Volkswagen Junior Masters Competition

[Arthur Shandy]

Fantastic day for all the players involved today. Agree with previous comment, some great passages of play today that defied the conditions. I thought the clinic was a very good idea and the guys that were running this when I was watching had a great rapore with the junior players. The future is looking bright IMO after viewing the overall standard of the Under 11's today. Well done to all involved.

[English Fish]

Great day of Football. Some great play out there considering the conditions. All players a credit to their clubs. Well done all round!

[Mrs Red]

Who did Raiders play in the final?

[liverpool]

Who did Raiders play in the final?

Birkalla..

[best]

Raiders and Ac both doing Adelaide proud .
Best of luck to both teams today.

[cool hand luke]

Raiders and Ac both doing Adelaide proud .
Best of luck to both teams today.

Keep us posted with results

[best]

Raiders and Ac both doing Adelaide proud .
Best of luck to both teams today.

Keep us posted with results

Raiders out in group stage.
AC lost in quarters .

[best]

Well done AC for wining the Fair Play Award.

[juniors]

Adelaide City would like to say well done to the under 12 boys.
it was a big achievement to get to the quarters finals and also winning the Fair Play Award.

Also well Done to the Raiders.

[cool hand luke]

Adelaide City would like to say well done to the under 12 boys.
it was a big achievement to get to the quarters finals and also winning the Fair Play Award.

Also well Done to the Raiders.

Well done to both SA teams.

Who played off in the finals and won.

[DUKE BLUE]

Adelaide City would like to say well done to the under 12 boys.
it was a big achievement to get to the quarters finals and also winning the Fair Play Award.

Also well Done to the Raiders.

Well done to both SA teams.

Who played off in the finals and won.

Thanks...

Cool hand Luke, Best & Adel.city juniors,

The final result;

Bunderim Wanderers 2-0 Brisbane City

Well done also to Adelaide City for the “fair play” Award.

This was a fantastic experience for all, I highly recommend a similar adventure for all SA football kids at the end of their football season.…..

I want to thank the following teams/clubs (coaches, parents & kids) for their time, well wishes & support throughout the last 18 months; Comets, Birkalla, Metro Stars, Western Strikers, Adelaide Blue Eagles, West Adelaide, U12 SAPSASA, U12 NWJSA, Adelaide City & all the Northern Zone U12 2013 Clubs.

I will provide a bit of an insight into our experience for this VW Junior Masters chapter (Sydney) on our wonderful journey…..

This was the first time this particular Raiders team had travelled out of Adelaide to compete in a tournament. Some kids flying for the first time & if they were anything like me… thinking….. “every flight is my last flight”.

Thursday 3rd October

We arrived in Sydney on Thursday Afternoon and were shuttled by bus to Narrabeen the housing & playing venue “Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation”;

http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/sydneyacademy/accom.asp

The location was as though we were in the Adelaide Hills with 4 pitches cut into it, the pitches were outstanding there was no excuse to not play good football on these surfaces as comparisons could be made to the quality of the surface to Hindmarsh Stadium.
We received our playing kits and spent the afternoon familiarising ourselves with the venue & also letting the kids have a bit of fun in their rooms, reminder for next time....not to bring any candy!...oh & the i-pods/i-phones…these can stay at home too….lol!
Official lights out & bedtime was 9pm…

Friday 4th October

We had our scheduled “early” breakfast (7am) & to my surprise the kids were dressed/showered and ready at 6:30am….a few dark rings around their eyes probably a direct correlation to modern technology & as you all know how it can keep you entertained for many hours. Breakfast supplied by the organisers was great, the usual hearty; fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon & beans etc….made for some musical amusement later in the night.
Our pre-organised game at Cromer Reserve with Peninsula Strikers (VIC) beside Manly Football club (Stadium named after Lucas Neil) was a good way to kick off our attempt to give the tournament a good shake but mostly shake out the chocolate milk & all the consumed lollies and late night party boys (George Best) type players….were typically flat on the day.
This was a good game to allow the non-starters play out a full game and provide some flexibility to the starting team, they did not disappoint & showed great character, we played the game in the same format as the actual tournament 15min halves etc…We finished this game with a 4-0 win & identified a new friend in our football world.

Off to manly beach for a swim followed by a light lunch and then a ferry ride across the Harbour to Circular Quay; great street shows, markets, restaurants, shops etc…The Harbour, Opera House & the Bridge being the highlight. The harbour was littered with war ships and small boats and this was quite an extraordinary site to see….Sydney is a very visual place.

