Our football competition is organised by age groups with names such as “Under 6”, “Under 7”, etc. Players are placed into the age group they are turning this season. For example, if your son or daughter is turning 6 in 2012, then they would play in the “Under 6” age group.

The Under 6 to Under 10^* age groups are mixed teams (boys and girls playing together) and they play a non-competitive form of football called Small Sided Football. These games are designed to maximise fun with fewer players on the field allowing everybody more contact with the ball. It aims to meet developmental needs of younger players and maintain a strong focus on maximum participation and enjoyment.

For Under 10^* and above, there are separate boys and girls competitions and teams are graded and play in a competition against teams of similar abilities (or at least, that is the goal).

^*Under 10 and 11 girls have the option to play in either the mixed competition or the girls-only competiton.

Our youngest age group is “Under 6” and most children start playing football in the year they turn 6. A player must be at school to register for Under 6. Or in other words, your son or daughter must turn 5 before 30th June 2017 in order to qualify for the 2017 season.

For non-competition teams, the season runs from April until August and you will play around 18 games, less any games that are washed out due to bad weather and council ground closures.

For Competiton teams, the normal season runs from April until early August with the finals held in August and September. Depending upon the number of teams in your division, you will play around 14 games in the normal season.

Mixed non-competition games and boys-only competition games are played on a Saturdays between 8:30am and 3:00pm, and girls-only competition games are played on Sundays between 8:30am and 3:00pm. The actual time and location of the games change from week to week. Typically older teams play later in the day however its not unusual to have U7 and U8 games starting as late as 1:00pm.

For competition teams only, our Association attempts to rescheduled games that are washed-out by bad weather or grounds being closed by local councils. In this case, some boys-only teams will find themselves playing on a Sunday and likewise girls-only teams may be required to play on a Saturday.

All competition games are played in the St George area – from Arncliffe/Brighton-Le-Sands in the East to Padstow/Riverwood in the West, bounded by the M5 to the North and Botany Bay to the South. A complete list of the grounds can be found here.

During the pre-season we organise a number of trial games and these may be played outside of the St George area. Also, some teams choose to enter into competitions such as the Sydney Cup or gala days which may involve travelling to other associations in the Sydney Metropolitan area.

Training may be held on a Monday through Friday any time between 3:30pm and 9:30pm although we encourage the younger teams to train in the afternoon/early evening. You child’s actual training time and day is decided by the team coach in consultation with parents at the grading day. This is one of the reasons why it is so important that at least one parent of each child be present at the grading day. Training is held at one of our training grounds:

• Kingsgrove Avenue Reserve
• Kingsgrove High School
• Bexley Oval

To play with Bexley FC you must first register and pay the registration fee. This fee covers the cost to register players with the St George Football Association (SGFA), player injury insurance, the use of playing shirts, training and playing equipment, and other administration costs. Each registered player receives a training ball and all new players will receive club shorts and socks also. Registration fees for the current season are listed here.

In addition, each week we must pay our referees to officiate the match and the cost works out to be roughly $1 to $2 per player per game. Typically there are 18 games (non-competition) or 14 games (competition) in a season and teams collect all referee fees at the start of the season (plus possibly a bit extra for phones calls, TXT messages and/or end of season activities).

Finally, parents will need to buy a pair of football boots and shin pads for your son or daughter. These are MANDATORY and can be purchased from stores such as Rebel Sports.

Yes you can, however there are some caveats you should be aware of. When building teams for the first time in the Under 6 age group, we attempt to build teams around groups of friends or kids who go to the same school and will always attempt to accommodate your requests. These requests MUST be made in person to the club officials at the grading day (another reason why it is so important to attend your grading day). One caveat here is where the team is looking to enter into the Advanced competition, in which case we will insist that kids play to their ability as there is nothing more upsetting than being beaten by 10+ goals each week.

Teams in the Under 7 to Under 9 age groups are often built around the teams from the previous year, and new players are added to those teams (as well as new teams being created where we have sufficient players to create new teams). So there is some scope to add new players to existing teams with their friends, but only where there is space available in that team. In addition, the caveat around teams entering the advanced competition still applies.

In the Under 10s and above, all players are graded on their ability and we strongly encourage that players play in a team of their ability rather than with friends (in our experience, they quickly make new friends anyhow!). Players can play with a friend(s) but can only move down grades, not up, and only after speaking with the Football Coordinator before the beginning of your child’s grading.

Yes this is possible, however we once again encourage all players to play in their age group and to their ability. We also have a duty of care to consider here and cannot allow players to play up if it is deemed unsafe.

To be placed into a team and play football with Bexley FC, you must follow this three step process:

1. Register on-line,
2. Attend one of our registration days to have your player photo taken and proof of age confirmed, and
3. Attend your grading day(s) to be placed into a team.

Details of how to register can be found here.

The coach and manager are chosen from the parents in the team. At the end of the grading, the parents of each team get together and are asked to elect a coach and manager. Each team must have at least one coach and one manager or else the team will not be registered. Some teams elect to have two coaches, so that they may share the coaching duties. The coach should have some knowledge in the game (previously played or keen armchair supporter) and has the following duties:

• Work with your Team Manager & other parents to determine possible training times
• Plan your upcoming coaching sessions to concentrate on particular skills
• Begin coaching your team in accordance with any coaching guidelines, books or resources made available to you from the Club
• You will need to coach your players at least once per week for a minimum of 1 hour (per session)
• Encourage participation from all of your players
• Ensure everyone has equal time on the field
• Provide a positive coaching environment with an emphasis on fun and participation!

Free Level 1 Coaching Courses are provided, and in addition our club provides free access to an on-line coaching planner to help you plan and execute your training session.

The Manager on the other hand requires no knowledge in the game and simply needs to like things organised!