Hi all,

Firstly I'd like to welcome you all to the Canterbury Junior Football (Soccer) Club for 2010. Whether you are coming back from last year (thank you for your patronage) or whether you are new to the club, we appreciate you choosing the CJFC as your club for 2010. It seems like it will be another exiting year with new developments continuing to sweep through our club.

For those who do not know me....Let me introduce myself. I am Sam Giannini and I am the Nursery age coordinator for this year. I am excited about coordinating this group of kids as I have a passion in seeing young children as young as 3, 4 and 5 year olds develop through the club. Regardless whether your child is here to develop into a superstar or whether your child is here to get some exercise and get out of the house on a Saturday morning to enjoy a social event with friends, we cater for all.

A bit of background.......I ran the nurseries back in 2006 and 2009 which turned out to be very successful and most importantly, enjoyable years. I have seen some of these children build on the skills they acquired back then and have now developed into very good players playing in the U8's and U9's competitions this year. They have built friendships over the years with not only other players but other parents and also members of the club. These children end up feeling that they are truly an integral part of the club - a delight to see.

Secondly, as you may be aware (via our website [link]), next Sunday 14th March, we will assemble at 11:00 (10:45 please) at Croydon Park for an information session as well as organising your child into teams. It is most important for all to be present. What I would like you all to consider is, whether any of you are interested in coaching a team. We will divide the kids up into small teams and require a coach for each team. Currently we have approx 52 players registered and therefore require approx 8-9 coaches.

Please Note: Please do not assume that the club has coaches ready to allocate. All existing coaches are like yourselves ....mothers and fathers. We are volunteers and are always looking for more volunteers to coach teams. Coaching a team, in particular, your own child is a very rewording and enjoyable experience. It is always good to know that you have total control of your child's learning experience. If we do not get enough volunteers putting their hand up to coach a small team (approx 6 players per team) then we unfortunately will have larger teams and the kids will be disadvantaged by not getting enough time on the ball. (similar to school classroom sizes). For the kids benefit, the smaller the team size the better - thus requiring more coaches. I understand that certain events will not enable some parents to coach and that is understandable, but if you can please put your hand up. It will only be 1 hour of your time on Sat mornings from 11:00 to 12:00 only. No midweek training for U5's.

The success of the program, from previous years experiences, definitely all depends on the cooperation of all parties in particular help offered, i.e. enough coaches. It will be a great disappointment if we cannot get the required coaches. I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping the teams down to a small manageable level for the kids benefit.

Also note, that we have at our disposal an ex Australian international - Nick Bosevski. Nick is our very own coaching director within the club and is totally devoted to the U5's Nursery program every weekend to assist coaches. Nick is an excellent resource and he will help develop coaching tips/programs to assist all coaches. You will not be left out if you decide to coach this year.

If you are interested in coaching please get back to me ASAP. I would like to have all coaches allocated before the weekend if possible. It will need to be a first in best dressed scenario. If you decide you would like to coach and would like also to be accredited, we as a club will place you on a coaches course which will earn you a Level 1 Coaching License. All free of charge (course is not mandatory). In addition as a coach, whether you do the course or not, you will receive a club polo top to distinguish you as a coach and a trophy at the end of the season

Also note: Many people assume that coaching is only for males (fathers) only. Not so. Females are most welcome. We have many successful female coaches within the club. Please consider.

If you require further information about anything to do with the Nurseries program or coaching, please feel free to contact me on 0404 466 030.

Please visit our website regularly to ensure you are kept informed of all activities. Please view the YouTube video, on the website, as it is a snapshot of last years program.

If you are aware of anyone I have missed through the e-mail (I apologise), please forward the e-mail to them cc'ing me so I can update my e-mail address list.

Again, welcome to the 2010 season and I look forward to meeting you all on Sunday 14th.

Also note: Sun 14 and 21 March are trials and we commence season proper on Sat 10 April and then every Sat from 11:00 to 12:00.

Cheers,

Sam Giannini
CJFC Nursery Coordinator
0404 466 030