Duties

This guide is an introduction to the manager’s role for Narrabeen Football Club (Club) teams. If any manager has questions regarding their responsibilities please contact your age group coordinator in the first instance. If you require any further assistance please contact our Secretary.

PRINCIPLES
The Club has a code of conduct which all players are expected to follow. Managers and coaches are also expected to follow this code. The Club expects all teams to play competitively but honestly.

ATTENDANCE OF PLAYERS
It is the manager’s responsibility to keep a record of attendance for training and matches, and be able to produce it for the Club committee if requested and/or required. Any habitual absences should be reported to the Registrar in the first instance. If the manager is a parent who cannot attend the training session, coaches should assume this responsibility.
A number of awards are provided based on matches played and attendance. While some assumptions are made regarding matches played by teams to make management easier, we would like to know if any players have fallen markedly behind the rest of the team.

SEASON AWARDS
The Manager should organise the determining of internal team awards (if required) at the end of the season. The Manager may also be asked to supply players for consideration for awards given certain criteria.

COMPETITION DRAW
Managers are to assume responsibility for notifying their teams of the procedures for
cancellation and forfeits. At the start of each season a draw is published by the Manly Warringah Football Association (MWFA) which gives all the information for the whole season. A copy of the draw must be given to each player as well as any updates or amendments as the season progresses. Once that has been done it is then the players’ responsibility to get to all matches on time and at the correct destination.
If draws are lost they can be found - along with tables & results- on the MWFA Website (which is well worth a visit).

EMAILING YOUR TEAM
You may wish to use email to communicate with the parents of your team. Each Manager is provided a team contact list at the start of the season by the Registrar.

FIRST AID KITS
First Aid kits are provided in each team kit bag. It is imperative that you have a kit with you on game days. A tub of sunscreen should be made available for training sessions and matches when appropriate. Coaches and managers should check on weekends that their players are protected against the harmful effects of UV rays. Ice is provided in the refrigerator in the Boondah canteen and at most other club canteens.

INJURIES
Managers and coaches are requested to inform their teams about the Club's Policies regarding safety and first-aid.
Any injury to a player at training or during a match that requires an insurance claim should contact the Secretary at the earliest convenience.
It is our intention to commence recording statistics on injuries. We may include areas for reporting these details on the match results forms. If so, please record all injuries regardless of whether an insurance claim is made or not. These statistics will help us ensure our players risk of injury is minimised through appropriate Club management.

FORFEITS & ABANDONED MATCHES
Managers are asked to familiarise themselves with procedures as outlined in the MWFA Playing Rules.

GOALKEEPER TOPS & GLOVES
Each team is supplied with a goalie top. If the top is markedly too big or small for your goalie please contact the Equipment Coordinator for an exchange. Gloves are not provided in the team kits at present. Gloves can be purchased at any major sports retailer. The Club may consider including these in team kits in the future.

TEAM KITS & MATCH BALLS
Match balls will be distributed at the start of the season by the Equipment Coordinator and are usually
kept and looked after by the team manager thereafter. Should you require a new match ball (due to theft, loss, damage etc.) simply contact the Equipment Coordinator.

Kit bags equipped with training balls, bibs, cones, and a pump may also be available during the season. The Equipment Coordinator will provide managers with a checklist which should be filled out and handed back upon receiving your kit.

MATCHES
Officials
Generally, officials are provided by the Manly Warringah Referees Association for matches in divisions 1, 2 and 3. Managers are required to field a referee from within the team’s parent-body and/or make appropriate rostering arrangements for all other divisions at home games. Please be aware that if an official referee does not arrive for a game in the higher divisions these same rules apply.

Parents performing these duties are encouraged to become familiar with the offside rule and rules relating to a ball going out of play.

Match Cards
For age groups 10 and above a match card must be provided by the home team. Managers are advised to make a list of players’ names, ID cards and shirt numbers which can be used to fill out match cards each week. Managers must check the opposition’s ID cards each week to ensure that only registered players play against us.

As it takes some time for the clubs to hand in photographs and for the MWFA to return registered cards, some leniancy in the early rounds is reasonable. Blank match cards are available at the canteen throughout the season.

It is the managers’ responsibility to fill out and sign match cards each week. They must be fully completed (except for the results and the referee and the managers’ signatures) prior to matches and then given to the referee. Do not forget to fill in the Players ID numbers and provide a signature at the end of the game as cards are sent back to us by the MWFA if these (and other requested information) are not provided – and we are subsequently fined. At the end of the match the card must be completed by the referee and then signed by both managers.

If you fill out the players for a game in advance, make sure you then cross out any players who do not turn up on the day, especially where a player is suspended for a match due to a red card. If a suspended player appears on a card, he/she is deemed to have played and further penalties may apply.

Managers must check that the result is correct and all information is fully completed. Managers should also ensure that the referee has clearly printed his/her name on the match card. (Please do not sign the card prior to the match because you may leave your card “open to abuse”.) Any “cards” (that is yellow or red!) that have been shown by the referee to the Clubs players must be noted and red cards reported to the Competition Secretary. It is generally safe to assume that a red-carded player will not play the following weekend and the length of the suspension will be notified by the MWFA Disciplinery committee.

Match Card Return
All match cards must reach the MWFA by Monday morning so they MUST be returned to the Competition Secretary by 6pm Sunday evening. To that end:

mixed and mens match cards (Saturday games) need to be returned to the letterbox on the Boondah canteen door by Saturday evening;
girls and womens match cards (Sunday games) need to be returned to the Competition Secretaries home by Sunday 6pm.