From the opera house we walked to Lowenbrau;

http://www.lowenbrau.com.au/

German Pub where all the boys sat “very” quietly sipping their lemonades admiring the German girls in their traditional frocks. From here we walked to the bus location on the opposite side of the bridge and were then transported back to Cromer reserve for what was to be our last training session for this campaign. Following this the boys went back to the SAS for dinner where they met most of the teams who were to compete in this tournament. This was fantastic as we all forged our interstate relations with other football loving people.

It was an early night as the boys were told … that it was lights out at 9pm….however the little glistening i-pod’s managed to give away their intentions to perhaps yet again have a another “wild” night….our newly appointed “enforcer” managed to ensure that the boys were conditioned that they needed to settle and be prepared mentally for the games they had to play the next morning.

The boys understood their requirements & were asleep…..

Saturday 5th October

7am Breakfast
10:30am v Northern Tigers FC (NSW) Won 3-0
12:00 v Brisbane City (QLD) Lost 0-1
1:30pm v Northcote City FC (VIC) Draw 0-0

4pm Recovery session at Collory Beach;

http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/play/collaroy-beach

Attached link to all games, short summary for each game;

http://juniormastersaustralia.com.au/Home/News/1


Sunday 6th October

6:00am Breakfast…please note it was daylight savings so we lost another hour sleeping..ouch!
8:00am v Belconnen (ACT) Won 2-1

We needed Brisbane to win or draw their last game….they lost…So when your luck runs out & you are required to rely on other results falling our way...... destiny was not in our control.

3:00pm Presentations – All kids received a nice medal for their experience.

Later that night the families had a fantastic time at what I would say was a very cool pub…..

New Port Arms; http://www.newportarms.com.au/Gallery.php

this time around there was no curfew for anyone…great night !

Summary

A very good way to end what was quite a successful year at Raiders for this age group I am extremely proud and I also wish five of our boys their very best in their 2014 “skillaroos” adventure and look to a great challenge for this team to reshape them for the 2014 season.

I can proudly say that South Australian Football is not too far off our Eastern Counterparts & technically we are right up there.

I found Brisbane City to be the pick of the bunch with their calm ball movement from the back and their patience up front. They appeared to have the ball on a string when I watched their games.

I encourage everyone to not only take this VW Junior Masters opportunity but also to experience football tournaments in other States within this country, not just for the game and the accolades at stake but for the belly laughs with the parents & friends also the new friends made with other clubs….the bonding between the club kids and mostly to provide an insight into what a professional footballers life may be like…I can assure you many of which are nowhere near ready…lol !

We had a “wallaby” moment…

Before our second game on Saturday…midway attempting to address / motivate the kids of our team a wallaby skips past our open sliding doors & half the team darts outside to pat the animal…gold !

kids know the moment of when to be real…..And I love them for it.

[cool hand luke]

Adelaide City would like to say well done to the under 12 boys.
it was a big achievement to get to the quarters finals and also winning the Fair Play Award.

Also well Done to the Raiders.

Well done to both SA teams.

Who played off in the finals and won.

Thanks...

Cool hand Luke, Best & Adel.city juniors,

The final result;

Bunderim Wanderers 2-0 Brisbane City

Well done also to Adelaide City for the “fair play” Award.

This was a fantastic experience for all, I highly recommend a similar adventure for all SA football kids at the end of their football season.…..

I want to thank the following teams/clubs (coaches, parents & kids) for their time, well wishes & support throughout the last 18 months; Comets, Birkalla, Metro Stars, Western Strikers, Adelaide Blue Eagles, West Adelaide, U12 SAPSASA, U12 NWJSA, Adelaide City & all the Northern Zone U12 2013 Clubs.

I will provide a bit of an insight into our experience for this VW Junior Masters chapter (Sydney) on our wonderful journey…..

This was the first time this particular Raiders team had travelled out of Adelaide to compete in a tournament. Some kids flying for the first time & if they were anything like me… thinking….. “every flight is my last flight”.

Thursday 3rd October

We arrived in Sydney on Thursday Afternoon and were shuttled by bus to Narrabeen the housing & playing venue “Sydney Academy of Sport and Recreation”;

http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/sydneyacademy/accom.asp

The location was as though we were in the Adelaide Hills with 4 pitches cut into it, the pitches were outstanding there was no excuse to not play good football on these surfaces as comparisons could be made to the quality of the surface to Hindmarsh Stadium.
We received our playing kits and spent the afternoon familiarising ourselves with the venue & also letting the kids have a bit of fun in their rooms, reminder for next time....not to bring any candy!...oh & the i-pods/i-phones…these can stay at home too….lol!
Official lights out & bedtime was 9pm…

