BORNEO FOOTBALL CUP 2010

The selection of players for our Team K12 and Team K14 participating in Borneo Football Cup 2010 in Kota Kinabalu has been finalised. The names of these 40 players (20 for each team) will be announced at our session on 03 July 2010. Those not selected will be placed on standby to replace those selected who do not "toe the line" over the next 3 months. Those selected were painstakingly scrutinised over and over again as we want to make sure that we have a balanced team (not necessarily the strongest) to meet the challenge in Kota Kinabalu. We may not win the tournament but if we lose, we want to lose with our dignity and pride intact.

These players will also represent our academy in the forthcoming 2010 Kuching Fest Junior Football League but unfortunately, only 18 players per team can be registered. So 2 players from each team will have to be mere supporters; even so, we will monitor how these players provide morale, mental and psychological support to their playing teammates from the stands.

TERM 02/10 ASSESSMENT

Our last session for Term 02/10 will be held on 04 July 2010 (Sunday) where the Term Assessment will be conducted on our Kickies. However, only those who attended MORE THAN 6 SESSIONS throughout Term 02/10 will be eligible.

2010 KUCHING FEST JUNIOR FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Kickalob Sports Academy and MBKS will be collaborating in organising the 2010 Kuching Fest Junior Football League scheduled to kickoff on 17 July 2010. This will be an U14 tournament and only 10 teams will be accepted to take part on a "first-come-first-serve" basis. So far, 5 teams have already confirmed their participation.

No cash prize will be given for this tournament as we don't want to inculcate the "no-money-no-play" syndrome into our players. Players must play for the love of and commitment towards the game. This tournament will show us who the team managers and coaches are who are fully in it for the love of Sarawak football. Of course money is important but it should be secondary!

We will be sending our Team K12 and Team K14 for this tournament. The selections for both teams bound for Borneo Football Cup in Kota Kinabalu have more or less been finalised. However, we will keep our options open and this tournament will provide these players an avenue to show everyone why they should be on that plane to Kota Kinabalu.

ENGLAND'S CHANCES IN WORLD CUP 2010

Having grown up watching English football, I'm hoping England will have a good World Cup outing but I am not getting my hopes up as they have always disappointed in the past. There are 2 main reasons (or should I say excuses??) why England seldom do well in the World Cup or Euro Championships.

One factor is the weather. The majority of the English season is spent in cool or cold temperatures with wind and rain. Obviously the training sessions are done in the same weather. In order to stay warm in these cool temperatures, players have to practically run at 100mph all the time!! This is also a major factor why the EPL is played at such a quick and frantic pace. As most World Cups and Euro Championships are played in the summer and usually in hot temperatures, it is an unusual situation for England players. They can't run around at 100mph like they do in the EPL and this takes something away from their game. (NOTE: It will be winter in South Africa with temperatures in the 40s to 60s so this should be to England's advantage.)

The other factor is wear and tear. Most of the England players, if not all, play in the EPL. Anyone who has watched an EPL game and then a Serie A or La Liga game will see a big difference. The EPL games are much faster and more physical. This takes its toll over the season. In fact, it was often said that Patrick Viera used to purposely get red carded around Christmas / New Year so that he could take a much needed rest. The bottom line is that England players usually show up at the World Cup and Euro Championships worn out. Franz Beckenbaur used to say, "The English play like lions in the autumn and like lambs in the spring/summer."

So England has the weather on their side for this World Cup but nothing can be done about the players' wear and tear. However, a new factor has arisen that could even be more damaging than these 2 factors, and that is team chemistry. I haven't really followed the John Terry and Wayne Bridge situation but any scandal involving wives, girlfriends, friendship and infidelity can really wreck a team's chemistry. And when other players end up taking sides, cliques form, rifts start and the whole thing becomes messy. Potentially, I think this could be more damaging than anything else.

So how will England do this time? It wouldn't surprised me if they struggled in group play, barely advanced and struggled to win another game. As for me, I will stand by SPAIN. Ole!

