In this week’s edition, we see the Feds Youth whitewash Nepean, whilst the Opens brace the cold in Bathurst. We also check in with Coaching Director Barry Walker for the ever popular segment, ‘Walker’s Words of Wisdom’.

My Last Edition Before we begin this week’s newsletter, I would just like to announce that this will be my last edition. I have been offered full time work in the Journalism industry, and with my other commitments, I won’t be able to write anymore. It has been a pleasure to be involved with this Club and watching the quality that all teams have produced week in, week out. I will be keeping up to date with all the scores and hoping that the First Grade achieve their goal of promotion to Division 1. This side is something special which the entire Club should be proud of, and get behind to help push them forward. For the next few weeks, the Hakoah Feds Committee will be running the newsletter. They will compile all match reports and put the newsletter together until a replacement is found. The Committee wants to hear from YOU!! Please send your nominations for ‘Player of the Week’, ‘Blunder of the Week’ and any other funny, interesting or strange moments from the week to hakoah.feds@gmail.com. All nominations are welcome, regardless of how ridiculous they may seem (after you see this week’s Blunder, anything is possible!!) That’s all from me. I want to thank you all for the support, and I hope this continues through to the next editor. Cheers Mark Feds Firsts Crumble in the Cold It was the weekend that the Feds Opens squad were nervously awaiting. Not just because of the points needed for both the First and Reserves, but also because this match would be an all-day adventure. The boys were going to Bathurst.

Historically, this trip has been a tough ask on the players due to the sheer length of the journey. However, with reports midweek of snow, the trip was going to be that much harder.

The First Grade strike force of Neil Jablonski (left) and Moshe Wakil (right) rest up on the four-hour bus ride to Bathurst. After a convincing win last week, the First Grade came out against the lower placed Bathurst side full of confidence. Acting First Grade Coach Alex Robertson sent his side out into the -2 degree weather as follows:

Adam Sonnabend

Greg Moss Marc Kacen (c) Dino D’Agrosa Michael Randall

Jon Pillemer Nathan Kosmina Deklan Gilmartin Rani Rimmer

Neil Jablonski Moshe Wakil Bench: Simon Weiss, Seamus Dowd, DaanRanshuijsen, Zac Rabin, Gil Pollak It was a horror start for Hakoah, conceding a goal in the 3rd minute of the match. This was definitely not the ideal start to a match that was already taxing on the players after the four-hour bus trip.

After a shaky start, the side began to regain control, playing to their strengths via the wings and utilising the passing games of Nathan Kosmina and Deklan Gilmartin. Hakoah put one away on the 15th minute mark, only for the linesman to disallow it. Soon enough Hakoah were on the scoresheet though, through a Dino D’Agrosa header in the 30th minute off a set play. Going into the sheds 1-1 at half time, and with the outside temperature comfortably below 0 degrees, there was a big question mark as to how the boys would come out in the second half. Sadly that question was answered within one minute of the half. Almost immediately off the kick off, a Bathurst player found space on the right flank, and sliced a cross from 30 yards out. Somehow, the cross-turned-shot found its way over the stranded Adam Sonnabend in goals, and into the back of the net. Hakoah tried to find the equaliser, and came agonisingly close when a Neil Jablonski shot rolled across the goal line, narrowly missing the post and instead being cleared for a corner. Despite holding the majority of possession, the side were unable to find that elusive second, instead being punished from a Bathurst attack against the run of play, making the final score 1-3. The boys will be looking to get back on track this week with a win against mid-table Chopin Park Rams on Sunday at Chopin Park. In the early game, the Reserve Grade comfortably outplayed their Bathurst opposition, winning 2-1 in a match where the score line flattered the home side. Coming out of the blocks hard, Hakoah found the opener through a Jared Blumberg finish after the Bathurst keeper had failed to deal with a free kick. However, it wasn’t long before Bathurst found a rare chance, slotting home an equaliser after goalkeeper Gil Pollak had spilled a long range effort. The second half was completely dominated by Hakoah, as they controlled possession and created chances against their tiring opponents. This was rewarded in the 70th minute when Daniel Toblib slotted home from an indirect free-kick. The match ended that way, with the Reserves now unbeaten from their last four matches.

