Keeping young players interested in the game will be the first goal of the new Forbes and District Soccer committee.
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Led by registrar-turned-president David Hayward, the club has a full committee for the first time in years and are keen to grow soccer’s profile in Forbes.
“The club’s in a really good situation because all the positions [on the executive] have been filled,” Hayward said this week.
“This is the first time we’ve had all the positions filled for ages and I think that’s because a lot of the new people who joined the committee last year have now filled more senior roles.”
Hayward said Forbes soccer is in good shape, however the big challenge is retaining players once they reach the youth divisions.
“We’ve got more than 250 kids aged five to 11 and 50 adults,” the new president said.
“We’ve got loads of kids, and that’s improved over the years, but we really want to keep them a bit longer.”
He said a move to start junior games earlier on Saturdays had proved popular with parents this year and there are plans to continue this policy next season.
Hayward was one of the 50 adults registered with the club this year and one of the measures being considered is to appoint a senior men’s coach - to train teams entered in the Lachlan association (LASA) competition.
Training of junior coaches is also on the agenda for the new committee.
Hayward said the club would work with local Football NSW representative Doug McKenzie to offer more skills training for both players and coaches.
A basic soccer coaching course will be run in February with another in March.
Hayward said the club would begin advertising 2015 registrations in February.
The recently elected committee also includes Anne McColl (secretary), Michael Sheather (treasurer), Jason Robinson (clubperson of the year), Kerri Burke (junior vice-president), Leanne Whien (registrar) and Geoff House (competition secretary).
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Meanwhile, Football NSW will host a Skills Gala Day at the Forbes soccer grounds (Botanical Gardens) next Wednesday, November 5.
The gala day will feature three hour long sessions, starting at 10am, 11am and 1pm, with up to 350 children participating. The gala day is open to all school-aged children from years 3-6.