PICTURED: Hunter Valley Football’s Newcastle Permanent Referee of the Year Zachary Butchard accepting the NNSWF Newcastle Permanent Referee of the Year Award at NNSWF’s Awards Night
Hunter Valley Football would like to congratulate this year’s Newcastle Permanent Community Award Yearly Winners in their Zone.
Official Community Football Partner, Newcastle Permanent Building Society once again provided the monthly award program to recognise and reward the efforts of volunteers, coaches, match officials and clubs in each of Northern NSW Football’s seven-member Zones.
Hunter Valley Football Operations Manager, Sarah White, said this was another tough year in selecting the annual winners for their Zone but congratulates those who received their deserved award.
“The Newcastle Permanent Community Awards provide a valuable opportunity to recognise a range of individuals across the football community and within our specific member clubs who make our game as great as it is today,” White said.
“Community Football relies on a collective effort and these awards reflect the appreciation extended to everyone who plays a role in progressing our game.”
Newcastle Permanent Chief Executive Officer Terry Millett echoed White’s sentiments and said Newcastle Permanent is proud to honour those who give up their time to assist in the community.
“Without the dedication of volunteers, coaches and match officials such as these generous people – grassroots sports including football, would not survive. These committed people make it possible for kids to lead active, healthy lives, ” Mr Millett said.
Hunter Valley Football, Northern NSW Football and Newcastle Permanent congratulate all the recipients.
Newcastle Permanent Club of the Year
Maitland Junior Football Club
This award was not given to how many Premierships or Grand Finals the Club has won, or how good their hot chips are (they are good!), but more so to recognise their active participation in our sport and the quality of their Club Administration by means of developing a healthy relationship with our Zone Office; from attending required Zone General Meetings to keeping us informed of their day-to-day running and upcoming events, etc. Another important aspect is encouraging participation. Maitland JFC offer community programs (teams) as well as inter-club development teams for those wanting more advanced coaching, whilst supporting the Talented Player Pathway by educating their players and families about the Hunter Valley Football Skill Acquisition Program (SAP) and surrounding National Premier League (NPL)/Women’s Premier League (WPL) Clubs. Conducted MiniRoos Kick Off programs, Summer 6s, gala days with the “Fair Play” initiative – With the games being played for fun, Maitland Junior FC came up with the great idea to award a point scoring system based on a fair play which allowed teams to score points and compete for the Fair Play trophy. Coaches and parents of each team were awarded points for the continued encouragement of both teams. Teams were scored on their fair play with teamwork and player involvement being rewarded. 740+ Player Registrations. Volunteer Registrations 150+, of which 80 are registered Coaches. Player to Coach ratio 1:12. Ground Officials are always visible and patrolling on game days. The Club did a full check of their High-Vis Vests and Bibs to ensure that all were NPBS branded (or no branding at all). Their game day governance is outstanding. Match Day Co-Ordinators are issued with two-way radios to effectively communicate across the grounds and back to Committee as required. They were issued with an NPBS Marquee which was used in a prominent position at Fieldsend Oval every weekend throughout the season, including the Final Series. Supporting the Referee Branch by encouraging their Members to complete a Level 4 Course and join the local Branch. With this also comes a strong support for Silent Saturday and ‘Thanks, Ref’ weekends at their home ground. Committee invited Representatives from the local Referee Branch to attend their pre-season Coaches Seminar to discuss the laws of the game with their Coaches. Willing to assist the Zone Office with hosting rescheduled wet weather fixtures or neutral venue fixtures if required. Team and Player Registrations and Referee Claim Sheets per Round are managed in an efficient and timely manner. Their Meeting attendance is 100% and invoices are paid promptly. The Club was rewarded with hosting 2017 NPBS Grand Finals on the Saturday and Sunday. They had an army of Volunteers and Ground Officials present and we could not have asked for better governance and support on the day. Congratulations Maitland JFC!
