Springfield United FC

We are a community club, which is reflected in our low fees. As a community club, we rely on parents to step forward to be the coach and manager of sides. We do not provide coaches and managers to teams.
If a parent/s do not come forward to coach or Manager of a team, the club will need to consider if the team can continue.
Coaches and Managers will be supported throughout the season, and will receive a substantial discount to the season's fees. 

The key duties of Coaches and Managers, some of which can be done by either role, are:

• Team management: Establishing team communications and ways of operating, and assisting the SUFC Board with player registrations.
• Protecting SUFC’s equipment: Balls, cones, bibs, training equipment, goals, fields.
• Planning and conducting training sessions.
• Game day activities before, during and after games.

KEY INFORMATION for Coaches and Managers is summarised HERE. Other information is detailed below.

Coaches and Managers should be aware of the following codes, available on the SUFC website at Other Info > Policies and Key Docs, and should play a key role in upholding them across the members of their team.

• Football Australia Code of Conduct.
• Football Australia Spectator Code of Behaviour.
• Football Queensland Ground Official Responsibilities.
• SUFC Member Protection Policy.
• Football Australia Member Protection Policy.
• SUFC Social Media Policy.

Prospective and confirmed Coaches and Managers will be forwarded an Induction email which will outline requirements and actions for:

• Registration in Squadi.
• Proof of, or application for a Blue Card.
• Review of Coaches and Managers information and responsibilities.

Upon completion of these requirements, Coaches and Managers discounts/refunds will be provided.

Coaches and Managers also receive a free Coaches or Managers shirt, which they can keep. Admin will advise how and when these can be collected.

SUFC predominantly use the SUFC Coaches & Managers Facebook group to communicate with Coaches and Managers on things such as:

• Kit collection.
• Cancellation or changes to training.
• Reminders to Coaches and Managers of club requirements.
• Special events, including end of year events.

At least one of the Coach or Manager needs to join this group. 

Coaches and Managers are encouraged to use the group to post match reports each week, and to seek help or support from other teams for training or games.

Anyone who we have not confirmed as a Coach or Manager will have their request to join the group rejected. Each year a cleanse will be undertaken to remove members who are no longer Coaches or Managers. 

At SUFC, we use a system called Majestri, and have developed a SUFC Majestri User Guide which can be found on the SUFC website at Other Info > Policies and Key Docs.

 All Coaches and Managers are recommended to login by the SUFC website to gain access to their team’s details by clicking on the My Details link in the top toolbar where you will see the Role of Coach or Manager against your name, with the name of your team. Click on the name of your team to go to your Team Dugout and see your team’s details.

 Action required:

1. Over the first couple of weeks of training, check which players are attending training.
2. Where players have not attended training, please contact them using the contact details in their registration.
3. If you are unable to make contact with the parent or carer of a player who has not come to training, please email info.sufc@gmail.com.

One of the first things Coaches or Managers should do is to engage with parents/carers and establish a way of communicating with them.

Options include Squadi, Facebook, Messenger or specialist team apps (eg, Heja).

Communications could include:

• Changes to training.
• Advising game day/times and confirming who will be playing.
• Team rosters, including half-time fruit and jersey washing.
• Any club communications that the team need to know about.
• Any team news or events.

Squadi was introduced by Football Queensland in the 2023 season. For 2024, Squadi will be used for the following for both pre-season and season activities:

• Player registrations, including assignment to players to teams.
• Coach, Manager, Referee and Volunteer registrations.
• Fixtures (games).
• Teamsheets for games.
• Scores, cards and reports for games.
• Competition ladders.
• Team activities and communications (optional).

Squadi is used to manage all players except Little Springers and Overs (use of Squadi for Overs is currently being considered).

Parents, players, Coaches, Managers, Referees and spectators will predominantly use the Squadi app for all of the above activities.

Football Queensland Squadi Guides and links

• Squadi FAQs
• Managing your team video
• Completing a Match Sheet video
• Coach Help Guide
• Player Help Guide
• Parent Video
• Spectator Help Guide
• Viewing Draws, Ladders and Statistics
• Completing Match Results (appointed Referee)

All players will be required to do the following registrations each year:

1. Register with SUFC (in our Majestri system), and
2. Register in Squadi (Football Queensland & Football Australia).

SUFC Admin may reach out to Coaches and Managers throughout the season to assist with completion of registrations for players, or follow up of outstanding fees.

SUFC players will be issued with a training kit containing one pair of socks, one pair of shorts and a training shirts. U13+ players will also receive a club polo.

SUFC Admin will hold multiple training kit collection days early in the season. 

Players will not be able to collect their training kit until they have either paid fees in full, or have established a Payment Plan for the balance of their fees.

Additional socks and shorts can be purchased through our online store, via our website. Additional training shirts may be available to purchase at the club after training kits have been provided to all players.

Players are to wear their training kit to training, as well to weekend games. Previous years training kits can be worn, however this may be discouraged where there has been a significant change in sponsors.

