Daylight Savings Finishes and Day-light Training

Daylight saving finishes this weekend, we do have a problem, as council hasn't handed us the keys to the grounds of the floodlit Donvale Reserve!

This problem means there will be no training next week and all teams are urged to make their own arrangements. So there is NO training unless your Team Manager or Coach personally informs you of their personal arrangements. Please check your emails and this blog for updates.

Please also be mindful of the fact that there is plenty of pre-season left as the season start for juniors has been put back to the first weekend in May...6/5/07.

The club has also succeeded in obtaining the use of the artificial surface tennis courts at East Doncaster Secondary College and has also booked some pitch time at the FFV grounds.

Thank you all for your assistance in this difficult time of drought.

STEVE HARGITAY

Club President

Revised Season Start Dates

Due to ongoing water restrictions FFV has announced entry into phase three of their season contingency strategy.

In accordance with these guidelines FFV advises the following:
· All Men's State, Provisional and Metropolitan Leagues will be delayed by a further week, to commence on the weekend of April 21-22, 2007. · All Women's State and Metropolitan Leagues will be delayed by a further week, to commence on the weekend of May 5-6, 2007. · All Men's Thirds and Masters Leagues will be delayed by a further week, to commence on the weekend of May 5-6, 2007. · All Junior Leagues will be delayed by a further week, to commence on the weekend of May 5-6, 2007. · All Rooball Leagues will be delayed by a further week, to commence on the weekend of May 19-20, 2007. The season duration has been maintained throughout each competition, with a full set of Men's State, Provisional and Metropolitan fixtures scheduled for the Queen's Birthday Public Holiday on Monday June 11, 2007.

Football Star Competition aged 16-30

LAUNCH SEARCH FOR A FOOTBALL STAR aged 16-30

Emap Australia will join forces with Xbox, EA Games and Fun Sports Group to launch a nationwide search for an undiscovered football star. The winner will have the chance to be scouted by each of the A-league clubs with a view to land a professional contract.

Players will be invited to register their details online at www.footballstar.com.au. The best entrants will then be invited to attend one-day clinics. The events program will be headed up by Fun Sports Group’s Jesper Olsen, a former Manchester United player and Danish international.

All players will be measured by Power, Strength, Agility, Reflexes and Quickness tests along with 3 v 3 trial games. Shortlisted players will travel to Sydney to take part in the Football Star grand final where all A-league clubs will be invited to attend.

“Football has never been more popular and through the development of this project we’ve created a platform that communicates across various media touch-points – print, online, events, and broadcast – all whilst helping to contribute to the progress of the sport in Australia.”

Jamie McKinlay PR Director of EA said: “Electronic Arts is a great ambassador of grass roots football and we see this as an excellent program to give the football players of Australia who may very well have the talent to be able to perform at the top level, but don’t have the means or access to show off their stuff. This gives everyone who thinks they have what it takes to have a shot at their dreams.”

Update form Italy Soccer Tour

All at DRSC,
Hello all. Hopefully you've had a chance to go to the smugmug photo website where you can see photo'sof the tour. I'm sure you'll agree the training facilities here at Ovada are prtty special. Site is: http://gissaustcampussquad.smugmug.com.

Essentially, since my first note, we've been training twice a day plus a half hour walk in the morning prior to breakfast. Lunch and dinner are always 3 courses with the last being fruit and the food in terms of quantity and quality is fantastic.
Sunday we went to the Savona ground one hours drive away in Savona to watch a Serie D match. If you think Serie d is no big deal, think again. There were two players on the park earning $150,000 euro ($250,000 AUD) a year and the majority earn 80-100 a year. Plus their food, accomodation, playing gear, etc is all provided. Yes, this in Serie D - incredible but true and all are profesional. None of them have second jobs. The quality and tactics and organisation are incredible and some of the tactics explained to us by 'Mister' Briatta, the Valenzana youth coach and development head were clearly obvious. Organisation and tactics I'd suggest were a major contributing factor to Italy winning the world cup.
NOTE: the term 'Mister' here in Italy is a mark of respect to the coaches of teams. They are all called Mister. Perhaps = to Gaffer in England? Perhaps.
Then Monday we went back to Savona and played in the main stadium against their regional youth side. Regional in that the national youth league is broken up into regions or by state say as an equivalent Australian term. This side playes Genoa, who we're playing Tuesday here, Juve, Torino, etc.
We lost 4-1 but the first two were a very poor pass acros the park which got cut off and then a sensational volley from a cross - unstoppable. We then held them and when we started changing the team to allow the younger and les experienced memebers on to play, we conceded two more but really, a good effort all round. The senior Savona coach spoke to us and was impressed by our quality and passion and organisation and was staggered when told we'd been training for 3 months 3 times a week only prior to the squad. His team had trained 5 days a week and essentially the same group for 2 years.
we also met Patrick Panucci who played Serie A and who's younger brother still plays Serie A. We had 4 players 'spotted' and depending on the rest of the tour may be asked back for a trial, but there are many games and lots of time yet.
We now have Genoa, Juve and Torino in the next three days. I cant believe we'll be playing these teams and still pinch myself we're doing what we're doing and meeting who we're meeting.
Ciao Ciao for now and best wishes to all.
Talk again soon.
Regards,
John

