football | Peter Fletcher

You’re never gonna believe us

June 8, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

Just after midday today a small group of happy Irishmen, all with beers in their hand, broke into song. To the tune of For He’s A Jolly Good Fellow they sang their version of a Liverpool football song that goes like this:

You’re never gonna believe us,
You’re never gonna believe us.
You’re never gonna believe us,
We’re gonna win the league.

And so it was that the Vic Park Soccer Club men’s team celebrated their second win in our inaugural season. We had beaten a team well above us on the ladder and we’d done it in a way that made every one of us proud. The team played hard, tough, disciplined football where the first thought was the success of the team, not personal glory.

There were players like Gabriel Silias, who sent me a text last night saying he was too sick to play but dragged himself out of bed this morning and then went on to kick all three of our goals.

Then there was Rhys McDonald who had only 15 minutes on the pitch despite being at every training session since we joined.

And then there was Ger O’keefe who started the season as a striker, who started today on the bench, then volunteered to go into defence to shut down the opposition’s best player. He did just that.

These are the sorts of self-sacrifice that make me proud and that motivate me to give more to this club and make it better and stronger.

There’s still much work to do – I know that – but I believe we can one day go on to win the league.

In football three weeks can make a huge difference

May 25, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

At 3:15pm this afternoon the Victoria Park Soccer Club men’s team had their first win. After the game the club met at our place to drink beer and eat snaggers and celebrate the milestone.

But as much as the win was great what was better was the way the boys played. They played hard and tough but they played fair. They refused to be intimidated by their opponents. They didn’t back chat the ref and they kept their language under control.

In the end the result was an outcome of the way we played and that’s what’s worth celebrating.

But it hasn’t always been this way. Three weeks ago I thought the team was about to implode. The boys back-chatted the ref to the point of being insulting, their language made the few supporters we had cringe and their teamwork was abysmal.

Why the difference? There are two main factors at play here. The first is that we had a team meeting where together we agreed to a set of team rules that governed our conduct both on and off the pitch on match day. These were rules that the team created and agreed to be bound to. Everyone has taken playing by these rules seriously.

The second factor is time. In building a team it takes time to build a connection and understanding and culture. This level of connection doesn’t happen over night but as the team works together during training an understanding builds about who can be counted to be where. Only time builds this understanding.

So, when I finally sat down and had a beer this afternoon I reflected with a great deal of pride about the progress we’ve made as a team. There’s a long way to go and lots of obstacles to overcome for us to have success in the long term. Today was a big step in the right direction.

Wanted: players, coaches and sponsors

March 12, 2014 by Peter Fletcher

The Victoria Park Soccer Club needs players, coaches and sponsors. Image: ewiemann http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiemann/1521876735/

There’s a brand new soccer club in Perth. It’s called the Victoria Park Soccer Club and it’s just over a month old and we need your help to get it off the ground.

Here’s what we need.

Players

We’re looking for people over the age of 16 who want to keep fit and learn what it means to be part of a team. We need both male and female players. Right now we have almost enough women to put a team on the pitch but we need more to cover injuries and absences.

You don’t need to be a flash player. We’ll probably be placed somewhere between 3rd and 5th division, depending on the whim of Football West. Most of our current players have only been playing for a few years and are always looking to improve.

We play on Sundays. The first game is in April. Tonight we had our first pre-season training run. It was a casual affair where we did some sprints between the cones and then a body weight workout. It wasn’t long but it was quite intense. Afterward we had a committee meeting at Brando’s Pizza where everyone was invited to come along and ask questions.

We especially need male players. At the moment we only have 2 players confirmed so we need more.

Before we set up the club we worked out our values.

We treat everyone equally regardless of their nationality, race, religion or gender. At our club there’s no special treatment given to the blokes as so often happens in other clubs.

We run a disciplined club. That means we’re just as disciplined with our finances as we are with the way we play the game.

We respect each other, our opponents, the match officials and ourselves.

We work as a team both on and off the field. We train as a team, we play as a team and we manage our club as a team. There’s no prima donnas and no heroes. Everyone pitches in to get the job done.

We’re passionate about our game and we’re passionate about building a club where the local community can come together to play and to grow.

We believe in fair play. We won’t take advantage of a wrong line call or an opponents injury.

We believe in being accountable with our member’s funds but also accountable on the field. We’ll do our job both on and off the pitch.

Coaches

If you’ve played before and would like to add ‘coach’ to your resume, we’d love to talk. We need a coach for both teams and if you can also help us recruit players that would be fabulous.

If you want to know more call me on 0419 538 838. I’m always happy to chat.

You’re never gonna believe us

In football three weeks can make a huge difference

Wanted: players, coaches and sponsors

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Sponsors

Coaches

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