| Dear Coach/Manager, As we are now over the halfway mark of our summer season of junior touch football, the Townsville Junior Touch Football committee would like to take an opportunity to remind all of our awesome coaches and team managers of some important information about your roles in our competition. - Your Behaviour
Our coaches and managers can be great role models for our young players but, as wise Uncle Ben once said, "with great power comes great responsibility".
Your behaviour on the sideline directly influences the behaviour of your players, so keep that in mind next time a player makes a mistake or a decision doesn't go your way. As an organisation, we encourage positive experiences for all of our participants, and we don't think it's unreasonable for you as a coach or manager to do the same.
Remember: - This is junior sport - it's about learning and development, not winning at all costs.
- Swearing shouldn't be tolerated from anyone - players and coaches included.
- Always encourage and reward good sportsmanship, from all participants.
- Crowd Control
Unfortunately, of late we have had some issues with spectators who have forgotten that they are bound by our Code of Conduct, just like our players and officials. As coaches, it is your responsibility to ensure that the parents from your team are adhering to the code of conduct and, just like you, we expect that they encourage positive experiences for all of our participants. Remember: - We should only hear positive comments from the sideline, not negative ones.
- Abusive spectators should stay home instead of disrupting the enjoyment of our kids and ruining it for everyone else.
- Coaches/Managers should speak to "ugly parents" before a referee or committee member has to intervene.
- Make sure your parents have been given a copy of our code of conduct (a link is provided below).
- Team Sheets & Match Fees
Most of our coaches and managers are doing an awesome job with their team sheets, but there's a few things we've noticed during the season that we need you to be aware of: - Only tick this week's column - if a player/parent chooses to pay in advance for next week's game, record it on your own piece of paper (or your phone).
- Get the opposition coach to sign your sheet - the opposing coach needs to sign your sheet to verify that it is correct, and you will need to do the same to theirs.
- Make sure you're paying the correct match fees - 7's/8's competitions pay $1 per player, the rest pay $2, just like it says at the top of your team sheet. Make sure you are collecting the right amount from every player, and that you have fixed up any owing amounts from previous matches.
- You can't change your sheet once it's handed in - if you make a mistake and forget to tick someone from earlier in the season, it's too late! (Altering your team sheet is considered cheating and could result in your team being withdrawn from the competition).
If you aren't sure about any of our policies regarding conduct and behaviour, we've made them really easy to find for you via the links below: TJT Code of Conduct
http://www.tjt.org.au/about/policies/conduct TJT Participant, Officials, and Spectator Behaviour Policy
http://www.tjt.org.au/about/policies/behaviour TJT Zero Tolerance Policy
http://www.tjt.org.au/about/policies/referee-abuse Of course, we don't mean to be a "negative Nancy" all the time, and we know that it's only a small percentage our community that are "trouble makers", so for everyone else who is already a great role model, already encourages fair play and positive experiences, and already sends clear messages to "ugly parents" that they aren't welcome, we want to say a big thank-you from all of us behind the scenes at Townsville Junior Touch Football! We are looking forward to a very positive seven weeks ahead, and hope to bring another awesome season to a close with Grand Finals on December 1, 2017. Yours in Touch, Kerrod Hall
Director - Junior Touch Football |
