The anticipation will probably kill me. I really want to know the Victorian and New South Wales clubs. But it can't be a true 2nd division without all state federations involved.

Quote:
The case for the Gold Coast

Craig Moore
Sunday, 16 December 2012 9:51 AM

With Palm Beach Sharks recently being selected for the Australian Premier League, it’s inevitable that some will start asking again about the viability of football on the Gold Coast.

I live on the gold coast and there is certainly enough interest in the game – I recently played in an over 35 masters and there was loads of people there –but obviously there is still a sense of disappointment over what happened with Gold Coast United, having an opportunity that wasn’t really taken advantage of or done properly.

There was all the hoo-hah about how the club was going to be run, all the work that was going to be done in the community – stuff that did eventually happen but it was more of a reaction rather than a result of planning.

With United, there was never a sense this is what we believe in, this is going to build membership and this is what is going to bring people to our club. The attention and the focus was everything but football.
It’s sad because it’s great to have a local team to support and we don’t have one now.

But we have to learn from those mistakes. The APL team is a fantastic concept and will eventually give us depth to our national league, which we need, and there will be clear development pathways – but that takes time, it doesn’t happen overnight.

When you start talking about any A-League franchises now, 5000 Fans isn’t enough – we need to be talking about 10,000 members.

I know quite a few people in the region that are still very interested in supporting football. The mayor, Tom Tate, is behind any football proposal that is going to done correctly. Geoffrey Schuhkraft is another and was one of those involved in trying to salvage Gold Coast United.

There is interest in getting back into the A-League and people that want to get involved - but they realise it can’t happen overnight and they want to see it done in the right manner.

Queensland also needs to consider the talent drain, because, with only one A-League team for local players, it’s back to the way it was before United and North Queensland Fury. The league’s come on a long way but it becomes very difficult because if you’re a player going interstate you’ve got to be better than what they’ve got, otherwise why would you take them over a local kid?

That’s the challenge for players from Queensland now if they can’t get into the Brisbane Roar system; they have to go to other states and try to forge a career elsewhere.

That winning Gold Coast youth team goes to show that there was a decent bunch of players in the area – Chris Harold, Josh Brilliante, James Brown, Zac Anderson, Ben Halloran, Tahj Minniecon, Daniel Bowles at Adelaide united, Golgol Mebrahtu at Heart.

But I’m sure if you spoke to any of those players in regards to their education over the two or three years they spent with Gold Coast, you’d hear that a lot of that was down to Mike Mulvey being a very good coach.
And the Gold Coast continues to produce great players.

There were at least two or three that could play in the All Stars team against Manchester United. It’s still a vibrant football place but young players are going to have to find other places to go to because it’s going to be a long time before they’ll be any expansion.

With what happened it will take a long time for anybody to have any real confidence in the area. The Titans' crowds dropped away with Gold Coast United going, the basketball franchise finished; the ones that are going ok are the Suns, and they’ve invested a lot of time in trying to launch it.

The Suns spent two-three years connecting with the community, putting their brand out there and they work hard.

That’s where we can learn lessons from Western Sydney Wanderers. Yes, the club got a lot of help from FFA to get up and running so quickly – but there was huge interaction with the community. There’s only so much they can do but you make them feel a part of that it and you build that kind of community club. As years go by we have to set higher standards and benchmarks.

Any new club has to have a membership base of 10,000 people before we consider it in a serious manner. Crowds are important, it’s important when the games being seen on TV it’s full and healthy.

I don’t think you’ll see any expansion in the A-League for a good few years yet and I’m quite happy with that. I look at other codes – at the Suns, at Greater Western Sydney in the AFL – and it’s not so much about the results from day one but about have a good future.