Under 11 and 12 Trial Dates and Venue

Doncaster Rovers Soccer Club Announces Under 11 and Under 12 Training at FFV grounds at DISC

As announced at the info night on Friday night.
We can now confirm the booking of 1 ground for trials at Darrebin International Sports Centre for the under 11's and 12' squads.

Friday 23rd March
5pm - 6:30pm -

Tuesday 27th
5pm - 6:30pm
Thursday 29th
5pm - 6:30pm

The Darebin International Sports Centre (DISC) is located at John ... Address: John Cain Memorial Park 281 Darebin Road, Thornbury VIC 3071.
This Friday 23rd
The under 12's will play a practice match from 5.30 against the Essendon Royals. (they invited us) The coach's are not expecting to win but are using this match to look at different players in different positions.

The 11's will have the pitch for themselves on this occassion as the 12's will be playing on another pitch.
$5 per child per training night.
To cover the $130 per hour cost of hiring the FFV grounds for these trials we will be charging $5 per child per night.

The club cannot pay as we have 40 teams and could not possibly afford to.

Update From Italy Soccer Tour

All at DRSC,

Well what a eye opener. We landed in Milan at 5.30 am and by the time the Milan airport decided we could have our bags back it was 6.30am andf 3 degrees !!!!! We climbed aboard a bus and got to our home base at Ovada at 9.30am. We organised rooms and schedules and had lunch (traditional fare of pasta, meat and salad and lots of it) and it was then off to get on the bus for the first game at Valenzana.

You could tell the guys, though stating 'I'm OK' were really struggling. Passes went astray, tension levels were high, ability to hit the mark and make an interception simply didn't get there or succeed. In addition, an unfavourable pitch (hard as stone but grassed) short and narrow and against a team that trains 4 times a week and plays a practice match every week in addition to its scheduled match plus 40 matches per annum, meant we were under the pump from the start.

Two extraordinarily bad goalkeeping errors and poor marking meant 3-0 after 15 minutes. A short break and a slightly different structure and we were in the game a little more and the end score was 5-1. Essentially, we'll forget about it.

There was a lot to learn and admire of the other team. Always moving the ball with two touch supporting one another and being available for the return ball and absolute confidence and strength on the ball - very impressive and this from Serie C2 youth. The GISS boys themselves were impressed by these factors and given they are here to learn, it'll stand them in good stead. But I'll make this bold statement - I would love to play this team again after 3-4 days acclimatisation.
We had huge stamina issues that lead to 8 guys falling asleep at the table at dinner and the whole team crashed out at 9.30pm. We awoke at 7.30 and went for a walk prior to breakfast and the 10.30am training session was the first where we saw 'glimpses' of the guys abilities and the fact we were slowly acclimatising. Another training session at 2-30 to 4pm and we were nearly, nearly looking back to normal.
We now have Friday and Saturday with two training sessions, a Sunday morning session then we go off to watch Sampdoria - Palermo in a Serie A match. Then 4 games in four days against Savona, Genoa, Torino and Juvehntus youth teams. What a test and experience!
Talk again soon.
Regards,
John
Update Monday 19/3 - We had a tactical session delvered by Roberto Briatta on Sunday morning prior to leaving for the game. He is a well connected coach in the northern italian province of Liguria and has placed young players at, for example, empoli, Valenzana, Geno and sampdoria. His ability to explain and make so simple to understand how the Italians use and function in 4 4 2 formation was incredible. And to then see a game and see what he said function was fantastic.
Ciao for now and next update will be after the 2nd of the four games this week.