Originally Posted by
matmoncrieff
Hi, I'm the one that you keep taking potshots at and was made aware of your comments by a friend of mine. Obviously have some major problems with me so I thought I would address some of the issues you have. Like some yeah I get a little carried away in games but the mostly through passion and generally a lot of humour but always move on after games and always shaking hands with the opposition and the match officials. I have been around for a while and have real passion for getting more referees into the game and definetly to help the existing referees get better. From someone on the outside seeing me on the sidelines I can see how you think this couldn't be true or hypocritical but there are many that can vouch for this, in fact I will be spending the next 2 nights a referees course with my young bloke in an effort to help the referee crisis we have at the moment and obvioulsy get a better understanding what it is like to be a referee.
As for what you have said about Kahibah I will address a few of your points. We have had Andre at the helm for the past 5 and he has been great for the club but has now moved on. The club is now looking in a new direction and have some new coaches and new ideas that will take years to see the outcome. There is no promotion/relegation we have been striving for promotion to the NPL ever since we we were accepted to Northern League 1 but no matter what we do the goal posts keep moving when the application process comes out and our application to become a NPL is always refused. And when I look at what Cooks Hill had done in that 3 year dominant period leading up to the last application process and they also got rejected, sort of takes the wind out of your sails and makes you wonder what has to be done to actually get promoted. We do things a little bit differently at Kahibah we do not have a drive to win trophies for our youth teams, do we want to you bet but its not a major driver. We don't fill our squads up to the brim of 16 or more players. We do not charge the huge fees compared to a lot of clubs in NL1 and NPL. We keep our squads to a bare minimum, does this hurt us in some games sure does but what it does is give our players maximum game time and the abundance of opportunity for our players to be involved in more than 1 game each weekend. It is my philosophy that the more you play the more you will improve, I would say our Kahibah kids on mass will get more game time than any other players in the competition. The teams we have played in the last few weeks have in the main have squads of 16 and I watched some very talented kids spend 20 to 30 minutes on the bench in a 70 minute game, i'm not saying that it is wrong i'm just saying I don't believe it is the best way to develop a player in my opinion. If you watched all the 7 games we played on the weekend against the very talented full squads of New Lambton then you would know that our squads are in the main doing well and our kids are playing with passion and improving each week. If you are from New Lambton then you shouldn't be questioning other clubs off field performances. We had the requirement for 2 ambulances on Sunday and neither could drive into the ground because no-one had a key to the gate, our 1st young bloke broke both bones in his wrist and had to walk 100 or so metres to the Alder Park carpark to meet the ambulance. The second one seen the poor ambulance men have to lug all there equipment the same distance then jump the fence as there was no gate close to where the injured player was. There was no hot water in the sheds and no-one could workout how to turn it on and the 18's, 14's, 15's and 16's all played with training balls not the compulsory competition balls like every other club does. Lets not even start discussing the canteen pricing but it is nice food.
Anyway back to your issues we are working hard behind the scenes with our majority local kids to keep improving and when the time comes have our kids ready to enter into the world of NPL. We have introduced JDL this season for the 1st time and we are working behind the scenes on a facility that will tick all the boxes for an NPL licence. When NNSW decide that promotion and relegation is a thing again we will be ready to put our hat in the ring. I am ok with you having some personnel beef with me but to try and create this hysteria that the club is a 'basket case' is just sour grapes from a keyboard warrior. You obviously know me so come and have a chat with me next time you see me at a ground make yourself known and if I have offended you somewhere along the way I will happily apologise, i'm sure no harm was intended and I can say I actually cant think of anyone that i have met in football heated argument or not that i would not have a conversation with. Or if you want come and join me in the referees course tonight, last Saturday and Sunday morning you would have found me at our ground to watch and film our U6 and U7 kids, JDL and community teams. Last Thursday you would have found me refereeing an interclub U8 and U9 game that I organised after I coached the U14's. If I'm a tool and you think I am somehow setting a bad example happy to discuss to improve and get better, just make yourself known the next time we cross paths.
Why did I even respond, I am big enough and ugly enough to cop criticism but the club operates on a very small hard working committee that runs every team from U6's to Over 35's and will be celebrating 100 years existence soon, we have an interest in all our players and try to create the best environment and experience for all of them. Do we get it wrong sometimes sure but there is no intent. To have someone have a go at what they are doing or have achieved I thought needed a response.
Hope to catch up for a chat soon.