By Frank Pizzo, President

Time flies! We are nearing the halfway mark of the senior and junior seasons, and with another lockdown to negotiate comes the chance to pause to reflect on how 2021 has been going. 

JUNIOR FOOTBALL AND COACHING
It’s fantastic to see Hayes Park a buzz with activity, even though the winter months are closing in. Coaches are working well with each and our new TD Paul Chircop sharing ideas across teams. Junior teams have been doing well in their more competitive leagues. There are high levels of engagement.

Two new programs have been earmarked for 2021.  A girls’ Mini-Roos program for 5-8 year-olds that twelve  girls will get the opportunity to enjoy over two 8 week terms coinciding with school terms 2/3.  The other is a GoMums Soccer program which has the interest of around 30 mums from our club. Run once a week most likely on Wednesday night, we are in the process of organising a facilitator for that. It’s full-steam ahead and it’s wonderful to see more girls enjoying the game and being a part of the Falcons.

We are keeping in close contact with our coaches to give them the support they need, and we thank the parents for helping out where they can, too.

SENIORS
Our senior team started strongly winning 3 and drawing one of the first 5 games. However, a rough patch over the next three weeks saw them lose all games and put them back in the pack. Some small tweaks by the coaches has seen the boys go on a two game winning streak and playing attacking and attractive football. They are well and truly back in the hunt. 

AAA
AAA Gala Days will be commencing in the next few weeks after some issues with FV's scheduling. The teams continue to train every Tuesday night. 

 

MASTERS

Our Masters boys have kicked off their season and are doing well. They started on fire but injuries took their toll and they've lost some games. They remain one of the favourites in their competition. More importantly, it;'s great to see them get together on Wednesday nights after training and having a feed and a drink together. 

MENTORING
Our senior players are doing a fantastic job refereeing the MiniRoos and some junior matches every Sunday at Hayes park. They have received fantastic feedback from our parents as well as visiting parents. The senior boys have also commented in how much they've enjoyed the experience. 


EVENTS
The club had planned a night at Oliva Social our new sponsor on May 25 but COVID lockdown put pay tho that. We will be rescheduling that asap. 

FACILITIES
Darebin Council has finally fixed our lights so all six towers are now operational. 

Johnny Giordano has done a mountain of work to get the green store room tidy so please respect that and keep everything where it belongs.

Finally, if teams use the portable goals, please ensure they are carried properly and not dragged as they get out of alignment. Also, pleas ensure you lock them up after use.  .

Just a note to make sure you look after the clubrooms. Especially in winter, tramping mud through the social area and change rooms happens too often, so please keep that in mind.

GENERAL
The club can always do with volunteers, so don’t be shy – let someone on the committee (or your coach) know that you’d like to help in some way. Maybe it’s in the canteen for a few hours, maybe you are a sign writer, a media student, or love to organise events. Whatever it is, we’d love to hear from you!


Enjoy the rest of your season!