 total fun and enjoyment when playing the sport.


The central focus of the training programs is to have the ball at the feet as much as possible and for players to participate in small-sided games. The program is very much skills based, with the emphasis on lots of ball touches and developing player confidence when playing the ball. ...."

This is a very interesting and welcome initiative.  It could be a good thing for Futsal in the ACT.

Check it out, ask questions. Well done NCF!

So very few of our young players get any futsal specific technical training, in fact, most don't train at all (unless they get selected in an ACT Rep team for the Nationals or get serious match experience with the Boomerangs FS in the NSW Supa League). 

The advertising sent to NCF players and parents is listed below. 

Technical Development of Our Young Players and the Socceroos at the Asian Cup

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday 1 Febraury 2011 at 7:00PM, across the Australian Community radio Network.

The wonderful performance by the Socceroos in the Asian Cup, signalled a turning point in the development of players across the nation. We finally adopted a forward thinking approach to our opponents, what we conceded had to won from us, which utilised the best of what we have at this time. Not since Gus Hiddick have we demonstrated a style of play that seemed to match our national character. All good so far!

Importantly, it demonstrated what we are not - at this time in the process of our domestic football revolution, following the release of the FFA National Football Curriculum and National Development Plan. We are not as technically proficient as our opponents, even when we beat them on the day. We are playing a style of play that will do for now as we go forward, but it not where we need to be, if we are to challenge successfully and consistently at the highest international levels.

The introduction of the FFA National Football Curriculum and its comprehensive adoption at club level across the nation, is critical to producing the sort of players we admire in places like Barcelona, Japan, Korea and yes, Uzbekistan. Just as important is coach education and training.

In this program we hear from Craig Foster of the fantastic SBS World Game program, who sums up our situation, following our narrow loss to Japan. Then its on to Alfred Galustian of Coerver, the doyan of techncial coaches, together with the Coerver COO of Japan, Shinji Ishibashi (former J League player). The points they make should written in stone! Then we follow with the Head Coach at the AIS, Jan Versleijen and his reflections on player development, following a friendly game his squad played against the Japanese High School team Nara Ishijo. Its one coherent subject from a troika of football luminaries - we should, we must listen carefully - then take action at club level.

One thing is certain, its a point that Ron SMith made in his recent review of our HPP - we need to get this FFA National Curriculum and playing 1-4-3-3, operating in every team in Junior / youth football in the ACT region. Give it a go in the Premier League. It takes years, perhaps generations, to produce players as technically gifted as we see in other places. So get started. Get Club coaches on board with the change.

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