President’s Letter: Round 8 2021

July 1, 2021    ·    Ritchie Appleby    ·    President's Letter

Hi all Sharks!

What fantastic winter sunshine Sunday produced! Whilst a few of our teams had a “bye” for the start of school holidays, the rest of the club enjoyed playing with out any concerns. Great to see the extent of our U16 Girls win. Also, a few of the boy’s teams had their first win since grading. Congratulations one and all for being on the ground participating each week. Enjoy the mid-term holiday break this Sunday.

Photos

Club photos of each team will be held on 2 separate days:

• Friday 23 July 
• Sunday 25 July

Team Managers are being sent time allocations today. Please arrive in your playing gear 15 minutes prior to your photo.

Transition Dinner, Life Members Event – Tuesday 3rd August 2021

Each year the club holds a Transition Dinner for our Colts and Youth Girls. This is an evening to shar with each other, hear from our Senior Club Coaches and Captains and be enthralled by a current or past AFL Player.

Parents are invited to attend, however due to possible COVID protocols, our numbers may be capped at 100. Parent cost for a 2-3 course dinner is $30.00. Players and Life Members will be paid for by the club.

SAVE THE DATE! TUESDAY 3rd AUGUST AT 6:30PM AT CLUB KILSYTH – Your Team Managers will be in touch.

Burger Night – Sunday 15th August

Hopefully we might finally get a social event as a club together. Subject to all the ‘protocols’ now in life, the committee are planning our first Burger Night in two years!

The evening will kick off from 5:00pm and there will be fun filled events aimed at all age groups. The bar will be open from 5:45pm and also a reduced canteen. The night is to be held at our new club rooms at Domeney Reserve, Home of the mighty Sharks. This also is a celebration of the last Home and Away round prior to Finals.

Presentation Day & AGM – Sunday 19th September

Please keep Sunday 19th September free.  The full fixture of teams and times will be out in the coming weeks.  We will have a full wrap up of the season with Best and Fairest Awards handed out to every team, including Club Recognition Awards. 

As per normal we will hold a very quick AGM during the process.

Toyota Good For Footy Raffle

The Toyota Good For Footy Raffle is up and running! With the raffle being digital, there’s no more paper tickets and all sales happen online. All transactions take place within our personalised club portal, and you receive tickets directly via email.

What hasn’t changed is that our club still gets to keep 100% of the proceeds of every ticket sold. There are 3 brand new Toyota’s up for grabs (see attached) – PLUS a further 9 prizes. Check them out at:

Toyota Good for Footy Raffle – Support Local Footy and Buy a Ticket) (raffletix.com.au)

We would love for every PLAYER to purchase just one ticket and we would love for every FAMILY to pass on the link to family and friends so they too have a chance to win.

Fundraisers like Toyota where there is zero cost to the club, help us keep club fees down.  Raffle closes Sept 10th, 2021.

Click here to buy a ticket!

Committee

At the end of Season 2021, several positions will become vacant on Committee. These roles are a mixture of Executive, Non-Executive and Off-Committee roles and they include:

• President
• Director of Football
• Events Manager
• Sponsorship Coordinator
• Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Whilst these opportunities are open to all parents, I’d love to see the next age bracket, our parents of U11’s, U12’s and U13’s take the opportunity of being able to grow into the roles. We are NOW seeking your support, so if you’re in a position to assist, please contact me.

Summary

Enjoy the weekend free of local football commitments. Looking forward to Round 10 on Sunday 11th July.

If at any stage, you have any queries then please don’t hesitate to contact myself. Please TEXT ME to organise a time to chat or meet up.

Go Sharks!!

Ritchie Appleby
President, Sharks JFC
president@sharksjfc.org.au
0408 367 444

President’s Letter: Round 9 2021

June 22, 2021    ·    Ritchie Appleby    ·    President's Letter

Hi all Sharks!

Folks, please indulge me and read all of this message, as it covers lockdown and a number of key dates moving forward.

