Dear MESC members,
If someone had told me 6 months ago I’d be the president of a local Soccer club by the New Year, I would have said “Tell em they’re dreaming”
But dreaming they were not and President I now seem to be. I’m not entirely sure how that happened, it’s all a bit of a haze to be honest, but I must admit whilst the challenge is somewhat daunting to comprehend still, I am rather thrilled to be given this great opportunity.
Firstly, I’d like to give a big shout out to Keith Doyle, our previous President.
Keith invested a tremendous amount of time and effort into various initiatives during his time overseeing the club. It’s not an easy thing to take on. Although Keith stepped down from the main committee in December 2018, he will continue to play a key role within the football sub-Committee.
Thanks for all your efforts, Keith!
I would also like to take a moment to give another big shout out to your general and sub committee members, most of whom you will probably already know:
Scott Bradford - Vice President
Stuart Munro - Technical Director
Richelle Martin - Club Registrar
Becky Brookes - Club Secretary
Melanie Roche - Club Treasurer
Neil Simpson - Football Sub Juniors
Justin Sheppard - Football Juniors
Brandt Mulholland - Football Seniors.
These guys really do put in a great deal of effort to keep the club moving forwards and should be commended for their continued contributions. Thank you!
As we look towards the start of an exciting 2019 season, 7th April, I want to take a moment to share some things we will be focusing on this year
During December we put a survey out to all members. We received a fantastic response and want to make sure we deliver some positive changes
based on the feedback you provided.
On Coaching
MESC strives to be the club that everyone wants to play for! We aspire to constantly push the football bar but we cannot do that unless we focus on some consistent standards and build upon our quality and skills from the ground up.
The club will be investing resources into ensuring our coaches are prepared and supported as much as possible.
MiniRoo and Skills Acquistion training (SAP) training are where we can start. Courses have been made available to all coaches and teams managers. The club requires all coaches (existing or new) to attend one or both of these courses depending on the age group you are coaching in.
Coaches leading younger age groups are required to attend MiniRoo training. Coaches leading older age groups: U11 and above, are required to
attend SAP. Dates have been scheduled for consecutive Saturday’s during March. The training courses will be held at the secondary college
and certification will be given to those that complete. Registrations for these events are now open. If you have taken a role as a coach or
manager and have not been through training or don’t plan to register for the courses in March, please reach out to the Football Sub
Committee for further guidance. A separate note on this topic has already been sent to all coaches.
On Facilities @EMR
We received mixed feedback on the facilities available at the home grounds. You will be aware there are ongoing plans to develop a pavilion
and additional pitch. The council are still working through those plans - scope, budget and timeline. Given that, we are actively working
with them to look at opportunities to introduce some further medium term facilities to improve the match day experience for our members,
families and visiting teams. We also want somewhere we can finally begin to call our home. The club will keep you informed of progress on
this over the coming months.
On facilities @ Mt Eliza Secondary College
We will continue our relationship with the college at least until Q3 2020 (when our current agreement expires). The use of this facility
plays a key role in our general football operations. Over the last few years, the club has invested a lot resources into building out
grounds and facilities there. But we aren’t done yet. We want to do more. We are hoping this work can continue during 2019 and beyond.
Costs, however, always play a significant role so we have some decisions to make on how we want to approach this. Scott and myself will be
working very closely with the college and council over the coming weeks and months to determine an approach. I hope to have an update on
this soon.
On Volunteering!
As you all know, we are a community club run by volunteers.
I cannot express enough the importance of contribution and support from our members. It’s extremely challenging operating the club
effectively and efficiently with just a small group of volunteers every week. Any contribution you make is always appreciated and
contributes towards a broader positive outcome for all of our members. The club regularly puts out comms seeking assistance, whether that
be requesting people to take on a coaching or team manager role, to taking a stint on the BBQ roster for an event, partaking in working
bees, helping us set up, pack down or perhaps just helping out with some admin tasks. I would encourage each and every one of you to think
about how you can contribute something. If you want to help and can spare some time, no matter how large or small, please get in contact
ASAP. We will always welcome anything you can give.
Codes of Conduct/Behaviour
As a community club, we are here to compete in a sport but also here to have fun. It’s imperative we create a safe, positive and inclusive environment for our members, visitors and all involved in our sport of football, This applies whether we are at Home or Away.
The club has strict policies in place which aim to set out the minimum standards we expect from anyone involved with us. Policies apply when playing, training, coaching, managing, supporting, administering or taking part in any club-sanctioned activities. Everyone within the club is bound by these policies at all times.
As part of our ongoing focus in this area this year, we have also signed a pledge on FVs (Football Victoria) #werespectthegame initiative. We want our members to call out behaviour that undermines this pledge and prevents us from driving a culture of respect within our football community. The club will not tolerate abuse in our game directed towards players, referees, coaches, spectators, officials or volunteers.
Breaches of club policy or the FV pledge will be dealt with swiftly, within the guidelines of our club constitution. In the event you need to report a incident, your first escalation point should be through your team coach or team manager. If that is not possible, you can raise an issue with any member of the committee and we will take from there.
On Our Sponsors
We have some awesome sponsors onboard for 2019 and hopefully beyond. As with volunteers, community clubs cannot function without their generous contributions and donations. In return for their investment and support, the club has key commitments to deliver back. With that in mind, the club is keen to continue to build stronger and more visible relationships with our partners. You’ll be seeing, hearing and interacting with them a lot more going forwards.
For more information on any of the above areas, or if anyone has any issues or concerns do not hesitate to reach out to me or a member of the committee at any time. You’ll find our contact details on the committee profile page on the club website.
That’s all I have for now. I can’t wait to see you all over the coming season either down at Emil or training at the High School.
Now. Let’s get our boots on and go play some Football
Kind Regards
Stephen Longhurst
Club President
Mount Eliza Soccer Club