Womens Federation Cup Final Part 1 - Ed Hollis Woden Valley Coach

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), through the Australian Community Radio Network on Tuesday, 29 March at 7:00PM.

If you didn't get to the Women's Federation Cup final at Mackellar last Saturday, you have my deepest sympathies.

This was a fantastic game, played by two teams who are well coached, were well prepared for this game and played with skill, discipline, flair, passion and total committment. It was everything you could want a game of football to be.

The two teams were Woden Valley FC (defending Womens PL premiers for 2010) v Belconnen United FC. The game concluded at the end of 90 minutes of ordinary time 0:0, then they played 30 minutes of Extra time, still 0:0. Both teams had played themselves to a standstill. A penalty shoot out followed and Belconnen's experienced players saw them win the game for Belconnen United FC.

The player of the match went to the Belocnnen GK and it was hard to argue with her performance. But I just can't let this opportunity pass without special mention of the two Belconnen centre backs, they were absolutely outstanding among two teams of players who were all giving their best. These two Belco players held it all together at the back and  this was clearly a key to the Belco Coaches game plan. Their individual and collective performance was the best I have seen in these two critical positions in the last few years of mens or womens football in the ACT PL. Both players have much to recommend them to ACTAS.

My heartfelt congratulations to all associated with both teams. It was well worth the $5 entry fee that Capital Football cheekly charged spectators. I hope they take the total entry fee contribution and buy every player in both teams new football boots and the two coaches oxygen recovery equipment!

And all this good Football at the end of the Pre-season competition. Amazing! Womens Football is just getting better and better.

There is only one thing I can recommend - rather than me write about this sensational match, listen to the Coaches talk about it. In Part 1 we begin by talking to the Coach of Woden Valley FC, Ed Hollis. In Part 2 we will speak to the Belconnen United FC Coach.


Download Podcast here:

Dentist Sounds Sports Drinks Warning

Sourced from http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/18/3167749.htm

Sports drinks are used all the time these days, in preference to water, from Rooball to Masters! Do you need it? Or do you simply need to hydrate correctly - with water?

Dentist sounds sports drinks warning
By Paul Kennedy and Tim Ayliffe
Updated Fri Mar 18, 2011 3:01pm AEDT

Dr Brett Dorney says he has witnessed a huge increase in dental erosion since the Sydney Olympics (AAP: Dean Lewins)
Dr Brett Dorney says he has witnessed a huge increase in dental erosion since the Sydney Olympics, when he was the event's deputy director of dental services.
Dr Dorney says he first noticed the link between damaged teeth and sports drinks when he reviewed the cases of twenty-five elite athletes in his Sydney practice in 1995.
"We were absolutely shocked to find that elite athletes do not have elite mouths," he said.
"They were suffering widespread erosion and a lot of them had decayed teeth, which is something that we did not expect from people that we look up to in the community.
"Normally two mechanisms are involved. One is called dental erosion, which is basically the tooth dissolving. The other one is dental decay [which] occurs because sports drinks are acid, and they allow acid resistant bacteria to build up on the tooth's surface."
Dr Dorney says a product that was developed six years ago could help limit erosion from sports drinks.
He cited a scientific paper released by Melbourne University in 2005 that examined the effects of adding a calcium product called CPPACP to sports drinks.
"When this was added... they found that the erosive potential of that product was dramatically reduced," he said.
"The other important part was that the flavour of the sports drink, according to the study... had not changed."
Dr Dorney, who will present his research to an international conference in the United States, says he is not encouraging athletes to stop consuming sports drinks.
But he insists they should be made aware of the dangers.
"I think modern dentistry is about education - you must give people the information so that they can make choices [about] dental health and what dental risk they are going to be at.
"[Tooth erosion] is multi-factorial, it depends on whether the person is dehydrated, it also depends on the sport they are playing, the intensity of the sport, whether they have had sufficient fluid before they started playing."
Emma Rippon, a sports dietitian employed by the Collingwood Football Club, says sports drinks play a vital role in athletic performance.
"Sports drinks were originally designed to help elite athletes to maintain their sporting performance during activity," she said.
"They provide fluid, they provide carbohydrate for energy, they provide electrolytes, sodium and potassium so they are a really important part of an athlete's nutritional strategy."
But Ms Rippon agrees sports drinks cause problems for some athletes.