Welcome Sharks family, what a fantastic winters day we had Sunday.  A weak sunshine broke through for most of the late morning through till around 4.00pm.  I enjoyed watching a number of games whilst being lulled into a false sense of security regarding the weather.  The last term commenced around 4.20pm with clouds gathering and within 10 minutes the last of the light disappeared.  The poor players needed head lamps to try and locate the ball.

I observed some wonderful football matches over the weekend. They were close, tough encounters whilst played in good spirit. It’s amazing how the game of football can teach many of life’s lessons. Caring for your team mates, participating in a team environment, respecting our opposition through to following the rules. Society is no different, participation, looking out for others, obeying regulations and displaying respect.

What a fantastic year our teams are having. Whilst our club focuses on participation, fun and improving the children’s skills, all players know where their teams sit on the ladder. Nine rounds in (with Round 7 & 8 rescheduled) only 7 home and away matches left, the competitive juices are flowing. Out of a potential 14 teams (U11’s upwards) playing for points, we currently have two teams in the top two. There are currently 6 teams in the top 4 with 3 others knocking on the door. Our Colts team sit fourth and our Youth Girls teams sit third – Players, mums and Dads, enjoy the ride and I hope you get the chance to experience finals. Well done to all players to date. To the Under 14B and Under 11R teams, keep your heads up, I know it’s sometimes difficult, but lessons learnt from this year will help to improve us all next year.

Season Dates

Recently I have heard a few conflicting comments regarding when various rounds fall and what Sundays we have off. Please consult the “Events and Calendar” on our Sharks website to bring yourself up to date. The latest lockdown has seen round 7 and Round 8 rescheduled and relocated to the following dates:

• June 27 Round 8 (rescheduled) to first week of School Holidays
• July 4 NO GAMES – Middle week of School Holidays
• Jul 11 – Aug 8 Rounds 10-14
• August 15 Round 7 (rescheduled)

This will be followed by 3 weeks of finals culminating on Sunday 5^th September. Our end of season Presentation Day will be extended by one week and will now be on Sunday 19^th September.

Sponsor of the Round

Thank you to the Warrandyte branch of the Bendigo Bank for their fabulous support of the Sharks.  Every year they support our club with thousands of dollars of sponsorship and grants.  If you’re needing a loan or just want to compare rates, then please drop in or give them a call.  With the current Reserve Bank rates, it may be a great time to make contact.

Sponsors Recap

Over the first six rounds we have introduced a few of our Sponsors of the Round.  Please, these people have put their hard-earned dollars into helping our club run each week.  I implore all our Sharks families to try to acknowledge our sponsors when possibly needing a similar service.

Not for Profit, every $ back into the community! Club Ringwood is open for business. The Bistro, Lounge, Sports Bar and The Deck are all inviting you down from 9.00am daily. Go to www.clubringwood.com.au to drool over our scrumptious menus and offerings. Bookings Essential, call 9879 8733 or book online. See you there! 

If you’re needing a new or used family car, people mover or ute then consider Darren Paul and his team at Ringwood Mazda.  Let them know your part of the Sharks family and ask for a great deal.

Warran Glen Nursery, their café and gifts are waiting for your visit this weekend.  Take time to check out their great giftware and clothing offerings, wander through all the exotic plants that would be ideal in rejuvenating your front yard and then enjoy a relaxing cuppa.  The Taylor family are looking forward to welcoming you and assisting in your needs.

Resi Venturers will be available to assist in your asset growth with some great townhouse offerings.  If you’re ready to add to your property portfolio, then with historically low interest rates and increasing rents, now is the time to act.  Please give me a call personally and I’d be happy to help. 

Appleby Real Estate, with the pace of capital gains across Australian housing markets at record levels and National growth rate in the first quarter being the fastest since 1988, there is no better time to invest. Whether you are buying, selling or renting, Appleby is here to help! Specialising in Residential, Commercial/Industrial and Property Management, call today on 8727 9555 or email info@appleby.com.au for complete property services. You can also visit www.appleby.com.au to view current listings for sale and for lease.

