Broadbeach United Juniors 2013

We aim to provide a fun and encouraging atmosphere for players and their families to enjoy soccer on the Gold Coast. We cater for Under 6 right through to Under 17 Colts. We are not a big club but we are very friendly, put our players' enjoyment first and foremost and have found that also happens to be a winning formula with a great deal of success in the junior competition ranks in recent years.

Key Contacts

Dean Gould — Junior Soccer Communications Officer
Dean's the best first contact in most situations and can redirect your enquiry. Once you join the club you will receive email updates and club info from Dean.
0411 657381 or teppergould@gmail.com.

David Hortz — Junior Director
All club information and anything related to Gold Coast Soccer's rules and regulations.
0411 450286.

Our Teams

Under 6 and 7 games will be 4-players-a-side with two reserves. There are no throw-ins or goalkeepers. A match official (usually a coach or parent) will adjudicate from the sideline and can ‘coach’ the players as they go. They play over two 15 minute halves and use a Size 3 ball on a 30×20m field.

Under 8 and 9 will be seven-a-side with two reserves. They do have a goalkeeper and use an ‘Instructing Referee’ who can ‘coach’ during the game. They play two 20 minute halves, use a Size 3 ball on a quarter-size pitch.

Under 10 and 11 is nine-a-side including a goalkeeper, with an ‘instructing referee’ who can coach during the game but who also will be enforcing rules. There is no offside. They play two 25 minute halves and use a Size 4 ball on a half-size pitch.

Under 12 and up uses a full-size field, eleven-a-side, all rules of soccer, including offside. Referee and linesmen. Goalkeeper. Substitues can still be run on and off but only by getting the referee's attention.

More information about SSG can be found at the Gold Coast Soccer website and a SSG handbook can be downloaded for free.

Training Days

The training days, timing and frequency are set by the coach in conjunction with the parents, players and manager of each team. Most young teams train once a week for about an hour. We need to make sure there is enough space for all teams, so the Junior Committee may direct a team to a more appropriate time slot or location. Please understand this may be necessary in some circumstances.

Game Days

We need help on game days! Teams with an 8.30am kickoff are asked to help set up the goals and nets. If you don't help, who will do it? If four parents assist, the job takes literally minutes.

For those with late morning games, we need help taking down the nets and removing the goals and corner posts. Again, three or four people helping will have the job done in less than 10 minutes.

Referees

Referees are paid a nominal fee for each game they control. The club is always looking for more referees and a short training course is held at the beginning of the season by Gold Coast Soccer. The club may subsidise your the referees' course. So let Dave Hortz know if you're interested.

Canteen

We will open the canteen every game day (Friday nights and Saturdays) and on some training nights. Snacks and drinks along with club apparel will be on sale. We encourage all members to support the club canteen.

To the Players

The main aim of soccer at Broadbeach is for you to enjoy yourself.

You will learn skills as the season goes on and you will be a better footballer in September than when you start in March.

A lot depends on you listening to your coach, practicing your drills and being willing to have a go at new positions or styles of kicking and different ways of playing.

Be sure to turn up to training and games on time, with your shin pads on, boots tied up and water bottle full. If you skip training without reason you may find yourself on the bench for the next match.

Lastly, and it shouldn't have to be said, but we will: Broadbeach United does not tolerate any abuse of players, opposition, coaches or referees under any circumstances.

To the Parents

Broadbeach Junior Soccer Club encourages parent participation. We love to see parents helping out at training, cheering from the sideline and even assisting in the setting up and packing away of posts and nets on game days.

Your enthusiasm is infectious, especially if you are in tune with what the coach is trying to achieve with a particular player or team. Positive talk and cheering is tenfold better than negative. A few great phrases to learn that work wonders are:

• “Clear it” (this is to encourage a player to kick the ball well clear of the danger zone and is a much better and more constructive term than “Boot it”, which we have all yelled at some stage!)
• “Pass it” (it can take many players a long time to learn the awareness of where their team mates are, but when they do, the soccer is beautiful. This phrase reminds them there are others on the field to help them and, again, is much more precise than “boot it”)
• “Shoot it” (this is for that moment when a player is encouraged to have a shot at goal. Learning the confidence to shoot is an important step in junior football and whether the shot is successful or not, should be applauded. It is a much more sportsmanlike phrase than something such as “smash it”).

Parents can help out a lot by making sure their child is at training and games on time and ready to play — that is with shin pads, jersey, boots tied up and a full water bottle. It may seem obvious to many, but please ensure they have eaten breakfast before Saturday morning games (they need the fuel!).

Encourage every small improvement you see in your son/daughter during the season — a year's progress is made up of many small steps.

Get to know the other parents in your team as the camaraderie can make the season much more enjoyable for you.

We all have hopes and dreams for our children so if the season is not working out for your son/daughter as you would have hoped, please talk sooner rather than later with your coach or manager. And if it is going well, be sure to let the coach and manager know you are happy. They are people too.

To the Coaches

All our coaches are volunteers and many of them are fathers or mothers of players in the team, so if you have a desire to get involved, let us know. Some are senior players also volunteering their time.

The club has progressively improved its coaching credentials over the last few years by putting more and more coaches through accredited course. Beginners in the younger ages will benefit enormously from the Grassroots Course will the Junior and Youth certificates are also available to older age group coaches.

We also offer specialst goalkeeper training during the season for competition age players.

One of the big challenges is keeping a bunch of enthusiastic kids under control for an hour. Remember that the team shouldn't be penalised for the actions of one. We are not a club that encourages ‘group punishment’ if one player misbehaves. We would much rather that individual be politely excluded and the training continue.

There are a number of simple drills that coaches will mix and match but all are aimed at improving the skill level of the individual, while ultimately encouraging team play.

Coaches keep training fun and love to win, but don't mind to lose — and that's an important message that permeates junior football.

All players, regardless of ability, are expected to share roughly equal time on the field. A good player should not necessarily spend more time on the field than a beginner or less skilful player. Look for ways to involve less dominating players by insisting they take kick-offs or corner kicks for example. Insist your dominating players pass the ball and congratulate them when they do.

Rotating players through all positions is an important part of a player's junior football education so this should be encouraged.

Good coaches delight in the improvements the team makes as the season progresses.

To the Managers

A team manager is usually (but not always) a parent of one of the players in that team.

A manager's role is one of support for the coach. Some coaches like their managers to assist at training. Others coaches are okay on the field but need support off it. Tasks such as ensuring the balls and equipment are provided and returned each training session and game, keeping track of players' attendance, assisting with substitutions and even organising a team roster for half-time oranges are common.

For teams in competition age groups (Under 12 and over), filling in the team sheet accurately is a vital job overseen by the manager. Gold Coast Soccer actually fines the club for every sheet without a date, a score, a signature, etc. So it is imperative that managers of the competition teams take this job seriously.

A manager should, early in the season, create a list of all players and their parents and contact numbers and distribute this around the team. It is amazing how helpful it can be.

Dean Gould
16 January 2013

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