For U13+ players, they will wear their club polo to games instead of the training shirt.

Each team will be issued with a numbered game day kit (jerseys) prior to season games commencing, as follows:

• U6 & U7 – No goalkeeper, jerseys numbered 1 to 7.
• U8 & U9 – Goalkeeper (#1) and jerseys numbered 2 to 11.
• U10 & U13 – Goalkeeper (#1) and jerseys numbered 2 to 14.
• U14 & U18 – Goalkeeper (#1) and jerseys numbered 2 to 16.
• Non-FQPL Seniors - Goalkeeper (#1) and jerseys numbered 2 to 16.
• FQPL - Goalkeeper (#1 & #12) and jerseys numbered 2 to 32.

Teams who volunteer to take extra players above the above preferred maximum squad sizes, where approved by SUFC Admin, may not be provided additional jerseys.

Game Day kits are NOT to be handed out to players at the start of the season. They are to be brought to games as a kit, handed out for the game, then collected and washed as a kit (usually a roster). For any exceptions to this, please email info.sufc@gmail.com.

Individual jerseys from Game Day kits are NOT to be swapped with other teams. If there are any issues, please email info.sufc@gmail.com.

Football Queensland will issue a season calendar each year, usually January/February, outlining when games will be played and key dates such as team nominations. This calendar can be found on the SUFC website at Other Info > Football Queensland Resources.

Season fixtures will be issued via the Squadi app, once the fixtures have been finalised, however you will usually only see the fixtures for your teams. This usually occurs 2 – 4 weeks before the first round (see the season calendar).

In additional to this, the Other Info > Squadi page on the SUFC website contains a link for searching for all fixtures in Squadi.

Both of the above options also include ladders for competitive competitions for U13+.

Coaches and Managers are encouraged to post match reports in the Managers & Coaches Facebook page after each game. 

For games up to and including U12, the score cannot be included in any public posts.

Referees are generally provided for games as follows:

• U6 to U7 – All endeavours will be made to provide a club referee, however where there are insufficient club referees, a Coach or parent/carer will generally referee the game.
• U8 to U12 - Generally a club referee will be provided. Where this is not possible, a Coach or parent/carer will generally referee the game.
• For U13+ - Where a Football Queensland (centre) Referee and/or Assistant Referees are not allocated, club referees will be appointed as Centre Referee and usually at least one Assistant Referee (AR).

In the unfortunate event of an incident or injury at training or a game, please report it using the Injury Reporting Form found on the SUFC website at Other Info > Injury Claims. Information relating to claiming through the Football Australia insurance can be found on this page.

We acknowledge that coaches may never have coached before, while some may be trained and qualified coaches. Regardless of your experience and knowledge, there are a host of coaching resources available for Miniroos coaches (up to U11), divisional coaches (U12 to U16) and senior coaches (U18 and men’s and women’s competitions) to help you plan and design your training sessions.

• Football Australia National Football Curriculum – From the fundamentals of playing and coaching to model sessions for U6 to Senior.
• Football Australia Coaching Hub – Coaching resources and development.
• Football Australia Coaching Resources – Sessions, stories, newsletters, webinars.
• Football Australia Club Coach Coordinators Resources and Videos.
• Football Queensland Coaching Knowledge Base – Coach support and development, player support and development, training templates, sessions and guides.
• Football Australia Game Training Manual (U13 to U18) and Game Training Phase -  While superceded by the new Foundations of Football, provides youth coaches with the necessary tools to create developmentally appropriate practical sessions
• Football Australia Skills Acquisition Manual (U9 to U12) and Skills Acquisition Phase Program – While superceded by the new Foundations of Football, contains tools to create developmentally appropriate practical sessions.
• Football Australia NAB (MiniRoos) Skills Series Library).
• MiniRoos Activity Guide.
• Football Australia MiniRoos resources.
• Football Brisbane (MiniRoos) Football Fundamentals.

Football Queensland makes available coaching courses for both community-level (certificate) and advanced-level (licences) coaches. Details can be found here on the Football Queensland website, and include for community coaches:

• MiniRoos Certificate – a FREE 3hr course aimed at coaches of U6 to U12 teams. First time coaches for U13 to U18 can also benefit from the course.
• Foundations of Football – A new course introduced by Football Australia, aimed at volunteer parents and coaches working with advanced beginner to competent level players or players aged up to approximately fifteen (15) years old. This course is a prerequisite for the Football Australia/AFC C Diploma. It replaces the •            Skills Acquisition and Game Training certificates, and the cost is $100.

SUFC has dedicated technical officers supporting for both MiniRoos and Divisional (U13 to U18) coaches. How this technical support is applied is reviewed on an ongoing basis.

If a coach is looking for technical support in addition to any proactively provided by SUFC, please email info.sufc@gmail.com.

As we get closer to the end of season, SUFC Admin will:

• Advertise when the end of season events are for each age group, as well as Coaches and Managers.
• Request nominations for players awards, ahead of the end of season events.
• Advise when and how training kits and playing kits are to be returned.