Goulburn Valley General Thread 2011- 2012

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Re: Goulburn Valley FL - 2011 Season

Chris atkins to nathalia, Mitch farmer to benalla.

Mate is coaching Romsey and he seemed to think the RDFL Redbacks last week got a commitment from Mitch Farmer 2012???
 

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This was in the Warnambool paper on Friday 2nd December
Clubs and communities pay a high price for sporting success
JOHN PATTISON
02 Dec, 2011 04:00 AM
Why is football bad for a community when it was once seen as being central to a community’s well-being?
Let’s think about the basic objective of a football club: it is to provide a social outlet for people who enjoy the game, people who wish to participate and probably, in most cases, to be successful.
Trouble is, success is now measured, particularly by those who play it, on where you finish on the ladder and for many clubs the cyclical nature of on-field failures drowns them eventually.
So how does a football club run?
Effectively, a lot of people spend hours and hours as volunteers to raise sufficient funds to ensure they can buy a team of players each year (no matter how poor the standard of the league).
This approach means a coach who is employed for a significant amount as well is pressured to create performances, so they look at ways to do so.
The game itself demands fitness and as a result the coaches crawl further and further into summer existence with pre-season training. Examples of minor leagues training in November and December are widespread.
Thus football becomes a 10 months of the year sport at every level.
Because of the transient nature of senior footballers and the culture of having to pay players that have become established, these players contribute very little long-term to any of the communities they become attached to via the club and, apart from attending football club functions and other club-based commitments, they very rarely become involved at a real community level with other sports, clubs, schools etc. In other words, they are takers.
Due to the demands on volunteers simply to keep on affording to buy these players, the turnover is extreme and magnified even more by the fact those people (the good community people) are often then lost from other areas of the community as well due to burn-out etc.
Now think about football and the culture of many clubs where it is actually about football and not the magnificent and hard-working netballers who, for no pay, essentially keep football afloat in many areas. We are putting 10 months of the year into community resources and people power into a team of senior footballers.
No one can begrudge the footballers as this is the system it has created.
But look at the enormous number of cricket and tennis players who no longer play the game between 18 and 35 years of age and ask why?
Simple maths would say no wife or girlfriend who has had their partner away from home for 10 months playing football will want them to then say “right, it is cricket season now and away we go”.
To the players not impacted like this, why would you want to involve yourself in a summer club that also has some commitments when you are totally burnt-out with the last 10 months, compounded by how many years you have played?
The sting in the tail is that eventually football will shoot itself in the foot with this approach, as many community volunteers are just that — they volunteer for football, cricket, school, fire brigades etc.
If we continue to jeopardise those other sports and commitments by placing an even bigger demand on the volunteers who run football, we eventually won’t have any left.
So the golden game that is propped up by Auskick figures and magnificent gate and TV ratings will fail to exist in communities that have so passionately allowed it to thrive all this time.
Then we have destroyed community sport for good, as smaller centres race to the larger centres for any fix of sport still available.
And later, as those young men arrive at 35-plus and have children wanting to play cricket and footy locally, it won’t exist because football has killed the golden goose.
Yet we have an opportunity to change this.
Football leagues (apart from the national and state leagues) that are often run by very well-meaning volunteers could restrict clubs from pre-season training until the end of January (people can keep fit themselves). The thousands of people who chat each week about how hard it is to find volunteers, how little the AFL really contributes to small clubs and nervously consider the divide they are creating in the general community by further alienating those who enjoy summer sport and contribute to the whole community wellbeing, could make a stand and say we are no longer going to pay players and they would be more likely to stay loyal to their respective clubs.
Cricket and tennis could then also put a hand out and pull down the wall by beginning in November to give players, partners and families a break from the grind of continuous weekend sport.
Although it is great to be involved, a break is always appreciated.
The alternative is an end to community sport and the growth of middle-management dreaming up ways to save both games that are not sustainable.
- John Pattison is a Warrnambool cricket and Auskick coach, teacher and parent.


Posted this on the KDFL site, What do you think?
 
Dead right too........... Its a joke, I know the Feul company is going to make plenty out of me next season, the travel got too much for one of mine, the other is staying put so now its a coin toss on who to watch, they would both be in the same place if they got a fair go from the start of there senior careers. Most clubs should take a good look at themselves and commit to there young talent coming through the ranks, Win, lose or draw, its only a game and should stay that way.....:(

MERRY XMAS !!!!!!!
 
Unfortunately the young blokes go to uni and leave town and many don't return. The other kids usually get an apprenticeship and then need money from footy to help them out. Not many young locals stay at their 'home' clubs because of this and then the clubs need to recruit to field sides. It is disappointing.
 
