vics01 wrote:CYCLOPS
Isn't mini's footy about having fun, a pathway to club footy . Brighton won the Sheep Stations.
Exactly you either have it one way or the other.
After observing yesterday I think some parents wanted a win more than the kids.
As I said earlier you teach/develop the kids all year then have a mickey mouse competition day which is not reflective of the skills learnt throughout the year. There was more focus on winning by some parents and coaches than on the kids enjoying themselves. What is being created when you have kids crying over losing a carnival and parents blaming umpires?
For goodness sakes wake up and let the kids have fun.[/quote]
What do you want then Vics01. Full comp or no comp and no carnival. The whole idea of a carnival is a chance to bring every club together and showcase the SFL to many of the kids and parents who may not otherwise know much outside their own childs club. It also brings other family out who may not otherwise go to watch their grandson or nephew etc. This is what League clubs have done for years with primary school footy and as a concept it works fine. Don't have a go at how Hackham ran the carnival because it was you guys who ran a carnival 2 years ago with 3 semi-finals and the 2 best teams played each other in one semi and were both eliminated due to them having the closest margin.
Crying kids and parents presumably means you are referring to your club after losing the final. My understanding was that Brighton Black won the final by 5 goals so umpiring couldn't have been a factor. Then again isn't Cove a club that creates an overly-competitive environment for their Mini's by publishing scores, best players, goalkickers on their website and does a Best & Fairest vote for each grade. Then you create a rod for your own back because the coaches are often the dad of a kid who has ability and I understand that several B & F winners have been the coaches kid which then creates tension within the ranks. This may be the same reason why you tried to copy Brighton by having derbies but had to scrap them because of internal jealousies and factions amongst your minis. And do I need to mention the anonymous letter from "Concerned Cove Parents" that was circulated to every club President about allegations surrounding Cove's approach to the Year 4/5 Carnival.
Let the Under 8, 10 and 12 comps continue the same way the Mini's has always been run. Certain parents should grow up and understand that these are development years with a focus on participation but thats it not a bad thing to have a nominal prize at the end of year as an excuse for bringing everyone together to celebrate our leagues mini's program.
Its often easy to pick the parents who were obviously sporting duds themselves and want to live their dreams through their childrens sport.