GV Suns 

Mixed results over the weekend in round 3 vs Eastern Lions. There were plenty of pleasing things to come from the weekend and a few disappointing ones.  Well done to Nathan, James and the u14 team on recording their first win of the season. Keep up the hard work at training.

Good luck to our U15s who take on Box Hill tonight at Box Hill in their rescheduled round 2 match!

Mobile Phones 
This applies to mainly the older players at the club. We don't want to see you using your mobile phone on the bench. This is very unprofessional and very disrespectful to your coach. We will not tolerate this behavior while your game is being played. If you are found using your mobile phone while sitting on the bench, a club suspension will be enforced.

Substitutions 
This year the FFV has implemented a new system of substitutions in the NPL. In past years it has been a rolling system of substitutions where the coach can make an unlimited number which made it easier to keep player game times more even. With the new system, explained below, I ask you have patience while the coaches adjust to the new rule and correct their rotations.

For all NPL Under 12–NPL Under 18 Competition Fixtures, a maximum of 16 Players may be named on the Match Record. Those Teams may make any number of interchanges during a Competition Fixture in accordance with the following:

• For Under 12 to Under 14 Competition Fixtures, a maximum of two interchange periods per Team in each half;
• For Under 15 to Under 18 Competition Fixtures, a maximum of three interchange periods per Team in each half;

Teams must notify the Match Official when they intend to utilise their allocated interchange periods;

Match Officials may permit an interchange to take place outside of the allocated periods if, in their opinion and in consultation with Team first aid or medical staff, a Player has sustained an injury and is required to be replaced. 

A Match Official may decline the interchange of Players in the last five (5) minutes of a Competition Fixture if in his opinion the change is being made to deliberately delay play.

If a player or parent has an issue on football matters contact the Technical Director first 
At any time across the season if you have an issue with a coach, team manager or another football related concern please make sure you raise it with us - we can't fix matters if we don't know about them! Its also important that you follow our procedure (below) - over the past few seasons its been proven to work and ensure a speedy resolution of concerns.
  
Step 1: Please email your parent or player grievance on football matters to the Technical Director at techdir@gvsuns.com.au
Step 2: We will then contact you to arrange a meeting once we have collated all the information we need to resolve your grievance.

Please do not approach the Technical Director on game days to air your grievances. 

SAP Coaching Workshop -
Wednesday  20 April
To all GV Suns SAP coaches(u12, u13, u14) and assistants. We have organised with the FFV to host a FREE SAP workshop for the club on Wednesday April 20 starting at 6pm. This is a compulsory workshop to aid you in producing better sessions.

• The workshop will go for approximately two and half hours.
• I will need the coaches there 30 minutes before the players.
• The practical coaching session, with u13's players, will go for 75-90mins
• Then there will be a further 30 minutes theory/debrief at the end.

“My definition of success is peace of mind, pertained only through self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which your capable, and only you as an individual will no whether you did that or not. You can fool others but you can’t fool yourself.” – John Wooden 

Thanks,  Shabs
(While Reno is overseas, Shaban is assisting with the Technical Director role.)
 

Reno's reflections

While overseas, Reno is providing some valued insights on preparing for games.  To play at the NPL level  our skills, technique and ability needs to be complemented by effective preparation and this week Reno begins with the first of the three Rs of football - Reflection / Rest / Rehearsal.  

Reflection really needs to happen immediately after the current game.  To me there is a need to cover some minor individual points as a team.  The game is over so this needs to be done with all emotion taken out of the situation.  There is a saying along the lines of you learn by your mistakes.  Don't beat yourself up by emotion because of making mistakes.  Put your energy into reflecting upon how you can minimise them in the future.  

As a group there needs to be effective listening here!  You are all trying to learn the art of football.  Find answers for how we can improve upon our game.  Our players need to search for answers.  Talking to the coach is vitally important for this.  For instance, "As a midfielder I am getting pressured off the ball constantly in this game.  I do not seem to have much time." Search for answers for this!

• read about midfield play
• use google and YouTube to add to this research
• question senior midfield players

This type of reflection needs to happen consistently as you grow as a player. Reflect upon your role as a player.  Spend time researching how you can improve.  Practise reflection consistently.  It will give you an aim or a goal to work towards at training and in games.