RESCHEDULEMENT OF SESSIONS

Due to requests from the majority of parents to reschedule our Term 02/10 sessions due to the holidays, the remaining sessions will be held as follows:

28 May 2010 (Friday) 7:30am

20 June 2010 (Sunday) 7:30am
26 June 2010 (Saturday) 3:30pm
27 June 2010 (Sunday) 7:30am
04 July 2010 (Sunday) 7:30am

Selamat Hari Gawai and Happy Holidays everyone!

RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Football is a simple game, right? Just put the ball in the other team's net more often than they put it in yours. That's all your team has to do.

But getting to the point where your team regularly outscores the opposition is not simple. You have to teach your players a number of skills - how to pass, receive, tackle, shield the ball and shoot. Then when your players are old enough to understand the concept of teamwork, they learn how to space themselves on the pitch, how to support the ball carrier and how to defend and attack as a unit.

But sometimes we forget that all football skills are underpinned by our players' 'feel' for the ball. If they can manipulate the ball without thinking and make the ball do what they want it to do (rather than be ruled by what the ball wants to do), they will become a prized asset. That is a 'natural' football player who can shoot, defend, dribble and score with hardly any visible effort. We all want these players in our teams, don't we? Yet we sometimes forget that a great 'feel' for the ball doesn't happen by accident - it needs to be worked on. So these potential great footballers need help - from their parents, their coaches and above all, themselves. You need the right blend!

GOTONG ROYONG

We joined SK St Joseph in the gotong royong perdana held last Saturday. However, it was a BIG disappointment to see only 30% of our Kickies turned up for this.

True, some were involved at their own schools but I doubt if all were. We have to get to the bottom of this as Kickalob strives to be an academy where one learns not only football but also self-discipline. Be rest assured that we will weed out those who do not share these same objective because we do not want this sickness to become an epidemic!!!

This matter is further complicated by the parents of our Kickies who just dropped their Kickies off at the padang and off they went. These parents have to realise that in order for us to discipline their Kickies, it has to start with them doing it first. If they choose not to set an example to their Kickies, then please do not expect us to do it for them. Wake up people!!

Am I upset? Nope. Rather, I am very sad that this is happening and very sad that we have Kickies who have this attitude and parents who condone it.

NUMBER OF KICKIES

As at the last session, the number of registered Kickies in our academy stood at 109!

TEAM K60 VS CITY UNITED

Our Team K60 lost 1-2 but no complaints. We gave it our best shot against a team consisting of 5 Finexyxs players, including ex-state Ramos Sari. Exposure was given to 5 of our Team K14 lads and hopefully they have matured a little bit more in terms of big match experience.

However, I was rather disappointed at the absence of our coaches (other than Coach Jemi and Coach Eddy) who don't bother to turn up. I am thinking of reprimanding these coaches who do not seem to encourage the spirit of camaraderie when they should be the ones to lead the way. Lesser said, the better!!!

Next match for Team K60 will be announced in due time.

UPDATES

1. Our K14 played against Tunku Putra last Friday and drew 1-1. Not a bad result considering Tunku Putra fielded its U17 squad!!

2. We were running Kejohanan Futsal Piala Bernas 2010 at Arena Sukan last Saturday and Sunday and into the Finals which will be held this coming Sunday. Hence, the need to change our sessions timing last and this weekend. Timing will be back to normal on Sunday mornings next week.

3. Kickalob has set up Ambassadors Club (AmClub) whose function is to provide support services to Kickalob's management in managing our activities and so forth. Azmir Mustafa, Soffian's dad, is the President. Anyone who wishes to contribute to this cause can come forward and see him.

4. And I am tired, pooped and exhausted!!!

U14 VS CITY UNITED

What was apparent during our 1-3 loss to City United yesterday was the ABSENCE of communication between our players. Giving them the benefit of the doubt since they have only started playing together, our players do need to learn how to talk to one another on the pitch. Communication is vital during a match and can be the difference between winning and losing.

