I have just been handed some Macca's cup form to complete and it reminded me that a few things have happened recently that make me feel l i need to address an issue surrounding the comps we are entering.
Dom, Arthur and I put in an an enormous amount of time and effort to coach your child. We get paid expenses , which at last count it is about $5/hour.
That's fine. Dom and i have a child involved and Arthur is keen to develop as a coach, and so we have reasons for being involved, but at the same time are very motivated to help all players develop - which they definitely are.
There are no league tables so winning isn't an issue for us ( we roster players off and give good game time to all players) and we are reasonable about players missing one training session a week although i personally need to reset who is doing what and when (sorry for my recent confusion and i am still a little lost on this). So from all this, you may therefore think we are relaxed about the comps (and next year - which are very closely linked to the comps).
This however, is a million miles from the truth.
We want to enter comps with all players available for selection and use comps as a test of the work we are all doing at training and as a springboard into next year.. For this to be possible we need to be able to pick the strongest team possible for comps and go to win. This is especially true of Shepparton.
Me Dom and Arthur devote over 10 hours a week for your child. Its hard work. The question I am battling with at this point is this : Is it reasonable to expect players and parents to support the team 100 % throughout the year and that includes comps.
For some reason ,and i am not sure why, I am sensitive about this. Dom, Sue, Perry are much more relaxed about this, so i understand my view is probably not right and i understand that the decisions made by players/ parents are made from a completely different perspective. So please understand that by me sharing my thoughts, i don't mean to have a go, but i do just want express my feelings.
I am a sad that we may be entering comps without players who would have definitely added value to the squad, and who i see as a big part of not only this years process but also next year too.
Yes there is a chance that your child wont be selected for the strongest squad at the Macca's cup or for Shepparton, but i feel that this should be a decision made by the coaching team. If we make a decision and your child is not selected, then you would obviously be free to make other plans. Or if you feel that not representing Manningham is the right thing for you to do, then I happy to chat to you to find out where your thoughts are at. For me this is the right approach. For others it might not be (and and i accept that i my view is not necessarily right).
Also, if a decision needs to be made sooner for you rather than later then we could do this for you if this is the issue. It is not the ideal scenario for me, as things can change a lot between now and the comps (Shepparton especially) so we would like to not have force early decisions but we would prefer this than not be given the chance to make a decision at all. Especially for players who we believe show enormous potential and would definitely be in our long term plans.
I probably shouldn't voice the next bit but i will (and accept the fall out if there is any).
I also try really hard to not mix Mham and TST, but they are linked. Without TST i couldn't afford to coach a team. So i want to thank the players / families who currently support the Mham coaching process by also showing support through TST. This sends a clear message to me that you do believe in the coaching process we adopt and recognize the importance of and undertake an individually focused component to development (which team training can never replicate nor should) which gets a player a step closer to completing the full development process that accelerates individual and team development.[ Note: There a few other things needed over and above team training and individual technical training]. This show of support is very much appreciated by me. TST is my job and means i can support a family and coach a team of players hopefully on the same football journey. Those who support TST also make it possible for me to devote a huge chunk of my week to a team. I see TST being a big part of Manningham project moving forward (as i know this combination will help produce the best results both individually and as a team). Hopefully those on this journey are keen to stay on board for the long run. Having said all this i think i can safely say, there is no favoritism for players who are involved in TST and Manningham. All players at Manningham this season, get the same attention and opportunity to develop and develop in way that best suits each player. If you disagree then please let me know so that we can discuss the issues you have.