Hi Everyone,
Firstly, on behalf of the club, I'd like to sincerely thank all of our players, families, coaches, managers and volunteers for your support, flexibility and understanding over the past couple of months. We really appreciate the positive way everyone has adapted during a challenging period.
Our fields are gradually recovering, however we still need to carefully manage training loads to give them the best possible chance of remaining playable throughout the remainder of the season.
Adding to this challenge, there will be a significant number of catch-up fixtures scheduled on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings throughout Term 3, meaning field availability will continue to be limited.
As a result, we've prepared an adjusted training schedule for the first half of Term 3 (13 July – 7 August). We will tweak this again for the 2nd half of the term (from August 8 onwards).
Please check the updated schedule to see whether your team has any changes to their field allocation or training time.
Our aim has been to keep teams on their usual training nights wherever possible, with only minor adjustments to training times where necessary.
A Few Requests to Help Protect Our Fields
We ask all coaches and teams to please:
-
Use areas with better grass coverage (generally around the corners or wider areas of the fields) wherever possible, rather than repeatedly training on worn sections.
-
Avoid high-repetition drills in the same area, as these quickly wear the grass away.
-
Avoid training or warming up in goal mouths (both full-size and mini goals) wherever possible, as these are the highest wear areas on our fields.
Teams Using the Hockey Fields
We are very grateful to Pine Hills Hockey Club for allowing us to use their facilities.
If your team is training on the hockey fields, please:
-
Lock the gate when leaving if you are the final team to finish.
-
Do not use footballs in the hockey goals, as this can damage the nets and goals.
-
Please help us show our appreciation by leaving the facility exactly as you found it.
Returning Equipment
If you borrow goals or equipment from the shed, please ensure everything is:
-
Returned neatly and without damage.
-
Report any damaged equipment to myself or your Head of Football so we can organise repairs.
-
If older players or parents are returning equipment, please ensure it is done carefully.
-
If you are the last person using the equipment shed, please remember to lock it.
We're All in This Together
We know these arrangements aren't ideal, but they're the best way for us to balance player development, match preparation and protecting our playing surfaces for the remainder of the season.
Thank you again for your patience, flexibility and continued support. It has been fantastic to see our football community continue to work together, and we really appreciate everyone playing their part.
Kind regards,