Team Photos

Please note:  Due to the latest lockdown, the date has changed. We are endeavouring to lock in a new date, anticipated to be in late July. The photos will need a $5.00 contribution from each player towards defraying what it costs the club. This year the actual cost is nearly 4 times this amount. Your Team Managers will start collecting your contribution once dates are confirmed.

Committee

At the end of Season 2021, several positions will become vacant on Committee. These roles are a mixture of Executive, Non-Executive and Off-Committee roles and they include:

• President
• Director of Football
• Events Manager
• Sponsorship Coordinator
• Marketing and Social Media Coordinator

Whilst these opportunities are open to all parents, I’d love to see the next age bracket, our parents of U11’s, U12’s and U13’s take the opportunity of being able to grow into the roles. We are NOW seeking your support, so if you’re in a position to assist, please contact me.

Summary

If at any stage, you have any queries then please don’t hesitate to contact myself. Please TEXT ME to organise a time to chat or meet up. 

Go Sharks!!

Ritchie Appleby
President, Sharks JFC
president@sharksjfc.org.au
0408 367 444

President’s Letter: Round 6 2021

May 25, 2021    ·    Ritchie Appleby    ·    President's Letter

Welcome all our Sharks parents, in particular this week. The welcome comes with a huge THANK YOU. Why? Well Round 6 incorporated National Volunteers Week. To see parents every week accepting the various roles they must play in their children’s’ sport is fantastic. I know it gets a bit hard having a to stand as goal umpire in the pouring winter rain or feel as if we back up almost every second week to fulfill a role, but that’s the sacrifice we make. I must admit, on those wet days, how great it was to be the timekeeper and keep nice and dry.

Without our Team Managers coordinating each week’s roster for parents the games couldn’t go on. So, as a big thanks, our local ‘Blue Dog’ Café offered a voucher to all our TM’s this week, including the away team TM’s at Domeney and Stintons. Now that’s a great show of generosity and community spirit. A true reflection of our club’s ethos and how we integrate into our local community.

Whilst our parents quietly go about their business each week our young men and women turned it on match day this week. Our Sharks players turned up in mass to compete with gusto, full effort and heart. Many battles were played out on the day with more wins than losses. As said, there were some close results, a few big wins and some honourable losses. The beauty of football is that we quickly refocus and look to the next week.

It’s hard to believe that next week (Round 7) is effectively the halfway mark for the season. Normally around the midseason mark and approaching school holidays, we hold one of our ‘Burger Nights’. Unfortunately, due to Covid protocols and also the rooms at Domeney being refurbished, this will not happen. Hopefully later in the season we shall be able to successfully have a club get together.

Apart from the opportunity of our community coming together and being able to openly socialise, it’s a great time to acknowledge various achievements. In particular, our young players who have reached 50 or 100 games played. We also recognise our 150 game milestones; however, these are formally acknowledged at the end of season presentation.

Rhonan Appleby celebrating 150 Games

On a personal note, three of my sons have all achieved 100 games for the Sharks. Yet on Sunday, my youngest Rhonan, celebrated running through his banner for 150 GAMES! This makes him the 57^th Sharks player to notch up all his games played at our wonderful club. Well done and congratulations Rhoey.

Sponsor of the Round

Blue Dog Café located on Park Road are this week’s sponsor. If you’ve not been before or haven’t been for a while, then do yourself a favour and visit soon! The folks are friendly, the atmosphere is warm, and the food is fantastic. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, check out the ‘Specials’ as the taste sensations created are out of this world. Thank you, Blue Dog, for providing our Team Managers with vouchers for National Volunteer Week. The team at Blue Dog have my tick of approval, keep up the great efforts in producing your yummy winter warmers.