Friday 4th October

We had our scheduled “early” breakfast (7am) & to my surprise the kids were dressed/showered and ready at 6:30am….a few dark rings around their eyes probably a direct correlation to modern technology & as you all know how it can keep you entertained for many hours. Breakfast supplied by the organisers was great, the usual hearty; fruit, cereal, eggs, bacon & beans etc….made for some musical amusement later in the night.
Our pre-organised game at Cromer Reserve with Peninsula Strikers (VIC) beside Manly Football club (Stadium named after Lucas Neil) was a good way to kick off our attempt to give the tournament a good shake but mostly shake out the chocolate milk & all the consumed lollies and late night party boys (George Best) type players….were typically flat on the day.
This was a good game to allow the non-starters play out a full game and provide some flexibility to the starting team, they did not disappoint & showed great character, we played the game in the same format as the actual tournament 15min halves etc…We finished this game with a 4-0 win & identified a new friend in our football world.

Off to manly beach for a swim followed by a light lunch and then a ferry ride across the Harbour to Circular Quay; great street shows, markets, restaurants, shops etc…The Harbour, Opera House & the Bridge being the highlight. The harbour was littered with war ships and small boats and this was quite an extraordinary site to see….Sydney is a very visual place.

From the opera house we walked to Lowenbrau;

http://www.lowenbrau.com.au/

German Pub where all the boys sat “very” quietly sipping their lemonades admiring the German girls in their traditional frocks. From here we walked to the bus location on the opposite side of the bridge and were then transported back to Cromer reserve for what was to be our last training session for this campaign. Following this the boys went back to the SAS for dinner where they met most of the teams who were to compete in this tournament. This was fantastic as we all forged our interstate relations with other football loving people.

It was an early night as the boys were told … that it was lights out at 9pm….however the little glistening i-pod’s managed to give away their intentions to perhaps yet again have a another “wild” night….our newly appointed “enforcer” managed to ensure that the boys were conditioned that they needed to settle and be prepared mentally for the games they had to play the next morning.

The boys understood their requirements & were asleep…..

Saturday 5th October

7am Breakfast
10:30am v Northern Tigers FC (NSW) Won 3-0
12:00 v Brisbane City (QLD) Lost 0-1
1:30pm v Northcote City FC (VIC) Draw 0-0

4pm Recovery session at Collory Beach;

http://www.warringah.nsw.gov.au/play/collaroy-beach

Attached link to all games, short summary for each game;

http://juniormastersaustralia.com.au/Home/News/1


Sunday 6th October

6:00am Breakfast…please note it was daylight savings so we lost another hour sleeping..ouch!
8:00am v Belconnen (ACT) Won 2-1

We needed Brisbane to win or draw their last game….they lost…So when your luck runs out & you are required to rely on other results falling our way...... destiny was not in our control.

3:00pm Presentations – All kids received a nice medal for their experience.

Later that night the families had a fantastic time at what I would say was a very cool pub…..

New Port Arms; http://www.newportarms.com.au/Gallery.php

this time around there was no curfew for anyone…great night !

Summary

A very good way to end what was quite a successful year at Raiders for this age group I am extremely proud and I also wish five of our boys their very best in their 2014 “skillaroos” adventure and look to a great challenge for this team to reshape them for the 2014 season.

I can proudly say that South Australian Football is not too far off our Eastern Counterparts & technically we are right up there.

I found Brisbane City to be the pick of the bunch with their calm ball movement from the back and their patience up front. They appeared to have the ball on a string when I watched their games.

I encourage everyone to not only take this VW Junior Masters opportunity but also to experience football tournaments in other States within this country, not just for the game and the accolades at stake but for the belly laughs with the parents & friends also the new friends made with other clubs….the bonding between the club kids and mostly to provide an insight into what a professional footballers life may be like…I can assure you many of which are nowhere near ready…lol !

We had a “wallaby” moment…

Before our second game on Saturday…midway attempting to address / motivate the kids of our team a wallaby skips past our open sliding doors & half the team darts outside to pat the animal…gold !

kids know the moment of when to be real…..And I love them for it.

Great insight into the tournament weekend. Sounds like fun was had by all.

A lot of these children are experiencing and achieving a great deal.

And yes we forget that these aspiring soccer players are still only kids at this age group and there is nothing wrong with them expressing themselves!

[hurlcrook]

No, they can't stop them from playing at all. Insurance may be a different matter though.

Read the insurance fine print anyway. Are the kids genuinely covered in sanctioned games ?

[DUKE BLUE]

2014 tournament played in Rome

Final

Switzerland 4-3 Turkey

Australia finishing 3rd in their group behind USA & Switzerland

http://www.juniormasters.com