As you would all be aware finals start this week for our youth teams who are lucky enough to be involved. A lot of people have a belief that these games have more significance than any others that have gone before them and whilst finals always create excitement for the kids we remind parents that it should be up to the players to determine how important these games are in their lives not for parents and officials to pass on their own preconceived ideas to the players. As a community club we are here to develop the kids in all aspects of their lives and Personally i believe that not in 20 yrs from now or even in a month's time will either winning or losing have a significant impact in their lives. The 60 or so minutes they play for are just a fraction ( 0.0001%) of the 42 million minutes that we hope they live for. We hope as exciting as it may be that even getting thru to and winning a grand final in the end becomes one of the least significant achievements of their future lives.
We do not play sport to lose but it is the lessons they learn through the year and the efforts they put in to get them there that will impact their existence. The lessons or hard work, perseverance, sacrifice and mateship are what we aim to instil in our players. For some a win will be something to brag about, but only for a few days before they face other challenges in their lives, for some a loss will hit hard but that to will only be for a very short while, in the end they will remember the game just as much whether they win or lose. What we hope for all is that whatever happens over the next few weeks inspires them and they learn that continued hard work, discipline and dedication brings its own rewards and they carry that through for whatever they pursue in life.
From our parents we ask that that they remember and abide by our code of conducts and accept that there are no degrees of acceptable abuse of umpires, players or opposition supporters and that they remain supportive of not only their children but all players participating in these games. Providing a positive, exciting and enjoyable experience for your son not a negative stressful situation will ensure players get a chance to perform to their potential.
ps - it is a reality of junior footy that if clubs have teams makes finals and they are also a host venue for finals games that their teams will get home games. This is by necessity as clubs hosting finals need their volunteers at the club to help out with administrational duties on the day. Please do not send complaints to either the club or the league with regard to finals schedules or impart pessimistic comments to players with regard to this situation.
Last Modified on 13/08/2013 11:09