Information for New Eltham Redback FC Families

History and Philosophy of the Club

Eltham Redbacks Football Club is located on Wattletree Rd in Eltham North, North East of Melbourne, Australia.

The club was founded in 1967 as Eltham Soccer Club which was renamed in the mid 1980’s to Eltham North Soccer Club which in turn became Eltham North Soccer & Sporting Club (although the club was still always referred to as Eltham North Soccer Club or ‘ENSC’ during this period).

At the 2009 AGM the members voted unanimously in favour of a name and logo change as part of a re-branding strategy beginning in 2010 to coincide with a ~$1.6m AUD facilities upgrade.

The name change expands from ‘Eltham North’ to ‘Eltham’ to appeal to the greater Nillumbik region as well as following the name change trends of the Football Federation of Victoria (previously Soccer Victoria) and the Football Federation of Australia to incorporate the official sport name ‘football’.

The logo was designed by Davor Filipovic who played in the senior men’s group in 2008. The re-branding strategy is a wholesale one, and sees the introduction of paid coaches, a new website along with new equipment and uniforms for all players – with each player owning their own playing strip!

A technical director will be employed by the club from 2010 onwards, to oversee coaching and run courses for coaches as part of a club-wide football program.

Committee

Eltham Redbacks is administered by a group of elected volunteers. All participants in the club are encouraged to be involved at this level, particularly if they wish to participate in the direction of the club. The AGM is held each September, usually after the trophy presentations. A list of positions and their requirements is available through the website (see links below) or by contacting the club secretary by email (see contacts below).

Registration/Cost

In 2011 the cost for the Saturday small sided program was $225 and the cost of the U8-U11 age groups was $365. This included a uniform of socks, shorts, jacket, playing shirt, FFA registration, coaching and all game fees.
Football Federation Australia introduced an online registration system, MyFootballClub, in 2010. This will be expanded in 2012 to include an online payment system.

Codes of Behaviour

Eltham Redbacks FC adheres to codes of behaviour as laid down by the Football Federation Australia. This includes the National Code of Conduct and National Spectator Code of Behaviour. All club members and associates will be required to be familiar with these codes. These codes can be accessed through the Football Federation Australia website.

Teams/Matches/Training

At Eltham Redbacks FC we appreciate that the future of our club starts with the earliest age groups and we have invested heavily in developing a strong football program for our juniors.

Small Sided Football is played up to age group U11 (children turning 11 during the calendar year).  Full pitch games are played from U12 and above.  The objective of small-sided football is to maximise the involvement of children in the game and thus promote enjoyment & skill development. Prior to U12 level the offside rule is not played and there are variations on the rules for goalies.

Team selection

Players are graded prior to the season commencing and placed in teams as appropriate to their ability as possible. All players placed in teams will be given a fair opportunity to play in the matches, but this will depend on punctual and regular attendance at training as well as the matches.

Juniors U12 to U18

We have a full compliment of junior teams in both girls & boys.  For a full list please go to the “teams” list under juniors.

Under 11 & Under 10

At this mixed age group, teams of 9 children (8 + goalie) play on a half pitch with modified goals.  A home & away competition is played on Sunday morning and results are tabulated and displayed on the FFA website.  There are two divisions in this age group – Kangaroos & Joeys.

Under 9 & Under 8

At this mixed age group, teams of 7 children (6 + goalie) play on a quarter pitch with modified goals.  A home & away competition is played on Sunday morning but results are not tabulated.  There are two divisions in this age group – Kangaroos & Joeys.

Under 7 to Under 5

Children in this age group are catered for at Eltham Redbacks by our Saturday SSG (small sided games) program.  The program runs from 10am to 11am every Saturday.  The children play on one-eighth size pitches in teams of 4 (no goalie).  Our program consisted of approximately 30mins of drills followed by a 30min game (4v4).  All our drills are sourced from our football syllabus, which is in accordance with the FFA National Curriculum.  At this age group our games are predominantly intra-club but we do attend and host a number of games against other clubs.

3-4 Years Old

After receiving enquiries from many parents in 2010, Eltham Redbacks is pleased to announce it will be running a program for children turning 3 or 4 in 2011.  Our Spiderlings program is an entry level sports program that include football skills but covers a range of basic motor and co-ordination skills.  It will consist of a 30 min session run over ten weeks on a Saturday morning during the soccer season. It will require an accompanying parent who is able to participate in the program and will be run by an appropriately qualified instructor. The purpose of this program will be to introduce this age group to basic ball and movement skills and prepare them for the formal Saturday SSG program. Children in this age group will not require uniforms, shin pads or boots.  For more details please see our “Little Redbacks” section.

Uniforms

Uniforms are included in the cost of registration and children are provided with shorts, playing top, jacket and socks. Children must provide their own boots, shin guards, mouthguards (if desired). Shin guards are compulsory and children are not allowed to play without them.

Coaches

Coaches are recruited from various areas. Every coach is appropriately qualified (FFA Junior licence for U11 to U8 and FFA Grassroots licence for U7 to U5) and their development is closely monitored by our technical director. At the junior levels we do rely on parent and senior player coaches, however the club pays for these coaches to undergo the appropriate qualification for their team level. Some coaches also qualify for a season payment. All coaches are required to have current Working with Children checks.

Team Managers

Each team, including the small sided teams on Saturdays, requires a team manager. This is a great way to be involved in the club for those parents who don’t feel confident to take on a coaching role. For the U9 and U11 teams the team managers are responsible for the team lists, coordinating contact lists, organizing canteen and orange rosters, match official rosters, making sure goals are in place for games and generally assisting the coach with any administrative tasks.

Game Officials

A parent is generally required to referee the junior games.  For under 12 and above an official referee is appointed by the FFV and the club must supply 1 linesman. The team coach should not be involved in officiating games. The club is working on an education session prior to the beginning of the 2011 season to help parents feel confident about this. At each home match, two parents may be required to accompany the umpire on to the ground and off at the beginning and end of the game and at half time. One parent may be required to run the lines and signal if the ball is in or out, there is no offside played until U12 level.

Volunteers/parental involvement

Eltham Redbacks FC is a club run by volunteers. All participants in the club are expected to contribute to the club in a volunteer capacity as it is only by everyone’s participation that the club can function. Volunteers help to keep registration costs down and raise funds for special extras for the club, like better training equipment. Grandparents, uncles and aunts can all be good resources for duties like helping out in the canteen.

Social/fundraising/canteen

Part of the pleasure of belonging to a club is the social benefits. Various social events are organized throughout the year for both older and younger members. In the past these have included a trivia night, a dinner dance, junior disco, junior mascots for the senior men’s team, half time penalty shootouts, Breast cancer charity match by senior women and special group BBQ events. If anyone has any ideas or would like to involved in this area of the club please contact the club through the links below.

The canteen raises valuable revenue for the club and all teams will require a roster to support the canteen.

Photos

Each year the club organises a photographer to come and photograph each team and these photos are then available for sale. They provide a great memento for remembering team mates when they play for Australia.

Useful links

elthamredbacksfc.org.au
www.footballaustralia.com.au
www.footballfedvic.com.au
www.myfootball.com.au
www.myfootballclub.com.au
www.smallsidedfootball.com.au

Contacts

Please use the Contact page to send us an email.