Below is a brief explanation of what to expect when your child is playing junior football at Rodney District Sports Football. At the right of this page is the NRF Junior Handbook which we suggest you download and refer to. It explains the phiosophy's and approach to football in 2024, and will help you enjoy what your young player is achieving.

From 9 through 12 games are held on smaller fields using smaller goals. Teams start at 7 per side, progressing to 9 per side. The focus is on the structure of the game, rules and  positional play concepts.

These grades play games "home and away". 50% of games will be at Metro Park Millwater, and the remainder at one of the football clubs in the northern area.

Coaching sessions are usually held during the week, after school/evenings.

Fees:

For 9 - 12 year olds, a full season of Junior grade football will be $85, which includes the use of an RDS uniform.

Dates:

Registrations will open on the RDS web site early January 2024, and close on Sunday 17^th March. We will take registrations thereafter, if we have any teams that need additional numbers.

Please register as soon as possible. That will help us get those teams registered into their appropriate NRF grades.

The season start date is 27^th April.

Girls Teams:

Following the upturn in interest due to the Womens World Cup held in NZ last year, we anticipate greater numbers of girls will want to try football as a winter activity. We offer girls the option to choose whether they would prefer to belong to either mixed, or an all girls team.

Coaching/Supervising:

We need volunteers to take each team that is playing this season.

For Junior grades (any of 9am, 10am, 11am kick offs) this is a coaching and managing role, but can be shared by parents to get around commitments, that prevent their full time attendance, provided these volunteers co-ordinate that. One or more coaches, and one manager is ideal. 

These teams play either 7 or 9 a side games so 10 players per team (7 a side) and 12 players per team (9 a side) are ideal numbers.

These teams are permitted "rolling substitutes", and every team coach appreciates help from a parent (s) who will manage the substitutions to ensure every player gets equal opportunity on the field each week.

Mid Week Practice:

Each team will need to have at least one mid week practice session. The first priority of every coach is to identify which afternoon/evening their team will train and advise our RDS Co-ordinator, so that field space can be allocated at Metro Park for the desired time slot. We make every effort to accommodate all coaches, but in the event of field congestion, we will advise as soon as possible. 

Saturday Games:

Saturday games for Juniors will be in the "Harbour Region" which has Devonport, Greenhithe and Warkworth as the boundaries. 

There are no "leagues" as such for grades 9-12 under the NRF. These age groups are considered to be continuing to learn the game, with the focus firmly on skill improvement, rather than game results. During early season games, notice is taken by the NRF, of uneven results, and some adjustments made in the draws for the remainder of the season.

Sideline Etiquette:

Teams will no doubt, encounter games against other clubs, when side line, or refereeing behaviour suggests a Premier Division contest is under way. This is "old school" mentality, which NZ Football is working to change. As an affiliated club, RDS is expected to play its part in changing sideline and on field behaviour's, remembering that the game is for the enjoyment of the players. Spreading the message is always a great start, and something that we are actively fostering.

Field Setting Up/Packing Down:

For home games at Metro Park, those teams that are playing at 9am are expected to arrive early enough to set up the field they are playing on (goal nets, corner flags, side line cones and retreating line disks)

The teams that are last to play on each field that day, are expected to pack down this equipment and put it in the allocated storage.

It’s suggested that teams arrive for game a minimum of 30 minutes early to warm up.

For more information, head over to the right hand side of this page and download the information sheet.