Queen’s Birthday

Please note that Sunday 13^th June there are no games scheduled on this weekend. PARENTS, please enjoy a sleep in. SHARKS PLAYERS what a great opportunity to help out around your home. Remember, Mum and/or Dad transport you to training and matches each week, remind you if you’ve got everything and have jumpers and shorts clean to wear. So, as a thank you all players could maybe just do a bit more to help out – from washing dishes, to vacuuming, to cleaning up your room – oh the list goes on!

Team Photos

Please be aware that Team Photos will be taken on Friday the 18^th and Sunday the 20^th June

Summary

Looking forward to Round 7 for our Juniors. If at any stage, you have any queries then please don’t hesitate to contact myself via text or catch up in person.

Go Sharks!!

Ritchie Appleby
President, Sharks JFC
president@sharksjfc.org.au
0408 367 444

President’s Letter: Round 5 2021

May 18, 2021    ·    Ritchie Appleby    ·    President's Letter

Great to see the teams settling down for their first week of games since grading concluded. As mentioned last week, grading can be a difficult time as scores comprehensively vary from very high to very low. Grading does work for most teams. I was really proud and pleased to see some competitive results this week. Fantastic to see one of our teams get their first win for the year! Our club policy is to get kids onto the park and being able to enjoy playing football with their teammates, whatever their level of talent, being part of a team and contributing is really what’s most important.

Our committee meet monthly to discuss how the season is going, rules that need to be addressed and how we can assess our club in the big picture. What we have in place and how we go about it may not always ring true. Advancements in technology and processes and new opportunities must always be considered.

We are always looking at how our club is progressing and what areas need to be examined. I love this Club and the committee involved in being able to accept challenges and see the excitement of turning dreams into reality, worries into problems and then solutions. Whilst decisions are based on history, knowledge and policy, we are trying to be proactive rather than reactive going forward.

Therefore, from time to time, we will challenge various parts of policy and what we do to see if we can improve areas within our Club. At the end of the day, it is about our players enjoying the game of football, bonding with teammates and being part of a healthy environment.

Code of Conduct

On a serious note, it was disappointing that we have heard of a couple of incidents from the round. We need to reiterate that all families (and especially players) make themselves acquainted with understanding the ‘Code of Conduct’.

The YJFL has made contact with us regarding the conduct of match day officials and in particular comments that are made from the Coaches’ box. A reminder that only four people can be in the box: Coach, Assistant, Runner and Trainer.

These four people must display exemplary behaviour and never vocally criticise Umpires. I know footy is passionate, but please let’s show other clubs how we at the Sharks are a ‘Good Sports Club’. This year we have now obtained our level 3 accreditation.

Conversely, we need all parents to please understand that our Coaches are doing their absolute best for players and teams each week. If for whatever reason you have questions regarding the position of a player or their role within the team, please approach your child’s coach outside match day and ask accordingly. There is no need to create dissention or create ‘Chinese Whispers’.

We need all teams united and working hard for each other out on the field. Parents questioning their children in a negative manner is not a good look. Fortunately, the vast majority of our membership are supportive and offer encouragement, thank you.

The league this week suspended and/or put on notice a number of coaches from other clubs. These people know better, yet unfortunately some umpires were targeted with abuse and threats including in the U10/U11’s. This will not be tolerated, let alone that most of these umpires are young kids themselves.

Our Umpires Academy

Opportunity to join our Umpires Academy is now open and your expressions of interest are invited. We currently have 5 new recruits aged 13 to 17 years that train on a Tuesday night from 6-7pm at Colman Park in Warranwood. 

Did you know you could be earning from $40-$100 per game? What a fantastic opportunity to further your game, enhance personal development, learn new skills and maintain fitness levels whilst earning some pocket money too! Contact Nina or myself for more information.

