2021 Season less than 2 weeks away!
Welcome to the 2021 football season!
Here’s some important information for you in advance of the commencement of the season proper.
The first game for Junior Football is May 1st - less than 2 weeks away - last week of the school holidays.
Registration and SubsThank you for registering with Maori Hill JFC season using our new Friendly Manager system. We hope you have found the system easy to use.
What Your Subs Cover:
Just over half of our income from subs is passed to FootballSouth (the organising body for the lower South Island), to help meet the cost of organising the winter league and other football activities, ground hire from the DCC, and to contribute to the costs of running Football NZ. Of the balance, the largest portion goes towards purchasing equipment to kit out our teams. We are constantly upgrading our gear, a portion of which gets worn out during each season. We also cover the costs of providing our coaches with FIFA-approved training programmes to ensure our players receive the best possible instruction.Our subs, combined with grants and other support, means we don’t generally have to fundraise to run the club.
Teams and Practices:
We have been working at arranging teams and coaches for more than 300 players. Most teams have been finalised and if you haven't heard from your team coach or manager yet they will be in contact in the next few days. The coaches/managers will also be in touch with you regarding practice times and locations. This is totally at the discretion of the coach and parents although we do need to confirm some of the times and grounds with the DCC to gain access to grounds and avoid any clashes. Some teams choose to practice indoors over the winter period at the Edgar Centre – the entry fees to be paid by the players. All of our coaches/managers are volunteers and we thank them for contributing their time in this role.
In general, existing teams will generally stay together unless a number of players have withdrawn thus forcing the remaining players to be split up into other teams, or if there is a need to reshuffle as kids move up to grades that have a larger number of players in each team. While we try to place players (particularly at younger grades) with their friends, this is not always possible due to numbers and timing. It may be particularly difficult to place late registrations with their mates.
We have had some pre-season training for some competitive grades for 2021. In addition, we have also had trials for a combined team in collaboration with Northern Junior AFC and Northern Senior AFC (North End United) in the U14 Football South Development League.
Dates for the 2021 Season:
This year’s season is currently timetabled to start on Saturday 1st May with festival games for the first two weekends to ensure a balance across grades. The season is likely to run through until September.
Playing Strip:
The club supplies the playing top which coaches will distribute and later claim back at the end of the season, along with practice balls, practice cones and a simple first aid kit for each team. The coach will register your top number in Friendly Manager. You will need to provide the following: plain white shorts, club socks (maroon with gold tops), shin guards which are compulsory for games and practices, mouth guards are optional but encouraged, football boots. Club socks and other items of gear can be purchased from Otago Sports Depot on George Street.
We will also be running a market for pre-owned boots, shin guards, club socks and shorts (via our Facebook page - keep an eye out here). This will involve club families donating gear that is in good order but surplus to their requirements. With junior players growing all the time boots often only get a season of wear so instead of letting good used boots sit in the closet - post a photo of them to our FB page with a description of size - if you see a pair that could suit your child please reply to the post and arrange a handover.
Maori Hill JFC on the web:
The club has a new website https://maorihilljc.co.nz in addition to Facebook and these will be the key places to go for club news and information.
Weekly Draw/Communication:
The draw will be in the Star (Wednesday), ODT (Thursday) and Football South website.Cancellations can be confirmed Saturday morning by the Football South website; we will endeavour to notify coaches using Friendly Manager
Current Club Committee:
President: Mike Lau 0274269099
Club Captain: Jonathan Bolton 0275377724
Treasurer: vacant
Secretary: Kathy Chiles
Equipment Officer: Murray Devereux 0275479123
Coach Co-ordinator: Murray Devereux
Health and Safety Officer: Nadine Ayson
Social Media Officer: Mark Hathaway
Country Teams Representatives: Phil Kelly, Ken Orchiston
Womens ‘and Girls Co-ordinator: Jen Hodgson
General Committee Members: Dave Arlidge
Email contact for the club: maorihilljfc@gmail.com.
We are a committed team of volunteers and always looking for new members from the parent ranks for the committee. In particular, our treasurer role is vacant (Jim Hawker has been helping us out for the past 2 years and will assist any new interested person in this role). Jonathan Bolton is stepping down as club captain at the end of the season and again will assist any new person interested in this role). An assistant equipment officer to help Murray Devereux is also required. Please email the club or speak to one of us if you can contribute.
Here's to a great 2021!