Please note that if a match card is not submitted on time it could result in the team losing the relevant points and the Club being fined. Any fines incurred by senior teams will be deducted from the team bond.

Match Protests
If a manager wishes to protest against a match result then they must write "STA" on the match card at the end of the game. DO NOT SIGN THE CARD. STA stands for Subject To Adjudication and the process to determine the result can only occur if either, or both, managers fail to sign the match card.

The manager must also write a report to substantiate the protest and submit it to the Secretary. This process is not to be taken lightly as it will go to the MWFA Disputes & Discipline Committee. (In other words, do not protest simply because you did not like the refereeing.) This process should be used if the opposition have used unregistered or over-aged players, a referee has mistakenly identified a player for yellow/red cards etc.

Match Results
All age group 10 and above results must be notified to the Competition Secretary by 5:30 pm on the day of play. Our Competition Secretary is required to notify the MWFA Results Registrar by 6.00pm on the Saturday afternoon so that they can be collated. If this does not happen then the Club will be fined.

Obviously, any fines incurred inevitably result in an increase in players’ fees and/or a deuction to tema bonds. This is not a difficult task but a vital one and it is imperative that the results are notified by 5.30pm.

The easiest way to notify the result is to record it on the result sheet at Boondah Canteen. This is collected by the Competition Secreatary on Saturday evening. If the canteen is closed please place a note in the letterbox or phone the Competition Secretary directly.

For Sunday games the manager must phone the Competition Secretary with results ASAP. The timeframe for the Club to notify the MWFA is very tight.

Match Writeups
Managers are requested to e-mail the Boondah News Editor a brief report on the match which include the age group, division, opposition, result and correctly-spelt names of outstanding contributors by 8pm on Sunday. If you do not have access to email please write out your match report and place it in the letterbox at the Boondah canteen. Please remember that the editor needs to decipher your hand-writing and type up the report. Match reports by email are therefore the preferred method of submission and the most likely to be fully correct!

Try to mention each team member at least once over the season. Please avoid lengthy reports as it is not fair on the editor to be forced into a position of having to edit or truncate your report late on a Sunday night.

An example report format follows:
Saturday 19 June 2006 MATCH REPORT

NFC U13 Div 1 defeated Marist 9-1 at Boondah. A strong start to the game saw NFC take an early lead. With the pressure off so early, the boys loosened up, started talking to each other far more than in other games this season and confidently took control of the game. The Man-of-the match points went to Fabian Moroak, Ronaldo Smith and Harry Kool.

Nets and Flags
Managers are asked to ensure that nets and flags are taken down and collected if their team’s fixture is the last game on on a Boondah field for the day. Please place all equipment outside the green equipment shed adjacent to the canteen.

Player Registration and ID Cards
At the start of the season all players 10 and over must register with the MWFA. An ID card will then be issued. The Club Registrar will make a note of the numbers then pass all team ID cards on to the managers. It is the manager’s responsibility to keep all ID cards for the season and take them to all matches. Managers will be expected to be able to produce them if requested by opposition managers or officials every week. Failure to do so may result in the opposition lodging a protest on the result of the match.

Please note that the MWFA have produced a formal procedure for the checking of playing cards prior to the start of applicable matches. Please review and print for reference the procedure by clicking here.

Playing Eligibility and Age Grouping
Managers should become familiar with the definition of eligible players in the MWFA Playing Rules. These rules apply to ALL age groups.

Currently, the following players are ineligible to play in your team:

Unregistered players
Players who are more than 2 years younger than team age.
Players who play in a higher division at any age.
Players who play in a higher age group.
Players who are not on a club team list.
A player who plays in a higher division in his own age group, or in a higher age group at the same or higher division, can only play 3 such games before s/he becomes ineligible to play in his original team (ie. once they play the 4th such game they become ineligible).

Eligible players are restricted to the following (under current rules):

Players who appear on the team list submitted to Soccer Canberra, as amended if required.
Players on another team list for the club who are not ineligible players as defined above.

Additional rules apply to girls playing in mixed gender teams - please consult the MWFA Playing Rules or contact the Secretary. Once registered to play for NFC a player CANNOT play for another club during the season. Please note that the MWFA polices this fairly closely - any breaches can result in teams losing competition points.

SHIRTS
Please be aware that the team shirts provided by the Club are expensive items and should be suitably looked after. It is the manager's responsibility to ensure that shirts are not abused (other than normal wear and tear during games).

The shirts should NOT be used for training or at any other time other than matches. Should a shirt be damaged sufficiently that it no longer looks respectable for the Club, please contact the Equipment Coordinator for a replacement.

The manager is responsible for returning ALL the shirts at the end of the season. Some teams may play a summer competition under the Narrabeen name. Please request use of the name from the Secretary together with a request for shirts, if required. If at all possible the Club will provide playing shirts for summer competitions, however they WILL NOT be the same shirts used for the winter competition.

TRAINING & BOOKING OVALS
Once a decision has been made about a training day a booking for oval space (generally half-field) must be made with the Secretary. This is to ensure equitable field allocation to all age groups across all days.

We do request that the younger the team the earlier you try and train. This leaves fields available for the older age groups later in the evening.

VOLUNTEER DUTIES
A number of volunteer duties are required of the team throughout the season. The manager is responsible for ensuring that these duties are attended to on a roster, or otherwise, basis.

In particular, a team representative is to attend monthly meetings on the 2nd Monday of the month at Narrabeen RSL commencing 7pm. This does not need to be the manager, however they are proabably the most suitable.

In addition, the team will need to supply people to help with ground preparation and canteen duties per the published roster. A number of other events occur throughout the season and it makes the committee's job a lot easier if teams can volunteer to look after parts of these events.