Grade 7 and 8 - Fun Football

Who can play in Grade 7 and 8 Fun Football?
Children turning 7 in the 2012 calendar year will be in Grade 7 and children turning 8 in the calendar year in Grade 8.

Girls are able to play in mixed grades – either in their age grade or down a grade if they prefer - and/or can play in the Girls Only Football League on Sundays.

For those players that played Grade 7 last year Grade 8 will be run under the Whole of Football Plan. This means the format on Saturday will be different to last year but the aims for the children is still the same – enjoyment, building skills and developing a passion for football.

When and where do we play?
Fun Football will always be on Saturday mornings.  There will be a three week rotation.

The first two Saturday’s teams will be playing “Game Days” at Raroa Park where Onslow teams will each do a 20 minute general movement and technical skills warm-up with their coach and then play 4 games of  10 minutes duration games against other Onslow teams.

Every third Saturday Capital Football organises a “Festival Day” where Onslow teams will play other Wellington teams – this may be at other locations around Wellington or at Raroa.  The format for the Festival Day This will still follow the 20 minute warm-up and 4 10 minute games format.

This three week rotation will be repeated throughout the season.

Teams will have a practice during the week and we will be aiming to group 3 or 4 teams together for practices to allow for a station rotation type practice.

How many people in a team?
The games are 5v5 games so we will be aiming ideally to put 6 children in a team – 7 maximum.  Once registrations close on 19 February, grade coordinators allocate the children to teams and then allocate coaches and managers. 

You will find out in mid to late March who your team and coach are.  If you want your child to play with friends or with the team you played in last year don’t forget to note this when you register.

What does Fun Football focus on?
Fun Football focusses on increasing the skills of the players and their enjoyment of the game.

Skills focussed on include general movement and coordination, football technique and football coordination. 

The small sided games allow children to practice these skills in a team situation getting lots of touches on the ball in each game.

The Fun Football programme has been introduced in 2012 as part of the Whole of Football Plan (WOFP)  by NZ Football.  It is based on best practice internationally.

You can find out more about WOFP and Fun Football at the New Zealand Football website New Zealand Football:
Overview 

Or the Capital Football website: Whole of Football Plan - SportingPulse

Any further queries please contact the Grade 7 Coordinator – Nicola Mitchell (nicola@onslow.org.nz) or the Grade 8 Coordinator – Peter Ettema (peter@onslow.org.nz).