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12:55 AM
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At this time of year I want to take some time to reflect on the year a bit and write about some of the goings on at Football Manitoba.
First I want to send my best of wishes to all the football community for all the hard work that each person does to grow and maintain our sport. I want to thank the parents for getting their children involved in this sport, paying the freight for the costs, and all the little things that get kids to games and practices on time. I want to thank all the clubs and their boards and coaches and executives for the framework they provide to the sport. There are also countless hours of volunteer time, the sweat equity in maintaining fields, buildings, and equipment. (And don’t forget the organization and fund raising!) Each player is also to be commended for their decision to take up a sport that has high demands in effort and discipline. I know they will benefit from it in the future.
I particularly want to thank those persons that have helped the community so much in our bigger projects. Championship Weekend was one such effort. We could not and never will be able to, pull that off without those who step forward to place the cones, line up the kids and staff the reception tables.
There are several items of note that the community will be wishing to hear about. We have had two submissions to the board from the MMFA dealing with the general community’s wishes for action by the board. (The board also held one on one talks with several club presidents to ask for feedback and ideas.)
In the first, there is a general feeling that grass roots programming is the main requirement, and in the New Year that will be a focus. As part of this, the board has made training coaches for teams a priority. The board wants to have more certification clinics more often to train “community coaches” and “Intro to competition” coaches. At the December 16th meeting, the board authorized funds to train a facilitator for the Westman /Brandon region to assist in coach development out there. There is a plan to have two early clinics for coaches in the region to facilitate the Spring Youth Program. John Makie is in charge of this and has some candidates in mind.
In the Second, The MMFA presented some ideas to the board for governance and procedures to the board. We thank the league and particularly Rob Baillie and Craig Bachynski for their work. The board has taken these ideas under consideration and by the time we reach AGM next June, many of them will be used. A feature will be the responsibilities of board members and their duties.
With that, Ross MacKay (Treasurer Football Manitoba) has been doing yeoman service to rewrite the office rules around oversight and accounting. We have several new procedures in place that will help with our accounting and help us stay on budget. This continues to be an ongoing process.
The search for a new Executive Director has begun. The committee is headed by board member Perry Miller. Perry brings a wealth of experience to HR and we felt he is the best choice to head the committee. The committee will not be made up of other board members. It was felt that the group lacked the expertise, and it would be best to involve outside people. Perry’s main task is to find qualified persons in the greater community to sit on the committee. There will be people with HR and business experience. They will conduct the search, and write the rules of the contract. This reflects the submission from the MMFA that more oversight is required for the ED position. The search will be slowly and carefully done and we have not set closing timelines yet. In the short term, John Makie has taken on additional tasks at the office. He has frequent meetings with Ross MacKay and I to discuss plans and issues.
As many of you are probably aware, Dan Washnuk was recently hired to coach our U18 program that will partake in this year’s Canada Cup. The games this year will be held in Saskatoon, and we will no doubt be able to have parents more easily attend. The workouts will start early in the New Year, and will feature lots of personal training to get our players up to speed.
Also, the U16 program will be off the ground again soon. This has been very successful in the last two years, and there is lots of interest from places in the East, so there may be expansion of the tournament.
Please note that the office is closed for the holidays as we will use the closure to eliminate some accumulated staff overtime. The closure will run from Dec. 23rd to Jan. 6th. One note for future reference is that the office will always remain open prior to holidays and long weekends until the regular day end time of 4:30.
So to all in the greater football community; enjoy the season!
Brian Marks, President
Football Manitoba
First I want to send my best of wishes to all the football community for all the hard work that each person does to grow and maintain our sport. I want to thank the parents for getting their children involved in this sport, paying the freight for the costs, and all the little things that get kids to games and practices on time. I want to thank all the clubs and their boards and coaches and executives for the framework they provide to the sport. There are also countless hours of volunteer time, the sweat equity in maintaining fields, buildings, and equipment. (And don’t forget the organization and fund raising!) Each player is also to be commended for their decision to take up a sport that has high demands in effort and discipline. I know they will benefit from it in the future.
I particularly want to thank those persons that have helped the community so much in our bigger projects. Championship Weekend was one such effort. We could not and never will be able to, pull that off without those who step forward to place the cones, line up the kids and staff the reception tables.
There are several items of note that the community will be wishing to hear about. We have had two submissions to the board from the MMFA dealing with the general community’s wishes for action by the board. (The board also held one on one talks with several club presidents to ask for feedback and ideas.)
In the first, there is a general feeling that grass roots programming is the main requirement, and in the New Year that will be a focus. As part of this, the board has made training coaches for teams a priority. The board wants to have more certification clinics more often to train “community coaches” and “Intro to competition” coaches. At the December 16th meeting, the board authorized funds to train a facilitator for the Westman /Brandon region to assist in coach development out there. There is a plan to have two early clinics for coaches in the region to facilitate the Spring Youth Program. John Makie is in charge of this and has some candidates in mind.
In the Second, The MMFA presented some ideas to the board for governance and procedures to the board. We thank the league and particularly Rob Baillie and Craig Bachynski for their work. The board has taken these ideas under consideration and by the time we reach AGM next June, many of them will be used. A feature will be the responsibilities of board members and their duties.
With that, Ross MacKay (Treasurer Football Manitoba) has been doing yeoman service to rewrite the office rules around oversight and accounting. We have several new procedures in place that will help with our accounting and help us stay on budget. This continues to be an ongoing process.
The search for a new Executive Director has begun. The committee is headed by board member Perry Miller. Perry brings a wealth of experience to HR and we felt he is the best choice to head the committee. The committee will not be made up of other board members. It was felt that the group lacked the expertise, and it would be best to involve outside people. Perry’s main task is to find qualified persons in the greater community to sit on the committee. There will be people with HR and business experience. They will conduct the search, and write the rules of the contract. This reflects the submission from the MMFA that more oversight is required for the ED position. The search will be slowly and carefully done and we have not set closing timelines yet. In the short term, John Makie has taken on additional tasks at the office. He has frequent meetings with Ross MacKay and I to discuss plans and issues.
As many of you are probably aware, Dan Washnuk was recently hired to coach our U18 program that will partake in this year’s Canada Cup. The games this year will be held in Saskatoon, and we will no doubt be able to have parents more easily attend. The workouts will start early in the New Year, and will feature lots of personal training to get our players up to speed.
Also, the U16 program will be off the ground again soon. This has been very successful in the last two years, and there is lots of interest from places in the East, so there may be expansion of the tournament.
Please note that the office is closed for the holidays as we will use the closure to eliminate some accumulated staff overtime. The closure will run from Dec. 23rd to Jan. 6th. One note for future reference is that the office will always remain open prior to holidays and long weekends until the regular day end time of 4:30.
So to all in the greater football community; enjoy the season!
Brian Marks, President
Football Manitoba
