September Newsletter

Presentation Day
 
Our season officially concluded on Sunday 17^th of Sep  with our age group presentations.  Highlights included:
 
Tim Milton-Hine -  Awarded Life Membership of the Mosman Swans, in recognition of his unique achievement of playing in every season of the club’s fourteen year history.  Tim ends his journey as a Mosman Swan’s player with a glittering list of achievements, including most games played for the club (158), three best and fairest awards and two club premiership’s, including the club’s first ever premiership in 2005.  Whilst Tim is no longer eligible to play junior football with the Swans, his name will live on in our record books forever. Well done Tim and thank you for your magnificent contribution to our club.
 
Nic Hurrell – Club Champion, in recognition of his outstanding achievement of winning the Sydney Harbour competition Best and Fairest player award in both the 2010 and 2011 season’s, as well as his 142 club games, four team best and fairest awards and four premierships.  Nic has also been twice recognised by the umpires as best afield in a grand final.  Well done Nic on your outstanding performances.
 
Alex Wallbank and Brodie Hurrell – Club Spirit Award, in recognition of playing more games for the club in 2011 than any other player.  With 24 games each, both Alex and Brodie ‘backed up’ on a very regular basis to help out their non-primary team.  Both boys have big hearts and make our club a better place.
 
Luke Shallvey – Tony Lockett Trophy, in recognition of being the leading goal kicker for the club in the 2011 season, with 64 goals.  An awesome effort.
 
Krish Mirchandani – Brian Boyle trophy for best first year player, with a wonderful debut in the Under 12 Warriors.
 
Gary Forster – Coaching Achievement Award, for Gary’s wonderful nurturing of players over many seasons, from mini-kick through to the under 14’s.
 
Sean Warner – Best first year coach.  A fantastic communicator and player mentor.
 
John Oakes – Outstanding Service Award.  John is retiring from our club to enjoy a more tranquil life up North.  He has been a magnificent ground manager and will be greatly missed.  Thank you John.
 
Andrew Hurrell – Dan Milton-Hine Cup, for club service.
 
Full award details including all the age group winners and links to the highlights videos are available on the club website.

Special thanks to Susan Spiller for her fantastic organisation of our presentation day.
 
Team Coaches
 
A final thank you to all our coaches who gave up so much of their time to support our kids.  I especially want to thank our outgoing coaches Rob O’Callaghan, Victor Gugger, Peter Campbell, Peter Papas, David Bird, Anthony Lo Surdo, Mark Burgess and Gary Forster. 
 
It is not easy to stand down as a coach, given the bond that develops over three years and in some cases many more – Rob for example has coached some of his U10 age group since minikick starting way back in 2005.  The association continues however and we hope to see this outgoing group of head coaches lending their experience and support to  their teams and new coaches next year.
 
And in the interim, our retiring coaches can enjoy browsing Kevin Sheedy’s new book, “The 500 Club”, with each receiving a copy signed and dedicated by Sheeds himself. 
 
Our Vice President of Football Operations, Steve Coakley, will send out a communication shortly calling for coaching nominations for coaching 2012. 
 
Talented Player Program (TPP)
 
In addition to the Sydney Swans Academy the AFL runs a TPP for players from U13’s through to U18’s, which culminates in a state wide carnival each season.   State Trials are held next week for our U13’s and U14’s, with the boys travelling together to Albury, where they experience a professional standard team experience, including video review of games, pool recovery sessions and elite coaching.
 
Congratulations to Mosman Swan’s players Harry Carr, Alec Morgan and Aiden Cox for their selection in the Under 13’s.
 
In the Under 14’s our Willoughby/Mosman Swans JV – the North Sydney Swans – had ten players selected!  Congratulations to Baker Denneman, Nic Hurrell, Eddie King, Callum Mills, Aaron Parker, Luke Shallvey, Laurence Smith, Jarrod Steinhert, Lachlan Swinton and Jake Veale.
 
Good luck to all thirteen players and your teams in the Carnival.
 
A New President
 
It is my belief that like our football teams, our committee and club needs not one leader, but many.  This aim is best served by regenerating the club committee with a new President and a fresh approach on a periodic basis.  I also feel having a President for any more than three years risks creating an unhealthy dependency that can lead to problems down the track.   
 
With this in mind, I have decided not to stand for President at our upcoming AGM.  But fortunately, Gary Forster has.  Gary has been involved with our club at many levels since 2004, coaching from U4’s through to U14s, overseeing our code of conduct and also serving on the Regional Committee for three years.  In a past life Gary was an umpire at the highest AFL level for 51 games.  We are fortunate Gary has made himself available to lead our club, build on our success and fortify our values and culture.
 
Our AGM will be held on Wednesday October 26^th October at the Warringah Bowling Club.  A club can never have too many volunteers and we welcome any members who wish to engage further.  Anyone interested in joining the committee should contact our volunteer manager, Helen Kealy (hkealy@bigpond.com), Gary Forster (gforster@bartier.com.au) or myself (Andrew.hurrell@sgcib.com).
 
Our club aims to cultivate strong, healthy values in our players – sportsmanship, team ethos, taking responsibility, commitment to club, giving your best and respect for all participants.  It has been my pleasure to serve the club as President surrounded and supported by committee members who live these values themselves.  To these members, you are wonderful and I am profoundly grateful for your commitment and friendship.
 
Regards
 
Andrew Hurrell
President, Mosman Swans JAFC
 

August Newsletter

IF IT'S TO BE IT'S UP TO ME

Wonderful stories abound in footy and I have a new one to share with you.  On Sunday club stalwart Gary Forster coached our Under 14's division 3 for the final time, having served his three years with distinction.

This team has not won many games this year, but they have won great respect for their resilience, enthusiasm and the enjoyment they take from playing footy with their mates.  And yesterday numbers told the story  - 24 of them in the red and white for Gary's send off.  One of them, Hugh Barnard travelled to St Ives from a rugby game in the Shire - just to play the final quarter.

And what a quarter!  Trailing by five points against the third placed Saints at three quarter time, Gary used the break, his final address, to quote the great Ron Barrassi.  "If it's to be, it's up to me."  And in typical Gary nurturing style he then asked the boys, "what do you think that means?".  Without histrionics, he then engaged the team in a discussion about what it means to take responsibility - "it's up to me...  I have to lay that tackle, kick that goal, chase that opponent".   

Stirring words, but St Ives are much higher on the ladder and kicked the opening two goals of the final quarter.  The boys kicked just four goals in 53 minutes and needed three more in the 7 minutes left - the fairytale ending would need a miracle.  Or perhaps just a team of 24 kids that won't give up.  They pegged one back.  11 points down, five minutes to go.  Then Felix snags another, five points down with three minutes to go.  The team believes, you can feel it.  Every 50 : 50 contest goes their way, as the boys dig deep, run in numbers and continually force the ball forward.  70 seconds remain, Felix finds the ball and slots through his third goal in six minutes - one point up, 55 seconds left on the clock.  Enough time for St Ives to win a centre clearance and force the ball deep into attack.  Three meters from the line, the red and white army arrives, the ball is cleared, the siren sounds, a team celebrates, Gaz is ceremoniously drenched during a raucous rendition of "cheer cheer the red and the white", a cake is produced,  replete with Gary likeness iced on top, coke for the boys, something stronger for the parents,  pure footy.

Well done Gary, well done parents, well done team!

100 GAMES

Congratulations Ben Johnson, Alex Wallbank and Harrison Carr for the fantastic milestone of 100 games for the Mosman Swans.  You are all very different players in style, but share a passion for playing that has enriched our club for many, many seasons.  Thank you for your commitment and we look forward to a few more seasons yet!

SOIREE

Our Annual cocktail party proved a smashing success, thanks to the wonderful organisation of our fundraising committee - Deb Coakley, Amanda Perryman, Adi Gale, Kylie O'Callaghan, Kerin Hurrell and Natalie Barr.  We raised $30,000 for club infrastructure projects, thanks also to the great support of the following auction and prize donors:

Sydney Swans and the Sydney Kings arranged by Natalie Barr
Foxtel - Peter Campbell
O'Callaghan family
Beecraft - Mills family
Tiffanys Flowers - Tiffany Milton Hine
Oroton - Sally McDonald and Wayne Markman
Universal Music - Warner family
Incline Personal Training
Perryman family and Fine Wine Partners and Lion Nathan for our wine
ML Catering for our delicious food

A big thank you also to our host, Andrew Pridham and Carolyn Gilchrist, our MC, Peter Papas, our auctioneer Jeremy Martin, LJ Hooker, Mosman, and of course, our special guest Paul Roos - all making for a great night out.

PRESENTATION DAY

Our presentation day for under 9's through to under 16's will be at the Mosman RSL on Sunday morning 18th September.  Under 9 - 10 will be from 9:00am to 9:30am and Under 11-16 will be from 9:30am to 11:30am.

This is an important club event to acknowledge our volunteers and players.  Every player receives a medal or trophy and of course we have special awards for special achievements.

SEASON FINALE

Our home and away and Auskick season is now over, but we still have most age groups participating in either end of season Gala Days or Finals.  Good luck to all for the upcoming matches, in particular our under 14 division one team that finished minor premiers and our under 12 division one team that finished second.  

To those teams that have bowed out for the year, as ever, being a winner is all about your attitude, not the scoreboard.  I know some teams will be disappointed not to be in finals.  Our under 12 Div 3 side missed out by just 7 points and our 13 Div 1 and Div 3 teams in particular, having won the flag last year in Div 1 and runner-up in Div 3, will feel frustrated with their season.  With a small squad for two teams, many players in this age group sacrificed their own chances of winning by often playing 2 games each week, to ensure that neither team was in a position to forfeit.  This proved exhausting and unrewarding on the score board, but it was a commitment to club before team the like of which I have never seen.  In the selflessness and commitment you have proven yourself capable of, you have won far more than a game of football.  Your club salutes you.

Andrew Hurrell
Club President
0410 647 291

July Newsletter

Sydney Swans players visit to Middle Head Oval!

On Sunday 31 July eight players from the Sydney Swans will visit MHO from 10 am to midday to engage with our players on match day.  To ensure maximum participation we have rescheduled several games and moved Auskick to Middle Head for that day.

The Swan's players will help run the Auskick session and also assist the age group coaches.  They are happy to act as runners, carry water, address the players and enjoy being part of a fabulous Sunday morning at Middle Head.

Winter Wonderland - Friday 5th August

Our social committee have been busy preparing for our Annual Soiree to help raise funds for capital improvements at MHO, with our priorities being the drainage, playing surface, a permanent scoreboard, netting behind the goals and match standard lighting.  We are very fortunate to again have the use of Andrew Pridham's fabulous home, Peter Papas has yielded to popular demand and agreed to MC the night and again act as interviewee for our special guest.  To those not at last year's function, Michael Parkinson he ain't, entertaining he is. 

Please get your RSVP's in to your team manager or elected team representative as soon as possible. 

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY

Late Breaking News - All Mosman Swans games are cancelled this Sunday 24 July as all Mosman Grounds are closed as are those of all our opponents for this weekend.

The great news is we are finally getting some serious capital spending on Middle Head Oval, with a significant upgrade of the drainage scheduled as soon as our season finishes.  Not much good for this weekend, but does mean less ground closures in 2012. 

East Malvern Knights

Our Under 11's travelled to Melbourne during the school holidays to play a very competitive and close game with the Knights, in what proved a great experience for all that made the journey.  We now play EMK twice every year, hosting them in June in the under 10's and traveling to Melbourne in July in the under 11's.  This gives every player in the junior age groups the opportunity to play the Knights on a home and away basis.

Going forward we'd like to introduce a similar experience for our older age groups and are looking to forge a relationship with a Gold Coast based football club for our 14's/16's (Melbourne is fun but GC has sun).

Auskick

With the rain impacting a number of Auskick sessions this season the AFL kindly arranged for the Mosman Swans to have an additional half time game at the Sydney Cricket Ground.  Our coaches also ran sessions through the school holidays and we have also secured the Sydney Swans players to run Auskick on the 31st July.  Please note this session will be at Middle Head Oval, with the players arriving at 10 am (Auskick session 10.15 to 10.30 start).  Whilst the weather is disruptive, we are committed to providing fun experiences for our Auskickers and to offset the loss of sessions as best we can.

Juniors carnival

With the Under 9 to Under 11 age groups being non-competitive and without finals, Gary Forster and our Regional Committee are arranging for round robin carnivals to be held for these age groups over the first two weeks of finals (post round 17).   We will send out more information once scheduling has been finalised.  Again we are seeking to offset the loss of games during the year and provide our players with great opportunities to enjoy playing footy.

Our thanks to Gary for all his work on this initiative. 

Andrew Hurrell
Club President

June Newsletter

Milestones
 
Nick Milton-Hine celebrated his 100^th game last Sunday by kicking the first goal of the match within a minute of the opening whistle.  Nick has been a fantastic player for the club with a long list of awards and achievements, including:
 
2006        Best and Fairest
2007        Tony Lockett Award (78 goals in the season)
2008        Premiership player
2009        Best and Fairest Runner Up
2010        One Hundred Games
 
Only three months ago Nick broke both his arms on a basketball court, so it’s fantastic to see him back so soon and a testament to his strength of mind that he continues to be a fearless competitor.  Congratulations and well done Nick.
 
We have a host of other players on the cusp of joining the 100 Game Club:
 
Harrison Carr                        99
Michael Balzan                      96
Max Boddington                    95
Dan Gorry                              93
Aiden Cox                              93
Ben Johnson                        92
 
East Malvern Knights
 
This Sunday we host Melbourne’s “East Malvern Knights” in our annual Under 10’s match, this year held at Allan Border Oval for the first time.  Kick off is 2 pm.  We also have sixty-six parents and players attending a pre-match dinner at Kirribilli Club on Saturday night, so a massive and exciting weekend for the age group.  Many thanks to Natalie Barr for her many hours of preparation. Next year you just have to organize forty odd people to travel to Melbourne for the return bout!

Recruitment – Fancy a Penny?

We never close our doors to new players.  We are committed to two teams in every age group, which ensures that post divisionalisation (Under 12’s) we can offer players of all standards an appropriate level of competition.  Most our new players come through referral from our existing playing group, so we’d like your friends to know that we welcome new players right through to our final round.  Mid-season subscriptions are on pro-rata basis and we always allow potential newcomers to have a trial training or game, without having to commit beyond that.  It’s not many kids can pull on the red and white jumper once without wanting to come back for more – bit like chocolate, but healthy! (Think we have a new tag line)
 
So please spread the word and if any player can get three friends to join up before the end of season we’ll send them a penny skateboard (or a less injury inducing toy of choice of equivalent value).

Under 16 Division 1

This year we are competing for the first time in Under 16 division 1.  As there is no under 15’s competition, our team is made up primarily of younger players.  Last Sunday only five of our players where ‘fully aged’ (16).  Eleven players where fifteen and incredibly three players where only fourteen.  Callum Mills has been consistently in the best players for the 16’s and will still be in the age group in 2013! As the other division one teams are made up predominantly of older boys (that will be ineligible to play in 2012) our young group we are very much the “Gold Coast Suns” of the 16’s competition, with the best young talent in the game.  I wish to commend the team on their fortitude in competing at this level.  The learning curve is steep but with a rich pay off in 2012.

Club Policies – Player Rotations

Our club is gradually enshrining in formal policy the values and approaches we believe are most conducive for the growth, development and enjoyment of our players, parents and volunteers.
 
In my previous update I inadvertently appended our coaching rotation policy, which whilst valid, was not placed in context or timely.  It did give me the idea though that our policies need to be better communicated to our membership, as a way of ensuring parents and player expectations are aligned with club practice.
 
So in this update I am (intentionally!) including our recently formalized player rotation policy, which details the positional changes, rotations and playing time you should expect to see in each of the respective age groups.  Based on parental feedback I receive this is an area where our members want clarity and consistency, which this policy addresses (see below).
 
 
Mosman Swans – a healthy addiction
 
Andrew Hurrell
Club President
 
0410 647 291

Mosman Swan’s Rotation Policy

The purpose of this policy is to highlight the benefits of player positional changes in AFL and align player and parental expectations with coaching practice, by establishing a consistent approach across all teams within each age group. 
 
Non-specialisation is a major of attraction of AFL at the junior level.  Under AFL rules there are mandatory rotations of players through the three playing zones (backs, centres and forwards) for the under 9 and under 10 age groups.  Players do begin to specialise more as they get older, but versatility remains an essential and attractive feature of AFL right through to the elite level.
 
To ensure all players continue to develop their skills in multiple positions the club provides the following coaching guidelines for the respective age groups:

Junior Under 9 – Under 12

Under 9 and under 10: all players rotated through all three zones every game (minimum of one quarter of playing time per zone).  This is consistent with the modified rules for these age groups.
 
Under 11 and under 12:  all players rotated through at least two zones every game and through all three zones over a two game period (i.e. Not rotated through the same two zones each week).
 
All players must get at least three full quarters of playing time every game and an equal amount of playing time over the course of the season.

Youth Under 13 – Under 16

As players mature they may spend more time playing in a primary position, but they still need to play multiple positions throughout the course of the season.   We know children all develop and mature differently.   For example, some kids may be tall at age 12 but mid sized by age 15. If experienced in a range of positions, they will adapt far more easily to this change in relative body size.  The elite development programs (Swans Academy and NSW Talented Player Program) also expect versatility from players.
 