"There is a problem with tooth decay and tooth enamel erosion in athletes who misuse or overuse sports drinks. We are aware of that as a professional organisation of sports dietitians, we know [it] can be an issue," she said.
She says one way of minimising harm is by reducing the amount of contact the acidic fluid had with teeth.
"They can squirt the drink to the back of their mouth... [and] they can then follow up with some water to help rinse their mouth out as well," she said.
"And not drinking it while they have a mouthguard in their mouth as well, which would obviously hold the sports drink in their teeth."
Ms Rippon warns recreational athletes and children should also beware.
"There's a level of education for these young kids who are again drinking these things because there's a marketing hype, or they have just stopped into the milk bar on the way to school, and I do see it myself and it is a concern, because that is the misuse of these products," she said.
"Also, we are not encouraging our kids and not giving them the right messages if they are having these types of fluids instead of having proper nutritious food."
Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade play a major role in sponsoring elite sports teams and individual athletes.
Ms Rippon says it is not the role of the manufacturers of sports drinks to educate consumers about the dangers of misusing sports drinks.
"But again there is an element of education and seeking the right advice from professionals in the industry and in the area to help people get an understanding about whether sports drinks are right for them," she said.
Powerade, owned by Coca Cola, states on its website: "The combination of carbohydrate in a somewhat acidic environment can cause dental cavities and/or erosion, however sports drinks are no different to many foods and fluids".
"Minimise the contact time between the sports drink and teeth (for example by swallowing immediately and rinsing with water regularly whilst using a sports drink). also, don't wash your mouthguard with a sports drink before putting it in your mouth."
Gatorade, owned by Pepsico, said it employed a nutritionist to work closely with sports bodies, including the Australian Institute of Sport, to ensure the best use of its products.
-Paul Kennedy presents Contact Sport at 7.30pm AEST tonight on ABC News 24.

Children In Sport - How Much Is Too Much and What Are The Risks?

Sourced from the British Journal of Sports Medicine - Paediatric exercise specialist Denis Caine discusses some hot topics concerning children in sport.

Football is demanding more and more of our young players, particularly if they show some early ability and their parents are keen to see them do well in the game. The development programs, winter competitions, summer competitions, joined as they are for many by an overlapping Futsal season, just about covers the entire calender year these days.

The intention / desired outcome of development programs in football is to engage the young talented players in many more contact hours and games across a year, while upgrading the quality and expertise of those that conduct these programs.

But where do you draw the line? How much Football is too much? Many parents with children keen on football ask these questions.

They talk of the 10,000 hours to produce a player, beginning at 5 years of age and we have can seen just how effective these regimes are from a technical standpoint when we watch  Japanese or Korean youth teams play in Australia. We marvel at the quality of the Singot Primary School every Kanga Cup, knowing as we now do, that this school specialises in Football and the boys train every morning before school. These countries have a far more sophisticated infrastructure in support of football than we offer in the ACT at this time.

It would be interesting to know what they know, when it comes to how much is the right amount at what age and how to deal with injury at these tender ages. This information that is a bit hard to find. Parents often fly by the seat of their pants, on one hand feeling obligated to ensure their child gets the opportunity ot be as good as they might want to be, while on the other, seeking balance across life experiences and most importantly, ensuring the child does not experieence serious injury. Sadly, we see too many young players particpating with all sorts of injuries and strapping, enduring pain  / discomfort when they should not. Too oftne their time in the game is short. Coahes who refuse to play injured young players often feel the cricitism of parents, anxious for their child to be noticed and valued as a player. Adult concepts and expectations seem to impose themsleves on children in Football. It stops being fun of you get injured.

FIFA has an excellent document on injury prevention in the girls / women's game (references by the NPL  - see older posts). Elements mentioned int his study arise in tonight's program.

The children between the ages of 8 to 12 years are the target of high levels of technical development - skills acquisition. They require very specific, and carefully structured training, because so much growth occurs in this period of time and so much damage can be done that has long lasting effects. They go through a further growth spurt in the early teens, which further complicates things. The FFA makes mention of this notion in their National Development Plan, in the context of selection of talented players, which can be hindered by what is referred to as the "Age Relative Effect". But the analysis seems to stop at this point.

So how much is enough training, at what age and when?

Football is played from top to bottom of the age groups in juniors / youth by girls and boys. They often play in the same team, some play up levels beyond their age, in search of the level of resistance that coaches or parents feel will sustain their development, enhance their development or make them more competitive for selection in representative teams. Parents often become very agitated if their child is not selected in a "div 1 " team, as though this is the end of their child's Football world.

So how much is enough? What is the appropraite level of resistance. Who decides? When is the risk too great?

You would think that this sort of thing is the meat and bread of a Techncial Director at member Federation and Club levels.
In this program, we have a very interesting discussion on injury in sport among jnior and youth sport, as the Paediatric exercise specialist, Denis Caine, brings us across some of the latest research.

This program is a must for parents and coaches.

Download Podcast here: