Tiger Talk

Return of the Juniors

With the sun shining and weather more akin to games in September, the Junior Tiger teams have finally been able to get the start-stop-start season underway in July which has been a great relief to coaches, players and parents. This season the Hobart Junior Football Club (HJFC) have been able to field teams in the U8, U9, U10, U11, and U11G competitions, as well as having a decent bunch of Auskickers to boot.

Most teams have been extremely fortunate to have played both of their fixtures so far at the TCA, and it must be said that the ground is looking good right now and a delight to be playing on.

Jarrod Kleeman is once again running around with the U8 team, a large squad made up of players from last season who were oh-so-keen to start playing, as well as a big group of new players eager to learn. Whilst scores are not kept at this level (I’m sure they could tell you the score if asked!), it is safe to say that they are having lots of fun, learning a lot as a team, and showing signs of improvement week on week.

For the U9 team this year we are greatly appreciative of Timmy Clark and Brad Joseph from the senior team giving us some of their time to help shape this group of players. The juniors are extremely fortunate to be able to be getting instructions from those who are performing at the highest level possible within the club. Whilst results on the field may not be quite what the team and coaches were hoping for, the kids are still enthusiastic, and are improving all the time. With a bit of further recruitment of some additional players, and as the teamwork continues to develop, we expect to see this team banging in goals adding to the smiling faces.

Justin Wilson has taken over the role of coaching the U10s, with some insight and assistance from Phil Geason during training runs. They have exploded onto the park with a lot of energy, goals and fantastic results to show for the start of the season. The many years of playing together as a group is really starting to click and they are being rewarded for all their hard work as a team against solid opposition.

The U11 team is lead once again by Troy Pfitzner who has taken this group of players from the start of their playing days through to now, their 4^th season together. Whilst they have not been getting the game results deserving of the effort applied on the park, the squad is showing steady improvements in not only their technique, but also tactics which becomes very important as the teams mature with age.

For the girls teams this year it has been a bit of a regeneration activity for Russell Cripps to mold into a new look squad. The younger players from last year have come back and formed the core to build the new team around. With a boost of ever-increasing new players to add to the talent pool, this season has started with some very impressive displays of individual and team skills which have produced a first round win and then backed up with a fantastic 4^th quarter close comeback in the second round.

All in all, whilst this season might be shorter than first anticipated, it is sure to be impressive and one that Jarrod, Timmy, Brad, Justin, Troy, and Russell will be proud to be coaching. Finally, the tireless work of Janet must be recognized as she continues to provide information to parents, assist coaches and managers with getting support where needed, sorting out all the club administration, and ensuring that each player is looking the part on game day, as part of her voluntary role to ensure the kids get to have fun on a Sunday.