FIRST KICKS WINTER SEASON 2024

Welcome to the First Kicks programme for 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th grade players at Northern Rovers Football Club.

Grades in football are determined by the year of birth.

For the 2024 winter season, 4th Grade is for kids born in 2020, 5th Grade is born 2019, 6th Grade is born 2018, 7th Grade is born 2017, and 8th Grade is born 2016.

Note for naming age groups in football, 7th Grade for example is the same as G7, Under-7, or U7. So you may see the grade called different things but the number remains the same.

Generally speaking our 4th and 5th grade players are combined into the same teams as the playing level between the two ages tends to be very similar.

All our 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 year olds, boys and girls are placed in a programme called First Kicks. First Kicks runs throughout Term 2 and Term 3 (school terms).  Players will be placed in teams by friendship groups/schools within their age grade. They have a training session for 50 mins once a week where they participate in fun skill sessions, and mini games.

Each First Kicks player has one training per week, and one game per week. Trainings are fixed as per the schedule below, but parents can choose either Friday night or Saturday morning for games. We will make team allocations based on the chosen game day, friendship groups/ schools within their age grade. So if your child wants to play with a specific friend group, the whole team will need to choose either a Friday or Saturday game day. 

First Kicks Trainings

Your child will attend First Kicks training once a week. These training sessions will be overseen by a Northern Rovers coach and will be run by our older players at a series of skills stations. The training schedule depends on your child grade and is as follows:

Grade 4 / Grade 5 – Monday – Becroft Park – 4:15-5:05pm

Grade 6 – Monday – Becroft Park – 4:15-5:05pm

Grade 7 – Wednesday – Becroft Park – 4:15-5:05pm

Grade 8 – Wednesday – Becroft Park – 5:15-6:05pm

First Kicks Games

Your child will play First Kicks games once per week on either Friday night at McFetridge Park or Saturday mornings at Becroft Park. We provide two options to help fit the games around other family commitments and you get to choose (one the Registration page) which option fits best. We have roughly equal numbers attend each of the two game days. They play against teams from within their grade.  Each team rotates around playing 10 minute games against the other teams in the grade. The philosophy behind the programme is to increase the number of touches a child has on the ball and to develop skills for later on. There are no substitutions in the games, every player spends the entire time playing.

These games will be overseen by a Northern Rovers coach and we will be looking for parents to referee the games that are played (full training is provided and it’s a lot of fun!). The Games Schedule is either one of the two options below:

Option 1 - Friday night

Grades 4, 5, 6 Friday night games - McFetridge Park - 5:15 - 6:05 pm

Grades 7, 8 Friday night games - McFetridge Park - 6:15 - 7:05 pm

Option 2 - Saturday morning

All (Grades 4-8) play Saturday at the same time – Becroft Park – 8:00 - 8:55 am

Start Dates

The season begins on the first weekend of Term 2 (3rd/4th May), with registrations open from the start of Term 1. Trainings will commence the following week, from 29th April and 1st May 2024. The first game weekend (3rd and 4th of May 2024) will be a chance to meet your team mates, meet the Northern Rovers coaches who are running the First Kicks programme, receive your playing shirt, and play a few warm up games to start the season!

Season Dates

Trainings and games run over Term 2 and Term 3. Games will be held on the last weekend of Term 2. There are no trainings/games on the first week of the school holidays, and trainings/games recommence on the second week of the school holidays.

Registrations 

All First Kicks players (new and returning) will need to register for the 2024 season.  The cost for the 2024 Northern Rovers FC First kicks programme is $195 (approx. $5.15 per session)

We can accept all children who register during Term 1. Once the season has started, however, we can only take new enrolments if there is space in the teams. Once you have registered, we will be in touch towards the middle or end of Term 1 to sort out teams and coaches.

Playing Gear

Northern Rovers will supply all First Kicks players with a playing shirt that will need to be returned at the end of the season. First Kicks players will need to provide their own Boots, Shinpads, Black Socks, Black Shorts. These can be purchased locally, or online from our Lotto supplier HERE