Cheers for now, Reno

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Younger supporters at Senior games

We aim to create a welcoming and safe environment for everyone attending our senior games, and its great to see so many of our younger players and families coming along. 
At our home games alcohol is available and there are strict rules associated with our liquor licence. 

To make sure we meet these requirements and everyone stays safe:

• an adult must accompany anyone aged 14 years or younger to the game, and
• younger supporters who arrive unaccompanied will not be allowed entry until their adult guardian comes and collects them at the entrance gate.

FFV Community in Business lunch with Harry Kewell 

Weekend game wraps

Under 12s
Tommy Giuliani
After a sharp, extremely high-intensity training week where we focused on attacking space/running with the ball, the players showed that you usually replicate your training attitude on game day.

After a cagey opening to the game, which was an arm wrestle, our midfield trident of Gerarld Corbo, Christian Georgio and Nick Mori took control of the game. In this period the boys did some serious damage. The ball movement into our attacking third was quick and aggressive and we were able to find space further  up the pitch to allow flowing passing chains - both were made possible by the ball retention into the midfield from our defensive third.  

Our pressing game was very good when we didn't have ball and we recovered possession very quickly. It was very pleasing to see and a sure sign of progress in their game.

Team tasks that are set before each game were carried out very well and I was very pleased for the goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet.The attitude they are showing towards each other and reactions to skill errors are being keenly observed on game day and during training with captain, Enrique Goggin leading by example.

I hope they can keep this up when the chips are down. An 8.45 am start in Melbourne this Sunday will be a great challenge for the group. Keep up the great attitude to improve boys. I'm sure your parents were proud last Sunday.I know I was!

Under 13s
Matt Lelliot
A tough day for the under 13s as we went down 7-2 to a strong Eastern Lions outfit.

During the weeks leading up the clash we worked on mainly running with the ball, playing out from the back , and also controlling possession in the middle third. The boys trained the house down this week and it was a surprise to many to see us go 2-0 down in a matter of seconds of the match starting. We weren't up for it in the first half and couldn't get it out of our defensive third.

The second half was the complete opposite and one would argue if we had played like that from the start we would have been clear winners. Billy Browne showed his class again with two very well taken goals, captain Jacob Martinek ran the midfield winning it back on a number of occasions, and Isaac Rossignuolo in goals kept it from being very embarrassing with some great 1v1 saves.

All in all I was very impressed with our second half and I hope we can start the game a little bit better this weekend. This week we aim to work on figuring out when we need to play a longer ball from the back when we are under some pressure.

Under 14s
Nathan Saron & James Lelliot
A good week on the track after the defeat in Round 2. The boys' response to the two sessions where we focused on Disturbing and Pressuring then BPO>BP transition was very pleasing.

A good start to the game saw us create some early chances. The the Lions scored first with a 25 yard shot but we were able to fix the minor positioning issue that allowed this. James made 3 saves and at half time we had the lead 2-1 with Darcy and Ciaran 1 goal each. 

The pressure, passing and attack in the second half kept improving with Moses scoring a hat trick and Josh 1. Before the game I asked the boys to be flexible with playing positions to make time on the ground even. Having a strong lead made it easier for James and I to try this.

Credit to all the boys as we can't achieve a result like this unless everyone contributes.  Good first win - believe in yourselves and work hard towards Round 4 boys.
Luke - hope your better for the next game. 

Under 15s
Shaun Kane & Glen Wilson
After an extended break and most of the boys returning from camp, it was back to basics this week - reinforcing the way we want to play out from the back as a team. We also worked on creating scoring opportunities from congested central areas which we felt hindered us in the Murray Utd game.

The boys trained very well and we were keen to get the first win of the season. However, it was déjà vu from the Murray game. Despite an improved team performance and creating several clear goal scoring chances, we were unable to put our chances away and we were punished for it by a physical, organised Lions outfit who took their one clear cut chance of the game.

For 50 minutes the boys were playing the type of football we strive to achieve. They only abandoned their structure and principles when the desperation for an equaliser set in. We will work to make sure the boys keep their discipline and composure in such situations.