All players are to average at least three quarters of playing time per week.

Summary

• Kids enjoy playing multiple positions.  It maintains their interest and level of stimulation.

• Regular positional changes improve our player’s and our team’s adaptability and versatility.  Everyone benefits.

• Equitable rotations and playing time is critical for the long-term strength of each age group, with healthy retention rates strongly correlated to equality of opportunity.

• These guidelines are minimum standards that must be upheld to ensure optimal development of every player, team and age group.

 
Mosman Swans Football Department

May Newsletter

Dear Club Member,

150 Game Tribute to Tim Milton-Hine

Our young club reached another landmark on the weekend when for the first time one of our players participated in their 150th game for the Mosman Swans.  Aptly, the player was Tim Milton-Hine, son of former President and club legend Dan Milton-Hine. Tim celebrated the milestone with the Under 16 Div 1 Team's first win for the season against Westbrook.  

Remarkably Tim has played in every year of the club's history, having made his debut in the under 9's in 1998, when just six years old - the club was very short of players at the time!  Tim has since played in every age group, won three Team Best and Fairest awards and several Association Awards along the way.  Tim is a two time premiership player, having played in the Club's first ever premiership team in 2005 (Under 10s) and in the Club's first ever premiership in the under 16's age group last year.  His father Dan commented, "I am very proud of Tim's achievement. He has really enjoyed his footy the whole way through".  Congratulations Tim on a your historic achievements for the club and I especially commend you for the spirit in which you have played every one of your 150 games - tough, fair and full on.   We could not wish for a better role model to reside forever in our club's history book.

Player Registrations and Draw

Registrations remain open across all age groups including Auskick, so if you have any friends interested in trying AFL please encourage them to come along to a session for a trial run.  In 2010 we picked up over fifty registrations in May and June, so the message is its never too late to join in the fun.  Age group contacts are available on our website, so any queries can be directed to the relevant coach, our registrar or myself.

Please note the full season fixture for all teams is now available on our website:

Under 9 - Under 11 http://www.mosmanswans.com.au/fixtures-non-competetive-age-groups

Under 12 - Under 16 http://www.mosmanswans.com.au/fixtures-competetive-age-groups

These links will also take you into premiership ladders for the competitive age groups.  Note our Under 14's and Under 16's play as the "North Sydney Swans", being joint teams with the Willoughby Wildcats.

Canteen

We are delighted to have finalised new catering arrangements for Middle Head Oval, with players and spectators able to enjoy a good choice of quality food & coffee for the remainder of the season.  

Wet Weather

In the event of wet weather please check the local wet weather line and our website, as games can be rescheduled or relocated at late notice.  Wherever possible we will update any draw changes or cancellations by mid afternoon on Saturday.  Fingers crossed this is not a recurrent issue!

Sponsorship

I wish to formally thank Richardson and Wrench for returning in 2011 as our major sponsor.   Being a fully volunteer club R&W's support is so important to our capacity to deliver quality experiences for our kids.  It enables the committee to focus on player development needs rather than fundraising, provides financial security from one season to the next and lowers the cost of subscriptions, so every member of our community is a direct beneficiary of Steve Patrick and his team's sponsorship.  Once again, thank you!

Mosman Swan’s Coaching Appointments
 
The Mosman Swans coaching appointment process encourages the rotation of coaches through a 2/3 year cycle.
 
The rationale being:

• kids benefit from a number of coaches through the course of their junior career, getting a diversity of learning experiences and multiple mentors.
• tap more of the parental resources within the club, helping us to identify interested parties, making more positions available and participation more accessible.
• in time develop a pool of experience, with former coaches and aspiring coaches adding to the team support.

Appointment process
 
At the end of each season we call for expressions of interest in all coaching & assistant coaching positions.
 
Where more than one person is interested in a head coaching position we will discuss alternatives with the applicants.  If required, a three person selection panel (comprising club president, football manager and coaching mentor) will make an appointment, with following considerations :
 

• Incumbent coach nominating for a second season receives favourable bias to capitalise on their experience and reward their effort. 
• No bias for third season.  If a coach is appointed for a third season there is an expectation they will aim to identify and groom a potential successor during that season. 
• Bias towards a new coach if incumbent nominating for a fourth season.  Time given in assistant coaching role viewed favourably in selection process.

Aspiring and retiring coaches are encouraged to take on support roles whenever possible, building a core of experience and expertise around our teams.
 
Andrew Hurrell
Club President
0410 647 291