Matildas' Joy, Foster's Angst

Well Done Matildas (Australian Womens' World Cup Team '07)

Australian soccer storms on to the global stage yet again. What an excellent high-quality game of football that was between Norway and Australia's Matildas yesterday.

Norway looked so solid in the first half after a well-worked goal gave them the lead just five minutes into the game. Australia battled but didn't look to have the 'something extra' that would get them on the score-sheet.

But that all changed in the second half. There had been much pre-match talk of the 'impact players' that the manager had at his disposal on the bench - Lisa De Vanna and Sarah Walsh. Their inclusion in the second half transformed the Australians from likely valiant losers to real contenders, but the agonising wait for an equaliser took until 9 minutes from full-time. A superb mid-range effort from Lisa De Vanna left the keeper with no chance after dazzling the Norwegian defence with her blistering pace and neat footwork. It was no mean achievement as the Norwegians had up to that point defended in numbers and closed down space very efficiently within the 18-yard area.

Others to impress were Garriock and McCallum - two skillful players with a tremendous work rate and play-making instincts. The team as a whole have a ring of confidence that suggests they will not be intimidated by some of the bigger names in the tournament. One more point from the group and they are through to the knockout stages. Here's hoping...

Ouch!!! Foster dishes it to Arnold

With all the euphoria surrounding the Matildas, spare a thought for ex-Socceroos boss Graham Arnold, who yesterday copped a savage appraisal of his abilities as an international coach from SBS pundit Craig Foster (Sydney Morning Herald Sun 16th Sept - http://www.smh.com.au/news/football/arnold-not-worthy-of-the-socceroos/2007/09/15/1189277042479.html ). Despite the poor performance of the Socceroos in the recent Asian Cup, the general consensus appeared to be that Arnold had contended well with all of the peculiar difficulties associated with being the Aussie manager keeping the seat warm for whatever big gun from Europe would eventually swoop in to save the day (as Guus Hiddink did last year).

Not so, according to Foster. Amongst his many ills, Foster appears to suggest that Arnold was generally out of his depth, was off-side with the players and didn't have the technical or tactical nous to react to unfamiliar situations.

Fair enough, Foster is wholly entitled to that view, but, I find it a curious thing to see such a high-profile soccer spokesperson going so publicly on record to dismiss Arnold's managerial credentials. One can admire Foster telling it like he sees it, but what is his objective with such vehement criticism, especially now that Arnold is officially no longer in the job?

Are we on the cusp of yet another ding-dong SBS/Socceroo coach spat a la Andrew Orsatti and Frank Farina?

It certainly makes for lively reading? Australian soccer is in an interesting and dynamic place right now!

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Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport

Hello and welcome to the SoccerFit Blog,

I hope this blog provides an interesting narrative on all things related to SoccerFit. I will definitely try to stay ‘on message’ but please bear with me if I go off on a tangent every so often.

The programme continues to expand into new locations and this is particularly pleasing to myself and others involved in SoccerFit.

Fitness Skill And Teamplay

Our aim from day one has been to give as many people as possible the opportunity to experience the fitness, skill and teamplay aspects of soccer. In emphasizing fitness, skill and teamplay, SoccerFit distinguishes itself from competitive soccer. We leave it to local, regional and national representative soccer bodies to facilitate those seeking a competitive outlet.

However, regular players of the game (socially or competitively) can and do derive enormous benefits from SoccerFit - it's a great way to maintain fitness, stay mentally sharp, and work on some key elements of game performance.

It's also worth noting that many SoccerFit participants do make the transition from SoccerFit to suitable levels of competitive soccer, so clearly, as well as being a great fitness workout, the programme complements very well the popular competitive leagues running throughout Australia.

Introducing CANES - Community Aligned Non-Elite Sport (CANES)

SoccerFit does not have a minimum fitness or skill requirement in order to participate. Everyone and anyone can join in. It is a non-elite sports and fitness format that is accessible to the whole community. We call this concept Community Aligned Non-Elite Sports, or CANES for short.

When people think of ‘elite’ sports, they generally have televised professional sports in mind. The athletes that participate at these levels are a rare breed – think Juninho, Adam Goodes, Jonathon Thurston, Lauren Jackson – we love to watch and admire these high performers. At best, I expect only 0.01% of the entire human population can realistically aspire to ever perform at this level.

But what about those competing at state, regional or even the lower divisions of local club competitions that don’t typically make it on to our television screens? What percentage of the population can hope to participate at these levels? Again it’s a relatively small number, probably less than 1% of the total population.

Where does this leave the other 99% of the population in regard to participation in sports-oriented activities? Of course not everyone in this group is interested in sports, or even in getting fit, but in line with the CANES approach, it is primarily to this large non-elite group that programmes like SoccerFit try to appeal. It seems almost bizarre to say it, but this group is a forgotten majority. Sport by it’s very nature is elitist (that’s why we love it), but its positive benefits, in particular fitness, skill and teamplay, should be available to all.

The CANES approach to increasing participation in sport and encouraging a more active lifestyle, with the benefits that this can have in tackling health issues such as the much-talked about obesity epidemic, is worthy of consideration at government level.

I welcome your comments.

Regards,

Liam O'Duibhir, Director, SoccerFit

To visit the SoccerFit website, please click here