What was apparent was also the collapse of the "christmas tree" formation that Kickalob adopts for all its teams. The players did not seem to understand the functions of each position; again, the benefit of the doubt given that they have only been together for 2 weeks. Knowing one's role when playing is very important as a "malfunctioning" player can and will lead to disaster for the team.

What was apparent was the fact that some players are going to be "burnt out" due to playing too many sports - futsal, football, basketball, cricket, rugby, etc. Not good for children to over-expose themselves to too many sports. They may not feel it now but when they grow older, the effects will show. Furthermore, it is not good for their brain development as the brain will be too tired to even stimulate and develop!!!!!

What was apparent was the recognition that our Kickalob has at the field. Many people were asking me how to enroll their kids but I had to tell them that we were not taking in anymore enrollments until next term. This augurs well for Kickalob's future, doesn't it?


SCHEDULED MATCHES
(kickoff 4:30pm)
30 April 2010
K14 vs Tunku Putra U17 (Kickalob Training Base)
9 May 2010
K60 vs City United (Jubilee Ground)

BITTEN BY THE "EXTRA CLASS" BUG AGAIN

Again, we have to cancel our Saturday session this weekend due to many schools having extra classes. Gosh, during my time, we never even heard of those "extra class" words! Anyway, it seems that there is going to be many of these Saturday classes so we may as well not schedule any more Saturday sessions unless necessary.

By the way, our U14 squad will be paying against Padungan United this Sunday (25 April 2010) at Jubilee Ground. Kickoff scheduled for 4:45pm. This will be a good testfor our brand new team after the addition of a number of players selected from our U14 carnival.

RESULT - K60 VS TELEKOM

Yeah, we won 4-2.

MATCH FOR TEAM KICKALOB 60

Yup, it's high time for our Team Kickalob 60 (comprising of Kickalob's staff, parents and coaches) to play ball. What's the "60" for, you may ask?! Go figure it out!!
This Sunday (18 April) vs Telekom at 4:30pm
Venue - Telekom Multimedia College, Samariang.

THE START OF A NEW TERM

It was very encouraging to see so many trainees turning up on the first day of our Term 02/10 last Sunday. There were quite a number of new Kickies and add that to the few who were talent-scouted from the recent U14 tournament, the total reached 100+ trainees.

At the beginning of the session, we handed out certificates to those Kickies who successfully completed and passed their modules last Term 01/10 - Benjamin Hopkins, Mohd Azrulhisham Kadari, Muhammad Izzul'muqri Othman, Razin Ahmad Nizar, Adrian Assan, Ahmad Afiq Shah, Carlos Colin, Faris Amzar Mohd Azrai, Haiman Karim Hamzah, Iqmal Hafiz Awang Azami, Marcel Owen, Muhammad Hazeem Syazwan Daud, Shawn Ross Leong, Abang Muhammad Aniq Abang Abdul Rahman, Muhammad Hazeeq Syazani Daud and Muhammad Thaqif Irfan. Congratulations to these Kickies!!

I am pleased to see that our U12 and U14 teams have started preparing to take part in a tournament in Kota Kinabalu in early October 2010. With the addition of new Kickies, our teams have a wider pool of players to select from. This will definitely push up the standard a notch as those not up to par will not be selected for the trip to Kota Kinabalu. And I can say that no one will want to miss this tournament as we will be up against teams from Australia, Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. This was the reward for our U14 team for reaching the semifinals of our U14 tournament. For the U12 team, it was for their never-say-die attitude and for achieving 13th spot and earning 3 points when no one gave them a ghost of a chance.

