Our club is completely run by volunteers. Without the volunteers, our cub would not exist.
It is these volunteers that help run the club and therefore creates the culture of the club we are so proud of. The work done by our volunteers ensure that our 500+ members are able to take the field and play football for the fun, health and social benefits it provides.
Volunteering doesn’t mean you need to join the committee or commit to hours of work every weekend. It can be giving a spare hour on match day to help set up or pack up the fields or an hour assisting in the canteen.
Apart from the committee, our volunteers also include our coaches, managers, game leaders and canteen staff.
Want to help but not sure how?
There are many areas where any help is any help is most welcome and appreciated.
Such areas include:
Coaching
Coaching is a great way to give back to the club and in particular to the team and players you coach. It can be very rewarding as you train and develop you players, devise strategies for games and the fun and enjoyment you get in general from training sessions and games with your players.
We are always looking for coaches to coach our teams whether they are junior teams or senior teams. If you are interested in coaching, then we can also assist by enrolling you on grassroots coaching courses where we will cover the cost.
We offer opportunities for:
* Team coaching during the winter season
* Team coaching during the summer season
* Development Program training
* School Holiday Clinic coaching
Managing
Managing a team during the winter competition assists the coach. A manager usually coordinates a team by handling all the administrative tasks such as communication on training and game times, submitting the team on match day, confirming the opposition team and then entering the score at full time. They also are the communication conduit between players and/or parents and the club.
Canteen Staff
Our canteen operates every Saturday and Sunday at Gough Whitlam Park. We have various roles including operating the BBQ, making coffee or tea, serving customers, food preparation, being a runner for drinks or food supplies, etc. Working at the canteen allows you to socially interact with hundreds of people from both our club and other clubs and creates a great atmosphere at Gough Whitlam Park.
Ground Staff
For games to be played, we need fields to be set up. They include mini fields for the Under6s and Under7s, midi fields for the Under8s and Under9s, half fields for the Under10 to Under12s and full fields for the Under13s and above. Field set up consists of erecting of goals, placement of corner flags and benches, field marking with cones for small sided games and the roping off of full sided games. Of course help is also needed for field pack up.
We even need volunteers to monitor games as ground officials which is a requirement at home games but also when a full sided game is played on a neutral field.
Officiating
Officiating games ensures someone takes control of the match whether it is an Under6s match or an Over55s match. The volunteering opportunities at our club for those with in interest in officiating include Game Leaders and Club Referees.
Game Leaders
The Game Leader program is available to anyone aged 10 and above. Game Leaders officiate small sided games which ranges from the Under6s through to the Under12s.
Note: a Game Leader needs to be at least 2 years older than the game they are officiating/leading.
Our Game Leaders assist in the set up and pack up of the small sided fields as well as game leading a match. For this they receive some pocket money and a free feed from the canteen.
Club Referee
Official referees from the Canterbury Referees Association (CRA) are assigned to full field matches. There are however times where they cannot cover all matches over a weekend. A Club Referee is a volunteer who steps in when there isn’t an official referee assigned to the match. To be a Club Referee you must undertake a short 2-3 hour course run by the CRA. Most clubs have agreed to pay the Club Referees the same fee they would normally pay an official referee.
If you believe you can assist in any of the above or even have a set of skills you believe would be beneficial to the club whether it be in administration, finance, marketing, project management, event management, social media, logistics, etc and want to help in any way you can, please fill in the form below to let us know.
We know people have varying amounts of time to give. If you have some free time and want to give back to the club and community or whether you need to complete community service as a student requirement (e.g. Duke of Edinburgh), then we can definitely do with your assistance.
Volunteering can be a rewarding way to give back to your club and your community.
