kids football!!!

[debbie2302]

Originally Posted by tracy123

football is Aussie rules not soccer!!!!!!! gee wiz has no body tought you that???? get the kids involved with a real game not one where you need to learn to play act

Sorry Tracey but im slightly insulted by your comment. My daughter is in Everton Academy where they only pick the elite of players. She puts her heart and soul in the the game of football and trains three times a week. She is not play acting, but playing a real game of football.

[the hutchies]

Originally Posted by debbie2302

Sorry Tracey but im slightly insulted by your comment. My daughter is in Everton Academy where they only pick the elite of players. She puts her heart and soul in the the game of football and trains three times a week. She is not play acting, but playing a real game of football.

i totally agree with you Debbie. i was slightly miffed by Tracey's comment
i mean how can aussie rules be called football when the ball is carried an thrown more than it is kicked. yeah they may have skill and be mega fit but FOOTBALLERS are skilled and fit and like your daughter mine puts her heart and soul into football.

[Quoll]

I am sure Tracey had her tongue very firmly in her cheek with what she said! However, she is right, if you live in Victoria and say you want to join a footie club they will direct you to AFL, like it or not. So, just be prepared for a cultural shift as soon as the wheels are down in Melbourne and refer to it as soccer and you will be fine. If you were doing to NSW and asked for the footie they would direct you to Rugby League so we cant even get it straight from state to state!

[taffy 62]

Yep you have to call it soccer or no one will know what your talking about!!!!!!!!!
They have just bought a rule out that it is called football but no one calls it that only the associations.
even if you are just talking to some australians you work with and say my kids play football they wont know that your talking about soccer get my meaning
Its really frustrating at times lol but you will get used to it. another thing is you will hear and read heaps about football and a tiny bit about soccer in the media.
My kids both played rep soccer and played against melbourne teams they were very good there is a lot of greeks and italians in melbourne and they love their soccer and are very passionate about it. My daughter plays and always had opportunities and was never held back because she was a girl, she played in a boys team until under 14,s then had to go to girls team. she also played reps and played against sally shippard (matilda player) at wagga when she was between 12 and 16.
Its getting more popular not more so since the A league took off.
Soccer is the most practiced and played junior sport in austrialia but players usually switch to footy when they get older, I think they get paid for that where ammature soccer they dont.

[tracy123]

thanks Quoll, at least you got it! as for my comment about play acting just watching the game of SOCCER how many times do you see someone fall down roll around in pain get a free kick and jump up like nothings happened??? if thats not play acting what is???? mind you seeing what teams you both support i can understand why, both have players that should win awards for that. try supporting a real team!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LONG LIVE BLACKBURN ROVERS.
Geoffrey

[builda]

Geez, enough already!!

This is Melbourne - THE sports capital of Australia and we LOVE football - any code, any country we don't give a rats so long as you can go to the game, watch it live and scream, shout or sing to your hearts content....and have a punt as well!

When we went to the olympic soccer games at the MCG, none of us had any idea of the rules whatsoever but there would have been 90000 people (again, most of whom had no idea of the technicalities of the rules) watching Cameroon play Chile and we had an absolute ball! Nobody cared who won, except if you backed Chile, but we loved the spectacle.

I can understand the offence some of you might have taken at some of those other comments but rest assured us Melbournians are very open minded when it comes to sport and if your kids are gun soccer players then Melbourne would love to have them and we are the best city for them!

After all, Harry Kewell can't last forever so we need some new 'aussies' to take up the mantle.

By the way, the team to follow when you're here is the Western Bulldogs - young team, on the up and well worth the trouble!

[the hutchies]

hi ya builda
great to hear all sport is welcomed in oz, both my kids love football (english game) my son is eager to try all sports that oz has to offer, he has just started cricket to bring himself up to scratch.
my main concern regarding kids football was for girls football. my daughter will miss it so much if she can't get to play. the reason i took offence to the comment made cos girls football is something to be admired hope we can find a girls team!!!

cheers

[roverbelle]

I hope someone finds this info useful even though it is a very late post

As taffy mentioned before about Greeks and Italians being passionate about their football and up until a few years ago many soccer clubs were based predominately on ethnicity, Greek, Italian, Croatian, Macedonian etc but with the A-league starting race has tried to be taken out of the equation which I think has been quite successful. There are some very good clubs in Melbourne and I would start with http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/ Its good to note that the W-league has just began which gives women a professional stage to play on which will hopefully expand in the years to come.

I play for a team based at Eltham College a private school north of Melbourne called DOC United http://www.docfootball.com/index.php basically it is all run by Brits most who have played at some stage professionally and hold UEFA licences. They have some partnerships with English clubs which could help your kids in the future if they wanted to return to play. It could be a great way to settle in and make friends with some other Brits who understand what you are going through! They have Boys/Girls/Men’s/Women’s teams too.

Anther team that have a good reputation in the north is FC Bulleen Lions. http://www.bulleenjsc.net/index.php

Personally I’m an Aussie but my boyfriend is a Pom we are both Blackburn Rovers fans which Tracy is a rarity round here, as I type I’m sitting wearing my rovers kit!

[DixieDean]

Read your post and thought I would throw in some recommendations.

1. Girls football is huge over here - it is getting stronger every year and there are pathways for talented players. There are many fantastic football clubs in and around Melbourne that cater for all levels of skill however I strongly recommend that if your daughter is a good player she should play for a team in A Division. There are good players in the lower divisions but in general the standard is much higher in the top division. Dont even think about playing her in C or D division teams.

Here is the proposed league structure for next year (girls' divisions are in the latter part of the list): http://www.footballfedvic.com.au/com...eStructure.pdf

2. Do your homework. Don't commit to a club or team without getting a sense what the coach is like, or whether the team has changed substantially from last year. It might suit your daughter to play in an older age group (preferably A Division) or to even play in a boys team. The worst situation is for her to be a star player in a poor team.

3. Be prepared to travel. Finding a club that is right for your daughter might mean having to spend time in the car. My daughter plays for one of the top Melbourne teams - getting to training takes 35 - 40 minutes. Several of the better girls clubs are in a 12- mile radius from the center of the city - Ashburton, Boroondara, Richmond, Sandringham etc, however there are exceptions. The further you are from the city the more limited the choice, but don't be put off by that. Here is a list of links for clubs in Victoria: Football Federation Victoria . Note: not all clubs are listed here and many clubs listed outside the 'junior' section have junior teams.

Football in Melbourne takes you all over the city - it is a huge area!!! I coached a girl from Surrey last year and the distance and time it took to get to training was longer than her going to her furthest away match back home (15 minutes)!!

4. Aim high. Football is played all through the year now. The main club competitions are played through the Winter months. In Summer there is an elite competition called Summer league where the state is divided into zones: Football Federation Victoria. This is for the talented kids who want to qualify for state representation. Girls play in three age groups.

5. Enjoy! I know from experience that football is a great way for kids to settle into Aussieland and make lots of friends.