Newcastle Permanent Referee of the Year
Zachary Butchard
Zachary was our youngest at just 13 yr old when he became a qualified referee with Hunter Valley Referees in 2016. The improvement shown by Zachary throughout the year was outstanding particularly at such a young age and is a testimony to his willingness not only to watch, listen and learn but to question things he does not understand. The enthusiasm shown by Zachary both as a referee and as an assistant cannot be questioned as he continually works hard at improving his knowledge of and administering the laws of the game. For his first year, his willingness to listen and ability to take the advice given to him on to the field to try and implement was impressive. Zachary officiated many games throughout the year both as a referee and as an Assistant Referee and whilst he was having fun and enjoying refereeing he was continually showing improvement and confidence. I am also very impressed that despite his young age the first thing Zachary always does upon arrival at the ground takes the initiative by shaking hands with all his fellow officials introducing himself to those who he does not know. He also does this before he or they leave the ground, I think this is a very mature thing for someone of his age to do particularly with the much older senior referees. The efforts shown by Zachary were rewarded with both semis and grand final appointments as an Assistant Referee in older age groups where he performed extremely well making many positive and important decisions. His knowledge of the Laws of the Game and how to interpret them was certainly at a much higher level than earlier in the year. The willingness to learn and the improvements were shown by Zachary throughout the year both as a referee and as an Assistant Referee did not go unnoticed and Zachary was rewarded by his peers with Hunter Valley Football Referees Association Rookie of the Year 2016. Zac was also a strong support for the SAP games at Turner Park. If he was not appointed to Community Football, he would make himself available to be appointed to SAP. He attended the Talented Official Pathway (TOP) Camp in June at Coffs Harbour, and also took the opportunity to do some NPL Youth games when offered by Brad. Zac collected the overall vote of Northern NSW Football’s and won the Newcastle Permanent Referee of the Year at Northern NSW Football’s Awards Night.
Newcastle Permanent Volunteer of the Year
Justin Ison
Thornton Junior Football Club
Justin has coached his son’s team at Thornton Junior Football Club (TFJC) since 2011. In 2017 he joined the committee and stepped into the roles of Club Coaching Co-Ordinator and Grounds Officer. In both roles, Justin has gone above and beyond. As Club Coaching Co-ordinator, he undertook the training course earlier this year in between working shift work and making time for his wife and 2 children. He then jumped right into the role by welcoming new coaches, sharing useful coaching tips, advertising coaching courses and being available to anyone at any time to help. When Justin isn’t helping other coaches, he is ensuring our grounds are top quality in his role as Grounds Officer. Even after a long shift at work, you will often see Justin down at the grounds aerating them, mowing, line marking, fixing goals or walking the fields to look for foreign objects that may harm one of the children in our Club. The week before our trial matches, Justin spent every afternoon down at the Oval ensuring the grounds were up to his very high standards. As well as these official roles in the Club, Justin is the first to offer to help at working bees, BBQ fundraisers, Organisation Days and whatever jobs need doing to keep the Club running smoothly. Game Days, Justin is down at the Oval at 7 am to set up. He ensures the grounds are safe for our families and that the facilities are ready to be used for the day. He is also there at pack up time, ensuring all volunteers are assisted in their roles. In between, he coaches his sons 13’s team and plays in an All Ages team. I am at a loss as to where he gets his energy! On behalf of the TJFC and committee, Hunter Valley Football would like to formally recognise Justin for all his hard work and dedication. Congratulations Justin!
Newcastle Permanent Coach of the Year
Mark Ling
Maitland Junior Football Club
Mark has coached this team since some of them were in U6; in that time he has been an outstanding mentor for the boys. He has made all the players feel like valuable members of the team regardless of their skill level. He has nurtured the development of players who required extra assistance due to issues that sometimes hindered their teamwork, he has always demonstrated respect and been patient where others may not have. His passion for the game is second to none and he has instilled this passion in the team, so much so that despite the team naturally growing as the age group progressed, players desperately wanted to join the team to be part of his high-quality training program. In the 6 seasons that the team has been blessed to have him, coach has always remained positive and built the team up when they have felt defeated, his famous end of game huddle has always been an integral part of learning from the game, be it a win or loss and acknowledging the effort that was given. He models good sportsmanship by interacting with officials and the opposition’s coach and manager in a friendly and positive manner. He has devoted and volunteered over 200 hours of his time to his team. It would be a huge honour, as the boys move on to graded soccer next year, to acknowledge our appreciation of his outstanding contribution by having him recognised as Coach of the Month. If there was a Coach of the Season, Year or Decade we would nominate him for that as well! Congratulations Mark!
