Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) squads from Bendigo, Knox, Darebin and Geelong took part in an SAP gala day held at the Torquay Sports Precinct on Sunday.

It was the first SAP gala day to be held in the Geelong region, with over 100 of the state’s most talented players taking part.

The SAP is a Football Federation Australia program for 9-12 year olds aimed at laying the foundations to allow them to reach their full football potential by developing their skills on the ball through various training programs and scenarios.

Ivan Jolic is the SAP trainer for Victoria and said that he was very impressed with what he saw on Sunday.

“It was a wonderful day that showcased the technique development of the players and it was great to see the kids really enjoy their football, and I’d like to thank the Geelong Skill Acquisition Program for organising such a top event at the world class facilities in Torquay,” he said.

“We don’t keep scores or ladders so I don’t have any idea who won the games, all I know is that most zones scored some goals and had a great time.

“At the younger ages especially it needs to be fun and the gala days are the highlights of the calendar for the kids. When I ask whether we should have more or fewer gala days the usual response is we should have ten of them!”

A key component of the SAP in Ivan’s opinion is to make it available to as many players as possible, egardless of location.

“We have a significant strategy in place to roll the SAP out to regional centres in line with what is happening in metro areas,” he said.

“I saw the strength of having the SAP at regional centres in that the gap between the regional and the metro centres isn’t as great as what it once was.

“I believe that this program should be available to every young player in Victoria and we encourage clubs to do everything that they can to familiarise themselves with the program so that they can incorporate the program at their club.”

SAP Geelong program coordinator Pete Bradley said that the SAP gala days are a great opportunity for players to express themselves through football without the pressure of winning.

“Gala days are great for the regional areas especially as we can see where we are at compared to the Melbourne based foundations in a fun and friendly environment,” he said.

“We have seen a vast improvement in our program since its inception which is very encouraging.

“It was good to see(FFV Talented Player Manager) Les (Bee) and Ivan come down and support the day as well as other people in the area who came for a look, such as VCL coaches, so the gala day wasn’t just good for the SAP but good for the Geelong area as a whole.”

We are now taking expressions of interest for trials to be involved in the next SAP which will run from October to December this year.

Click here for more information. Applications close at 5pm on Saturday 8 September.

Image Credit: Mark Tizard