2011 Secretary’s report

Season 2011 has seen the St. Marys Greensborough Junior Football Club continue to develop and evolve to enhance its reputation as one of the best junior football clubs in the country. St. Marys prides itself on providing a great opportunity for young children to participate in football and enjoy the experience from Tackers through to Colts. As a club we have developed a strong culture over many years due to the wonderful traditions established by previous committees, coaches, the children and parents. The club continues to encourage families to become actively involved and enjoy the experience with their children.

The Football Department under the guidance of Mark Stanley and Bernie Giromali has again excelled itself this year. The support provided to our coaches has equipped them with the skills and other tools to assist in doing their job as best they can. The feedback in regard to the value of this support has been very positive and has proven that the club’s philophies and charter are heading in the right direction. I look forward to the continued growth and new initiatives within this department next year.

The role of the Coach, Team Manager, all the match day support staff and the value they provide to our club is greatly appreciated. It takes significant sacrifice to perform these jobs on a volunteer basis. I thank the coaches for their efforts throughout the season and their commitment to improving skills and teaching the values of our club to the near 580 odd children that participate. Special thanks must go to all the Team Managers. They provide support not only on match day and training but they continue to step up as and when required, often going above and beyond the call of duty. I appreciate all their efforts in helping me ensure all information each week is provided to the league in an accurate and timely manner. This is no small task for a club with 24 sides. Their involvement on the social side of the club is also greatly appreciated. It is the Team Manager we turn to for the organisation and co-ordination for all our social events. To all those parents who participate on match day and at training, I say well done. Never underestimate the impact that your involvement will have on your children. These are memories that live for a lifetime. It is great to be involved with your children to watch them develop, not only as footballers but also as people. At St Mary’s we pride ourselves on producing fine young adults ready to step out into the world.

I acknowledge the great work of all involved in the committee. It is a credit to our culture that we continue to have such quality people willing to contribute their time freely to help and continue to develop our great club. There are many issues to address when coordinating the participation of 24 teams every Sunday. I can assure you that healthy and robust discussion occurred throughout the year on many topics. To the credit of the committee, the job continues to be done professionally and with dedication and commitment with a single minded focus always on what is best for the junior club and our players. To those leaving the committee this year, Lynne Yeates, Walter Ferronato and Livio Basile, a special thank-you. Your time and efforts have directly contributed to the continued success of the club and have definitely had a positive impact on many lives. I commend you on a job well done.

A special thanks must go to Sam Gioffre and his entire family. In taking on a sometimes difficult and extremely time consuming role as President Sam has proven to be an excellent leader and his contribution to the success of the club cannot be underestimated. His dedication and commitment cannot be questioned. I would also like to pay special mention to Livio Basile whose knowledge and experience of all that is St Marys has been invaluable. After many, many years of dedicated service across many roles, in and outside the committee, I would like to thank Livio for his efforts, passion and dedication to the junior football club. We look forward to seeing you around the club for many years to come.

A club of our size also needs to ensure strong relationships exist with other outside organisations. I would like to thank and acknowledge some of these relationships that we have continued to develop throughout the year. These include the Yarra Junior Football League, Banyule City Council, Watsonia Football Club and the Riverside Cricket Club. A special thanks also to our wonderful, always smiling, canteen staff, Debbie, Marie, Russell and Tony, who are the face of St.Marys every Sunday morning to our opposition sides. To Tony in particular, thank-you for the extra effort you put in each week to present our new facilities in the best light possible. Your work around the club is greatly appreciated. Each of these relationships is essential to the smooth running of the club and I thank each and everyone involved for their help and commitment during 2011.

I would also like to thank all of our club sponsors for their continued generous support of our club. In particular our major sponsors:

A club of this size cannot function without this continued support. We look forward to a long and fruitful relationship with you all.

The re-development of the Whatmough Park clubrooms was completed prior to the commencement of the 2011 season. The completion and opening of the new social rooms was a great day for the football club. It has been a wonderful boost for our club and has only strengthened the professional image and reputation we have within the Yarra Junior Football League and beyond. This year has been a learning experience with regards to what is possible in the new facilities. We look forward to 2012 and what may be possible. I would like to again acknowledge the efforts of those that have been involved in the working party to ensure our dream came to fruition, in particular Phil Catanazzi. His tireless efforts in ensuring we have the highest quality facility have been greatly appreciated by all on the committee, hence the naming of the Phil Catanazzi “Bit of Shush” bar.

The St. Marys Senior Football Club has provided a pathway for our junior players wanting to continue playing under the St. Marys banner in a senior football environment. The future of this club is exciting and I congratulate the committee and players who performed so well in the Northern League this season. This year has seen the Senior club base it’s social activities at Whatmough Park sharing the facilities with the junior club. This has been a great success and we look forward to a bright future and building on this strong relationship.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my involvement in my second year as club secretary. I believe the strength of any club is found in its people and at St Marys we are a proud, strong club as a result of our great people! I encourage those of you that are thinking of becoming involved to do so. I look forward to seeing you in 2012 for what promises to be another exciting year in the history of St. Marys Greensborough Junior Football Club.

Andrew Sacco Secretary
St. Marys GJFC