Hi All,

I hope that everyone is coping as well as possible during this latest round of lockdowns.  Once again we find our football season challenged by Covid; a stop-start fixture has meant that we have all had to adjust quickly to get our kids on the park as much as possible.  Despite these challenges I am both encouraged and pleasantly surprised by the passion and commitment that our players, officials and parents have shown towards our club and the game.  After last year, it has been great to see our players on the field again, even though we have been forced to miss a few games.

We are seeing a mix of results across our 16 junior teams, with quite a few teams in the top 4 of their divisions, looking at finals in the next few weeks.  More importantly, we are seeing good development across our player base – a big thank you needs to go to SBMT Director of Coaching (Juniors) Joe Galati and his team of coaches that are facilitating this development.  As a club, results are secondary to player development and we are seeing green shoots across our teams.  Our objective is to have at least two teams in each age group to maximise game time and enjoyment – we are definitely on the way to achieving this.  We have also had a number of players involved in the St Kilda Next Generation Academy, SMJFL Interleague and Sandringham Dragons programs; another good indication of the quality of the program being run by our Club.

We have had the privilege of being the first to use our new facilities this year and the feedback has been very positive.  Thank you to the parents that have helped with Tiger Talk so far this season – we have had full houses with a fun atmosphere.  I hope this is something that we can continue to grow and develop for our kids in the years to come.  Unfortunately we have missed out on Bogan Bingo and other major social events due to lockdowns, but the events that we have run have been very encouraging and a good indication of what is possible in our new clubrooms.  Fingers-crossed that we get the opportunity to get together again before the end of the season.

Finally, I would like to thank the team officials and Junior Committee for their effort and commitment this season.  SBMT could not run without them. We are always looking for volunteers and would love to hear any ideas and suggestions that you might have. Please let us know if you would like to get involved!

Thanks,

Craig

Craig Howe

President – SBMT Junior SMJFL Committee

St Bedes/Mentone Tigers AFC