OVERVIEW
Willunga District Soccer Club, known as the Willunga Phoenix are a family friendly, grass roots soccer club nestled amongst the vines at Willunga High School on the edge of the Willunga Township.
We welcome girls and boys of all ages, backgrounds and abilities from Under 6 to Under 16 from around the region. We don’t hold trials and our coaches adhere to a strong club policy of equal player time during matches.
We play in two local competitions – players under 13 play in the Noarlunga District Junior Soccer Association (NDJSA), and players 13+ compete in the Adelaide Hills Junior Football Association (AHJFA).
We have in excess of 100 junior members proudly sporting the provincial red and white colours of Willunga; and are one of the largest teams in the league.
For players under 11 our teams train and play Small Sided Football – a modified version designed specifically for young developing players that is endorsed by the FFA and globally recognised.
SMALL SIDED FOOTBALL
Small Sided Football (Soccer) is a modified form of 11-a-side designed to meet the specific needs of younger players who have a very different developmental characteristics and needs to adult players.
Small Sided Football is internationally recognised with its philosophy focussing on enjoyment and freedom of expression with more touches of the foot, and forms part of the Football Federation Australia (FFA’s) National Curriculum as a key component of the Player Participation Pathway.
The benefits of small sided football extend well beyond the motivation of developing players with better technical skills:
– First and foremost, it is aimed at young people of all abilities, not simply the more talented players in each age group.
– With an emphasis on participation and enjoyment, and removing the importance of winning, children are much more likely to enjoy their football playing experience, will be keen to play more often and less likely to drop out of the game.
– Parents who are new to the game are likely to be more comfortable playing the role of “game leader” or “supervisor” of teams playing Optus Small Sided Football. Given that children playing at this age do not need to be “coached” and by extension, these adults don’t need to have a great understanding of the game to be able to carry out this role effectively.
Formats vary as a player develops through the age groups, with modified rules and regulations surrounding player numbers, playing time, and field sizes.
This includes:
- Under 6 & 7 = 4 v 4
- Under 8 & 9 = 7 v 7
- Under 10, 11 & 12 = 9 v 9
- Under 13+ = 11 v 11
One thing worth noting is that for Under 6 right through to Under 11 no points table exists – where the emphasis is on enjoyment and personal development over winning.
The age groups Under 12 and up resort to rules and regulations more closely consistent with adult football.
OUR COACHES OUR DNA
They are all valued volunteers, usually parents who put in the time and effort in developing the players. The club recognises that every coach is different with their own personal style.
They are not technical or tactical geniuses (although some are pretty damn good). However they lead by example; are positive, fair, and ultimately provide a relaxed enjoyable environment where our players, the kids, feel happy and safe. If at the end of a training session, game and season the Willunga Phoenix kids are still smiling our coaches will have achieved their objective.
Prior to the start of the season, we are always on the lookout for new volunteer coaches. Taking on the role of a coach may seem a daunting task – but it really isn’t. We do however find that our coaches find the experience rewarding and return year on year to coach whilst following their child through the age groups.
If you would like to express an interest in becoming a coach, please contact us for further information.
OUR TRAINING
All our coaches are volunteers who work tirelessly to prepare training for the kids, and in return we encourage all players to attend all training sessions where possible.
Willunga Phoenix teams train once a week in the late afternoon/evenings after school in a relaxed environment where the aim is to have fun and learn new skills in an enjoyable way.
The weekday, times and duration of training sessions vary between teams and age groups subject to availability of resources and coaches.
*The above is an indicative training schedule only as an example, this will vary from season to season in agreement with the coaches and club..
In line with NDJSA, AHJFA and FFA regulations all our coaches will have undertaken working with children checks and deemed cleared to work with children. In saying this, our training sessions are not to be treated as a child minding service and respectfully ask that at least one parent or guardian remains on site during training at all times.
OUR LEAGUES
Willunga Phoenix is an association member of two local competitions:
1) the Noarlunga & Districts Junior Soccer Association (NDJSA) with all junior age groups under 13 years of age playing in this league.
The NDJSA has in excess of 30 school based and regional association members (clubs) across all age groups – we play home games at Willunga High and away at various venues spanning Happy Valley to the north and Port Elliot to the south.
Team fixtures are set at the start of each season by the NDJSA, with season kick off typically kicking off in the first weekend of school term 2 in early May and running to the end of term 3 in September.
All games are played on a Saturday morning with kick off times varying subject to fixtures.
More information about the NDJSA Rules and Regulations can be found HERE
A copy of the NDJSA Rules and Regulations 2023 can be found HERE
2) the Adelaide Hills Junior Football Association (AHJFA) – for junior players aged 13 and upwards. This is a new competition for Willunga Phoenix, with the first teams entering in the 2023 season. Feedback from the teams involved has been very positive, and we are hoping to field teams again in the 2024 season. If you haven’t registered already, please jump onto the registration page as soon as you can!