ROLL OF HONOUR

CHAMPIONS - War's 15 Adiqa Jr
RUNNERS-UP - Sporting Vision FC
3RD PLACE - Kickalob 14
4TH PLACE - Gertaq Akademi Bandar Baru Samariang
TOP GOALSCORER - Mohammad Noor Izwan (War's 15 Adiqa jr)
BEST GOALKEEPER - Awg Asyraaf Awg Ismail Nazaruddin (Yayasan Sarawak)
BEST MIDFIELDER - Mohd Syahrol Asikin Mohd Ali (Gertaq Akademi Bandar Baru Samariang)
BEST DEFENDER - Mohd Noor Izwan (War's 15 Adiqa Jr)
FAIR PLAY - Kickalob 14

Our Kickalob 12 won 13th Place after beating Tunku Putra School 1-0 in the 13th/14th Placing match. What an achievement for a bunch of 12-year-olds playing against much much much bigger opponents. No one gave them a ghost of a chance to win any point or even win a match, and you know what? They managed to garner 3 points in the preliminary round and then beat Tunku Putra School. Need I say we are proud of this baby Kickies????

It was rather unfortunate that our Kickalob 14 lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champions but as the Technical Director, I am not the least disappointed with the result. My personal target was reaching the semi-finals and our Kickalob 14 did just that. We must remember that our team never had the chance to do team training (which is different from academy training) so reaching the semi-finals was an achievement in itself.

Despite the success of our teams, sadly I must express my utter disappointment to those parents and Kickies who did not bother to turn up to give support to our teams. This does not augur well for the Academy as the spirit of camaraderie does not exist in these Kickies and their parents and I will make sure that they do not continue coming to the Academy to ensure that this virus does not spread!!

Last but not least, I WANT TO THANK OUR COACHES AND THOSE PARENTS WHO BRAVE THE EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS OVER THE 3 DAYS TO HELP RUN THE TOURNAMENT WHICH WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!

UPDATE ON KARNIVAL BOL REMAJA U14 KOMUNITI PETRA JAYA

14 teams will be taking part:
Group A
Remaja Buntal
Gertaq Akademi Bandar Baru Samariang
Bandar Kuching No 2
Tunku Putra School
Kickalob 14
Yayasan Sarawak
Desa United
Group B
BB Kleen
United 3-nity
War's 15 Adiqa Jr
Kickalob 12
SMK St Joseph FC
Kamon United
Sporting Vision FC

Matches will be played on 2nd (Friday), 3rd (Saturday) and 4th (Sunday) from 8:00am to 6:00pm at Stadium C in Petra Jaya. There will also be carnival games like paintball, wall-climbing, Nintendo Interactive games and Penalty Kick Competition for spectators.

END OF TERM 01/10

Our Term 01/10 ended last Sunday where 31 Kickies were assessed. The results will be announced to the Kickies at the beginning of Term 02/10which will start on 11 April 2010. For this coming term, our sessions will be held on Sundays (instead of Saturdays) as last Term 01/10, many of our Kickies missed out on a few sessions due to extra classes held by their respective schools on Saturdays. We are confident that the attendance rate will be improved this Term 02/10.

KARNIVAL BOL REMAJA U14 KOMUNITI PETRA JAYA

Ya, we are in the news again in the local papers over the past few days. This time, it is for the announcement of the tournament we are going to organise from 2nd to 4th April 2010 at Stadim C in Petra Jaya.

This tournament, as the name reflects, will be for those who are born no earlier than 1996. The main features of this tournament are as follows:
1. There will be a winner in every match. Penalties will be used to decide the winner if a match ends in a draw, even during the first round round-robin phase.
2. No offsides so we can see a galore of goals and also at the same time, we will see those potential defenders and goalkeepers trying to keep the strikers from scoring.

3. Prizes to be awarded to the to 4 teams.

4. Awards given will be Top Scorer, Best Defender, Best Midfielder and Best Goalkeeper.

Kickalob will be sending 2 teams to take part in this tournament. Players will be selected by the end of next week.

A WIN FOR OUR BOYS

It was a win for our squad against Sarawak's U14 squad yesterday. As the Technical Director, it was very pleasant to see more cohesiveness and aggressiveness from our players compared to the previous game. The team played to instructions and everyone deserves a pat on the back for sticking in there together as it is never easy to play against teams which have been training together everyday for the past 2 months. Anyway, we wish them the best of luck in their forthcoming tournament and we will render them any assistance they require in terms of technique training.

By the way, the scoreline was 2-0 and our scorers were Shafizul and Ryan.