SA Footy

It's become a topic of discussion at our club, that we may need to start planning on operating a C grade, due to current player numbers and potential recruits as well as to maintain the progression of the club.

Anyone care to offer their opinions or experience on what they think are necessary in terms of resources and planning to start a C grade?

Do people think a C grade is a necessary part of being a successful higher division club?

its always good for a club to have a c grade....good for the older ex players and lazy guys but keeps them involved with YOUR CLUB. just you need to get an expression of interest fr your players friends ect to see if they are generally interested. if you have a strong club numbers wise after injuries etc you need at least80 to 100 players reg as players to make a go of it. then all you do is nominate a c grade and saafl will put you in a comp usually mirroring your A gr. div 4 would gen mean c4 in the c grade

I remember when we started, it wasn't necessarily the player numbers that was the problem, it was the suport staff. An extra trainer, boundary umpire, goal umpire, team manager, timekeeper etc. Especially if the As/Bs are at a different ground to the Cs.

Like gtb said though, you'll need 80 players on the books. Injuries over the three grades during the year can easily get to 15 or more.

Yeah I agree with the other posters on this one. You pretty much need dedicated club people to help run a C grade because you are away from the A's and B's. We found mates or family members were keen to help out, ex-players were a bit more reluctant for some reason. This year we had a D grade for the first time but luckily got a D grade coach on board who bought some old players back to the club and included wives who did the training, team managers, runners etc. Its definitly not easy because if you thought the roles were thankless in the higher grades, they're even more thankless in the lower grades. Make sure your team is dedicated to the cause because it's not easy to get helpers.

Good Luck !!

need 100 players on the book to run 3 teams..and as has quite rightly been said..the support staff is the hardest to get

Couldn't agree more with the above posts.

The best thing to do is cater for the worst-case scenario and have more players than necessary if possible. Remember that the C Grade teams can play 25, so even if you have a few too many at the beginning of the year, a lot of the lads will be able to sit on the bench!!

Trainers etc. will be a big factor too so make sure you have enough hands on deck before nominating a 3rd side.

There are some massive benefits if you can get a third side up. More people back at the club on a saturday night, more people attending functions, more players paying subs can all be a massive boost. The other good thing is that with a third side you will be having at least one side playing at home every week which can be great for revenue from BBQ, canteen and bar, but again you have to make sure you have enough support staff to volunteer for all of these things too!!

BigDaddy wrote:Couldn't agree more with the above posts.

The best thing to do is cater for the worst-case scenario and have more players than necessary if possible. Remember that the C Grade teams can play 25, so even if you have a few too many at the beginning of the year, a lot of the lads will be able to sit on the bench!!

Trainers etc. will be a big factor too so make sure you have enough hands on deck before nominating a 3rd side.

There are some massive benefits if you can get a third side up. More people back at the club on a saturday night, more people attending functions, more players paying subs can all be a massive boost. The other good thing is that with a third side you will be having at least one side playing at home every week which can be great for revenue from BBQ, canteen and bar, but again you have to make sure you have enough support staff to volunteer for all of these things too!!

A terrific idea and all has been covered in the above posts.
Don't lose sight of the fact your expenses will increase too with an extra SAAFL team affil fee, umpires, tape, footies, jumpers,trophies and other incidentals.
Not cheap running a footy club!

A B-grade

zedman wrote:need 100 players on the book to run 3 teams..and as has quite rightly been said..the support staff is the hardest to get

correct.
Fitzroy started up a C grade 3 years ago, with yours truly being involved- the A Grade coach & myself pushed for it.
Whoever you appoint as C grade coach should be a "doer", have a bit of energy & spare time.
They will be ringing players on a friday, begging them to play.
100 blokes out at pre-season- not all at once, but names that have trained is a start.
Support staff will be hard to get & even harder to maintain- there's no "glory" being associated with the C grade.
It can be done though.

The wonderful thing about the C Grade is for some older blokes to work with the first year players and support them in their first years of adult football. I still count myself lucky to have helped 2 PAOC players - one went on to play A1 and a State representative and the other a PAOC ruckman who played 200 A Grade games - just 2 that stand out for me

C Grade is good for both ends of the age spectrum

My philosophy on C grade, 'If you build it they will come'!

U build the side with the right support structure, u will the players out of the woodwork somewhere

duncs wrote:My philosophy on C grade, 'If you build it they will come'!

U build the side with the right support structure, u will the players out of the woodwork somewhere

when we started the club in 2005 i struggled to see where anyone would come from for anything other than the very passionate few who attended the first meeting to form the club.
four years later we have good volunteer support, a dedicated committee, adequate facilities, 156 players have played for the club, 76 this year including 25 new players and we've made our way to div 5. looking back i didn't think it was possible but we gave it a go.

duncs' philosophy is correct. people want to get involved they just need to be (a) given the opportunity and (b) feel comfortable that they won't be doing it alone and slowly it comes together.

having seen WOS in two of the last three seasons they've got everything needed to get a C grade started. good luck with it.

in order of importance

an umpire

an organised coach

a team manager

players

finn wrote:in order of importance

an umpire

an organised coach

a team manager

players

Finn, you missed a critical component from your list.
Money for all things required (footies, jumpers, tape, affiliation fees) to put the umpire and the team/team manager/coach onto the oval for a game to play the C grade game

To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

Dogwatcher wrote:To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

hahaha thats gold. u are a wise man DW

Dogwatcher wrote:To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

spot on DW [esp # 6] [[#2 --a bonus]]

Dogwatcher wrote:To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

I'll also add a van to pick up the extra players required from the pub at 1pm on a Saturday

Dogwatcher wrote:To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

Part of my life just flashed before my eyes

Dogwatcher wrote:To realistically start a C grade, you need...

1) About 10 fat blokes who are too slow to play in the higher grades;

2) An 18 year old kid who lacks interpersonal skills and so will be happy to get the big blokes their drinks on Saturday night because he thinks they are there mates;

3) A coach with infinite patience, who doesn't mind that C grade footballers think that tactics are breath fresheners.

4) Five or six wirey blokes with minimal skills but who run like the wind;

5) One or two infinitely skilled sandbaggers, who like to play in a lower grade because "I just wanna play with my mates".

6) 20 sundry phone numbers so you can fill the rest of the team throughout the rest of the season.

Good luck.

Dont forget a trainer to hold there old blokes together with tape rub downs and a wing and a prayer