From here I will continue to press the team mentality upon the boys - to get them playing as a compact unit and playing for each other. No panic from me as yet, the positive signs are there and with a few tweaks and a more disciplined team mentality I am still excited about what these boys can achieve when it comes together.

Under 16s
Paul Nieuwenhuizen & Shaban Mehmet
Once again we went into a match with only 9 under 16 squad members, so a number of under 15s stepped up to fill the void.

The team tasks again focused on getting numbers from defence to support the midfield when attacking, and staying compact when defending. The players stuck to the team tasks throughout the game with the defenders moving forward to support the midfield on a number of occasions and only conceding a goal when caught out on the counter attack. We struggled to maintain our shape and composure after the opposition was reduced to 10 men. Fortunately we regrouped to equalised with 5 minutes to go.

An excellent debut from Charlie Maude who brought enthusiasm and presence to his first game. Charlie fitted seamlessly into the team that is starting really starting to combine and improve as individuals and a playing group.

Once again the benefit of the age groups all following the same training cycle showed with Lucas Enders, Thomas Raditsas, Fraser Gosstray, Jordan Leocata, Bowdie Chandler and Kubilay Karhan from the under 15s stepping up an age group and showing great composure and effort. Thanks to their willingness we were able to provide the players the opportunity for a drink and to catch their breath.

Under 18s
Pat Kielty & Shaban Mehmet
At training we have been focusing on breaking the defensive lines to create goal scoring oppotunities. It was pleasing to see that we managed to do this on several occasions on Saturday however those opportunities did not result in any goals.

We found this game difficult with key players missing from the team which nulled our attack options -  it was always going to be a difficult and this was reflected in the scoreline. 

Thank you to Alou Kuol, Charlie Maude and Ali Ali from the under 16's and Conor Dodson and Liam Kielty from the under 15's for making up the numbers to give us a team. 

Under 20s
David Davkovski & Matt Maiorano
Great performance by the team. We worked hard this week on denying the opponents time and space in the middle third which was executed perfectly.

Our squad was light again but in true GV Suns spirit our guys dug deep and put in a solid shift, which continued our good run of games recently. Cooper Gosstray impressed with a brace, however it again was a super team performance with good player decision making. Good to see so many of the youth teams supporting so late in the day also. Next up Dandenong Thunder. 

Seniors
Nick Kalafatis & Serkan Aktas
Find us on Facebook for a full wrap, interviews and much more.

Lost in translation? Player position profiles

Ever wondered why the goal keeper is referred to as number 1 and the striker is number 9 or have you been confused by number references in match reports?  

Each position on the pitch has a number and you can learn more about each position's profile from the FFA website - but for starters here is a list of the positions and numbers. 

1           Goalkeeper
2 & 5     Fullbacks
3 & 4     Centrebacks
6 & 8     Midfielders
7 & 11   Wingers
9           Central striker
10    Attacking midfielder


Anything else you have always wanted to ask? Send us an email and we'll ask our resident experts to come up with an answer!

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Shepparton Sports Precinct Development update

Have you noticed the big signs at the entrance to McEwen Reserve? They explain the $13.4 million investment that's underway to upgrade and expand McEwen Reserve into our region's premier sporting complex and will include six turf football pitches.

It's a massive project that Shepparton City Council and while its underway, here's a taste of some of the work that's been completed for the new football pitches.

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Thank you to players, parents and senior and junior coaches

We would like to thank everyone who stepped in to help out with refereeing our youth games across Saturday. Everyone answered the call - our senior players and coaches, including Seniors coach Nick Kalafatis (pictured refereeing our U13 game) and parents.  At such short notice it was terrific to have so many step up to help. 

The call out was in response to the FFV failing to allocate referees to the NPL games. We understand a number of referees were involved in training but we will continue to work with the FFV and in particular the referee department to identify ways to ensure quality referees are available for NPL games.
 
On a personal note, I would like to acknowledge the support from the Board, coaching staff, players and parents to me and my family following the loss of my sister and my mother in law. I really would like to thank everyone for their support and making my work load a little lighter on the weekend.  

Fiona McCrimmon
GV Suns Operations Manager

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Results at a glance