I know where your coming from there, But, I can think of around 12-15 young blokes 20 - 23 that are still in the area playing footy for different clubs, some for cash most with there mates, That were in the Under 16 back to back premierships and runners up the following year, that would love to come back to there HOME (most had never played anywhere else) club and play with each other again. but unfortunatly, as you say, and the previous post states, Clubs and coaches are bound to win flags/ make finals because of pressure from outside. So the vicious cycle turns.:( For the worse I might add.:thumbsdown:
 
I know where your coming from there, But, I can think of around 12-15 young blokes 20 - 23 that are still in the area playing footy for different clubs, some for cash most with there mates, That were in the Under 16 back to back premierships and runners up the following year, that would love to come back to there HOME (most had never played anywhere else) club and play with each other again. but unfortunatly, as you say, and the previous post states, Clubs and coaches are bound to win flags/ make finals because of pressure from outside. So the vicious cycle turns.:( For the worse I might add.:thumbsdown:

its hard, try being in the central murray league at Cohuna, we get pillaged every year by Macorna, Murrabit, Wakool, Moulamein, Leitchville/Gunbower. We cannot match the money they offer. to keep these players we would need to spend over $200k, and we aren't Kerang. the VCFL need to get there act together
 

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Have proposed this upon here before :
The VCFL is currently split into 4 area zones .
Have at a minimum per area :
- 2 x Div 1 Leagues
- 4 x Div 2 Leagues
- 8 x Div 3( minor leagues )
- 2, Div 3 clubs feed a Div 2 club.
- 2, Div 2 clubs feed a Div 1 club.
- If a player resides within a area which ties them to a particular , Div3 club , and in turn Div 2 and Div 1 club, and they wish to play elsewhere, the clubs effected recieve a payment !
- Players don't need clearances to float between their respective div 1,2,3 side .
- Players get paid a fixed amount depending on the level they play .
- best players play the best Footy.
- a reduced imbalance of junior player numbers between minor and major league , all kids would regularly get a game.
- clubs would be keener to put more development into more players knowing that they get to recieve the benefit .
- major and minor clubs within close vicinty to each other, would work together to boost their home grown player talent , to boost their playing stock, rather than the constant ongoing raiding of each other, which now occurs .

Seems to easy ?
 
Have proposed this upon here before :
The VCFL is currently split into 4 area zones .
Have at a minimum per area :
- 2 x Div 1 Leagues
- 4 x Div 2 Leagues
- 8 x Div 3( minor leagues )
- 2, Div 3 clubs feed a Div 2 club.
- 2, Div 2 clubs feed a Div 1 club.
- If a player resides within a area which ties them to a particular , Div3 club , and in turn Div 2 and Div 1 club, and they wish to play elsewhere, the clubs effected recieve a payment !
- Players don't need clearances to float between their respective div 1,2,3 side .
- Players get paid a fixed amount depending on the level they play .
- best players play the best Footy.
- a reduced imbalance of junior player numbers between minor and major league , all kids would regularly get a game.
- clubs would be keener to put more development into more players knowing that they get to recieve the benefit .
- major and minor clubs within close vicinty to each other, would work together to boost their home grown player talent , to boost their playing stock, rather than the constant ongoing raiding of each other, which now occurs .

Seems to easy ?
You have too much time on your hands l'd say..:D

This theory doesn't solve the lack of numbers (locals) in some areas though..A points system for every player that plays the game seems to be the only option but your never going to find the perfect system.
 
You have too much time on your hands l'd say..:D

This theory doesn't solve the lack of numbers (locals) in some areas though..A points system for every player that plays the game seems to be the only option but your never going to find the perfect system.

Just been thinking about it for a long time Jax .;):D
If all kids from junior comps can and are encouraged to continue to play Footy not just those whom are at the top end, player numbers wouldn't be an issue . Whilst if football clubs returned to the heart of the community rather than the instrument which is ripping the $$$$$ heart out of communities, more would be willing to be involved .
 
With all the departures from the GVFL, has the last person turned the lights out on season 2012. 14 days without a post "very quiet"

Most clubs would be back hard at it on the track.

What did Santa bring to your club.
 
Have heard Tyson Sidebottom is heading out to Congupna for 2 bags of fruit per game??????????
 
does anybody else agree that the GVFL website is continually lacking recent news, surely there has been some good enough news at all clubs since the grandfinal, we are better off geting on bigfooty to get any news. (and sometimes that news is questionable!!!) i think the league needs to update the way they communicate, for example i know that the ovens and murray after every game send a msg to every player (that want it) giving them the game scores from that day and a ladder after ever saturday. ????????????????????
 

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Goulburn Valley General Thread 2011- 2012

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