Sponsor of the Round

ResiVentures is a Gold sponsor of the Sharks and a long-standing Sharks family member. Predominantly they are land sub-dividers and developers of medium density townhouses. With the lockdowns of 2020 now behind us and scarcity in the property market, now is a great time to invest. To see their various land estates, please visit resiventures.com.au 

The ResiVenture team are offering fantastic property investment opportunities at a fantastic price for Sharks families who may be interested. Give them a call via Anthony Braunthal or contact me personally if you would like to discuss further. Invest now and cash in for the future.

Summary

Looking forward to Round 6 for our Juniors. If at any stage you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact myself.

Go Sharks!!

Ritchie Appleby
President, Sharks JFC
president@sharksjfc.org.au
0408 367 444

President’s Letter: Round 4 2021

May 11, 2021    ·    Ritchie Appleby    ·    President's Letter

Hi All Sharks

Round 5 

What a fantastic family atmosphere that prevailed across all the Sharks teams this weekend. It was pleasing to see so many Mums out and about on Sunday with their various charges. Thank you to all the Team Managers who assured Mum received a gift from their children after their games. Well done one and all. The support for Breast Cancer was at many different venues this year. Again, we appreciate all those who gave on the day and a heartfelt thanks to our volunteers for organising events at our end. It really goes to show our community is a tightknit group of families. I’m humbled by your coordination, generosity and involvement. 

Keep up the good work!                                                   

The YJFL Grading for 2021 has now reached its conclusion. We will know the positioning of teams that have made a request to change divisions within the next 24 hours. Once this knowledge is at hand we shall inform all team managers to pass on to their respective teams.

Congratulations to the teams who have performed well during this process. Also, congratulations to the teams who have tried hard but have been outclassed due to being in the wrong division. Your commitment to complete each week and play for your teammates is exemplary. Your coaches have tried their best and look forward to a more balanced season ahead.

The YJFL follow their policies and agendas during this period and it’s always difficult when there are blowouts in scores. Ah by golly I’m glad grading is now complete and we look forward to a more competitive season ahead.

Sometimes football reflects life in teaching us various lessons and how we, as a collective, deal with them even if not fully understanding why? Loyalty to team mates, allowing ‘process’ to playout, discipline, being able to communicate clearly and trusting are just a few. At the end of the day, we play sport to increase our skills, create fellowship and enjoy a win when we can. 

Bring on Season 2021 in its true format and may all of our players enjoy being on the park each week representing the Sharks Junior Football Club.

Sponsor of the Round

Thank you to Warran Glen Garden Centre and Café for their generous sponsorship of Mothers’ Day. Warran Glen kindly donated over 40 vouchers that 2 mums in every team won. Congratulations mums, enjoy your time wandering the wonderful setup and maybe enjoy a well-deserved cuppa at the conclusion of your visit. The Taylor family look forward to saying “Hi” to all the Sharks family when they make a visit, so call in, open 7 days a week.

Social Media

From time to time we have had a few problems with comments made by players and parents on social media. Please may I ask all Sharks members to focus on positive comments via this platform? On our website under ‘Club Policies’ you will find policy regarding ‘Social Media’, ‘Bullying’ etc.

Anyone suspected of engaging in unacceptable use of these outlets can and will be dealt with by the Club and the YJFL. Our committee encourages everyone to enjoy the junior sport that their children are involved in.

Queen’s Birthday

Please note that Sunday 13th June we have no games scheduled for the weekend. PARENTS please enjoy a sleep in. SHARKS PLAYERS what a great opportunity to help out around the home. Remember Mum and/or Dad transport you to training and matches each week, remind you if you’ve got everything and have jumpers and shorts clean to wear. So, as a thank you all players could maybe just do a bit more to help out – from washing dishes, to vacuuming, to cleaning up their room – oh the list goes on!! The following weekend (20th) all is as per normal. This Round we celebrate “The Big Freeze” for MND. 

Summary

Looking forward to Round 5 for our juniors. If at any stage you have any queries then please don’t hesitate to contact myself. Go Sharks!!

Ritchie Appleby
President, Sharks JFC
president@sharksjfc.org.au
0408 367 444