Brisbane Strikers APL Coach Profile: Owen Baker
Dec 14, 2012by Steve Pitman
Young Coach, Big Responsibility
Recently-installed Brisbane Strikers Under-15s APL coach Owen Baker has his sights firmly focused on helping his charges make the transition from boys into men – in terms of both their football and their personal development.
Baker, who has joined the Strikers after six years of coaching juniors on the Gold Coast, is in no doubt that he has a dual responsibility when coaching boys of this age group.
“The main ambition is obviously to develop them all as footballers, but the big thing also at fifteen years old is to develop them as young men growing into the adult game – the discipline side of it, the professionalism side of it and learning about that part of the game”, Baker said this week.
“And hopefully it’s a big learning curve for their maturity as they are growing up, to turn them from older teenagers into young men”.
This is no small aspirational goal for a coach who is still a very young man himself, but who exudes a calm and quiet confidence that he can achieve it. At 22, Baker is still playing football himself in the Gold Coast Premier League but already has six years of coaching behind him, mostly under the tutelage of Gold Coast Regional Development Officer, Pat Hedges.
Baker began coaching in 2006 while playing for Magic United on the Gold Coast, after Hedges asked him to help out in coaching junior development clinics. He said it wasn’t long before he caught “the bug” and began taking his coaching seriously, working his way through various coaching courses while continuing to work with Hedges. Two years later he found himself coaching in the representative system on the Gold Coast, and his last two years have been spent coaching Under-14s.
When the start-up of the APL was announced, Baker’s coaching career gained a new direction with a meeting with the Brisbane Strikers.
“After meeting with David and Bruce (Strikers Chairman Bruce Atterton-Evans) from the club I was very impressed with the overall structure and their ambition and the direction the club wanted to move in, Baker said. It was very similar to the Gold Coast philosophy and I’d only heard good things about the Brisbane Strikers and David Large, so it’s a new and exciting environment for me to come to.
“The style of play and the purpose of our development and how it is supposed to be done in the right way – I felt it was for the benefit of the players and the game overall”, Baker said. “There were no personal motives, I think the best interests were in the players at the club, and I like that about the club”.
Baker said he intended to combine coaching for the Strikers with continuing to play on the Gold Coast. While he admitted that would be “a tight squeeze at times”, he saw advantages in it for his coaching and his players.
“Because I still play, I’ve found since I’ve started coaching it has helped me as a player, but also in delivering that information to players as a coach”, he said. “I understand it from a player’s perspective as well, so it’s definitely helped me”.
Looking ahead to coaching his team in their first season of APL football, Baker said he was excited about the season ahead and confident that he could achieve things with his squad by creating the right kind of learning environment.
“I believe it’s crucial that we create an environment where everybody is allowed to express themselves and be themselves”, he said. “It’s important that everybody understands their roles and responsibility within the team, but everybody must (also) enjoy being there and enjoy playing football, learning from their mistakes along the way and not being scared to try things along the way.
“I’m quite confident that, with the squad that I’ve got, in twelve months’ time we’ll be a better football team”.

Home > News > Club > APL Coaches Required
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APL Coaches Required
Posted on 18/12/2012 by manager
Palm Beach Sharks APL Coaches & JPL Coaching Positions
Australian Premier League

Under 20’s Men’s Coach (must hold a current C Licence)

Under 15” Girl’s Coach (must hold a current Senior Licence)



Gold Coast League

Womens Senior Coach (must hold a current Senior Licence)

JPL Coaches (various age groups, must hold a current Senior Licence)

If you are interested in applying for a coaching position please email garyfrench@palmbeachsoccerclub.com.au

Any idea when the fixtures will be released? I assume the start of the season will be some time around the end of March.

Hey *****, not sure at the moment but as soon as we do - we will post the info. I believe the fixtures are currently being finalised by FQ and clubs right now. Don't know about local tv coverage yet - hopefully!

Good to hear, I don't understand much about the logistics of this operation but I think it's important just to get the football underway and let people know that it's actually happening.

Here's my idea for the new national set up:

A-League
APL National conference
APL State conferences
State premier league
Individual state divisions

The football system as is is in need of an entire clean up. It needs to start now.

Without a doubt. Too many vested interests at SL level, all needs to come in under the one umbrella so there can be a uniform national approach.

Will you be jumping on an APL bandwagon or your local club? I'm interested how that will go tbh. Would love to see a separate fan culture. Like a proper second division. I would love to learn more about logistics. Some distances too short to fly, others too long to drive. Will be interesting no doubt.

Palmy are technically my local club in the APL, I play for a different (albeit smaller) club on the Gold Coast and it's odd because everyone hates Palmy in the league! I miss football and this is our best chance of uniting again, a few of theirs have come out and said give it a try which is a nice welcome so I figure, why not.

If states don't hand over control to make a national approach happen, then a proper clean up will never happen.

There are far too many layers in the game, holding onto their own piece of the pie. Don't expect anything too drastic to occur, as the last thing some are willing to do is give up the only power they have left.

Northern Fury making noise on world stage

ANTONY STEWART | December 21st, 2012

THE squad isn't finalised and their debut is more than three months away, but the Northern Fury are already making noise internationally.

Fury general manager Paul Smalley (pictured) has travelled to South Korea in the first phase of building a relationship between the ambitious Townsville-based Australian Premier League club and Korean football.

Smalley, a former England youth international player and coach, said discussions during his five-week trip had been encouraging.

If successful, Fury teams would travel to Korea to play, while teams would also tour to Townsville.

"They were very interested in the possibilities of forming partnerships with the club over time," Smalley said.

"And we do want to build a positive partnership with the Asian side of the world. Whether that's to go to tournaments, inviting teams here or just to develop the reputation of the Northern Fury, I'd certainly like to do that.

"I'd like to do that with other European clubs as well and Australian clubs. We want to show we are a club that has aspirations and, with aspirations, certainly you want to partner with the best clubs, associations and people around the world."

The Fury definitely have giant aspirations, aiming to resurrect the club to the A-League within five years.

But opening a pathway to Asia - seen as one of the main benefits of the North Queensland team during its maiden foray into the national competition in 2009 - will not just have potential pay offs to the Fury's top-flight team.

With the club taking a grassroots focus, starting from under-12s, Smalley said the future would always be at the forefront of their thoughts.

"I'd like to think that we can create something that has some of our age groups going to major tournaments around the world," he said.

"Italy have major tournaments and we want to expose some of our younger players to that sort of experience."

Smalley has plenty of international connections to make that happen.

As well as having had playing, coaching and management positions with numerous English clubs, the 46-year-old has spent time in the United States (executive director at Minnesota SA) and New Zealand (technical director of NZ Football).

But Smalley said before any of that, a connection with the North Queensland community was priority No.1.

"That is critical, in terms of what you want to achieve from a high-performance club and, in the future, a professional club," he said.
http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/article/2012/12/21/372538_sport.html

Few clubs have replied back to my messages. Local tv will be broadcasting the games (not sure if they will be live) as well as paulytv.com. They plan to have a highlights show on Fox by 2014.

Few clubs have replied back to my messages. Local tv will be broadcasting the games (not sure if they will be live) as well as paulytv.com. They plan to have a highlights show on Fox by 2014.

where did you hear this part??

APL draft draw is with all APl clubs at present, making sure of no clashes with other special events. 1st game scheduled for March 8th 2013. We believe that local TV will be broadcasting in addition with Paulytv.com, possible highlights show on Fox in 2014.

Sounds promising. Hopefully all states can have at least some tv coverage.

Got another message from Brisbane Strikers confirming the dates of the start of compition. Still unsure about coverage.

If states don't hand over control to make a national approach happen, then a proper clean up will never happen.

There are far too many layers in the game, holding onto their own piece of the pie. Don't expect anything too drastic to occur, as the last thing some are willing to do is give up the only power they have left.