15 from 15 – The Youth Whitewash Nepean FC Long standing memories of the Feds Youth teams in their inaugural season are still replayed over and over again in the minds of those club members that have been there from the start. Hard losses, clubs dominating Hakoah, and overall, a very tough year, are just some of the phrases that are brought up when discussing 2008. Yet, this week, Hakoah took sweet revenge on one of this season’s new-boys, Nepean FC. In a historic day for the Club, Hakoah ran riot, taking a maximum 15 points from the five games. As Chairman of the Feds Committee Jon Marcuson says, “it wasn’t only all the teams winning, it was how they won, playing attacking, exciting football, that makes this day so great”. It all began with the Under 13s, who threw caution to the wind, notching up a 5-0 victory. In a clinical performance, the boys dominated all parts of the pitch, giving Nepean nothing in attack whilst piling on the goals in both halves. The boys have now won their past four matches, and are making a genuine play for the title. The Under 14s, also brimming with confidence, began their match fully in control, attacking with zeal the Nepean defence. However, two quick goals against the run of play found the boys 0-2 down. Showing once again the character of the side, Hakoah continued playing their game, clawing one back before half time. The boys, desperate not to lose, came out firing in the second half, equalising before Jake Berkowitz scored his second, and the winner, ending the match 3-2 to Hakoah.

Under 14 Captain Dean Gruskin on the fly against Nepean. The Under 15s made it two wins on the trot with another comprehensive win, this time winning 4-0 over Nepean. In a game completely dominated by the side, the intensity was high and chances were created often. Jason Cohen scored a brace, with Jamie Kirwan and Gianni Fabbro wrapping up the scoresheet. The boys will be looking to continue this attacking prowess in Springwood this week.

Under 15 Jason Cohen attacks while Coach Steve Lawrence (far left) watches on.

The Under 16s demolished Nepean 10-0 in a match where superlatives are simply too many to count. Although it took 15 minutes for the side to get off the mark, the boys never looked back, keeping the intensity up for the entire 70 minutes. Gareth Milner was the best on ground with a four-goal haul, however it was a brilliant display from the entire team, who remain top of the table. This side has now added another milestone to their impressive history, notching up the biggest win ever for a Hakoah Feds Youth side. The Under 18s put a week of off-field incidents behind them to end the whitewash off in thrilling fashion, winning 4-3. In a game that had it all, the teams traded the lead at will, with Hakoah up 1-0 through Jack Watts, before two goals either side of half time had them pegged down 1-2. A Dylan Basger penalty was the equaliser, before a Dylan Blumberg header put the side up 3-2. Nepean weren’t done yet though, equalising to make it 3-3, before a Rami Tal finish in the 80th minute sealed the win, and secured all 15 points for Hakoah.

Under 18 Max Kanikevich on the ball in his side’s thrilling 4-3 victory over Nepean. A fantastic day for everyone involved in the Hakoah Feds Club, and a great achievement by all the players. The Club now sits in 4th on the Club Championship, the highest it has ever been!! The Race for the Golden Boot and Golden Glove

It’s definitely heating up in the race for the Victor Sports Golden Boot and Golden Glove Awards, with some fantastic individual performances closing the gap between the leaders in both categories. Here are the rules for both awards:

The player who scores the most goals across ALL seven Hakoah Feds teams is the winner.

The goalkeeper who concedes the least amount of goals in the season, across ALL seven Hakoah Feds teams, based on the number of games played, is the winner.

The Feds Committee reserves the right to adjust the criteria once they receive all the feedback from the coaches.

The winners will receive $500 worth of sports equipment thanks to Victor Sports.

Here are the current tables for both awards. The Victor Sports Golden Boot Award:

Rank Team Name Goals

1 U16 Josh Shubitz 14

2 U13 Jordan Koton 13

3 Firsts Neil Jablonski 11

4 U16 Gareth Milner 10

5 U13 Harry Buch 5

6 U14 Simon Rouse 5

7 U13 Sam Massis-Wolf 5

8 U14 Greg Ellerine 4

9 U14 Mikey Herman 4

10 U13 Brad Paikin 4

11 U16 Sam Wrublewski 4

The Victor Sports Golden Glove Award:

Team Name Goals Conceded

Games Played

U16 Harry Rosen 11 11

Reserves Gil Pollak & David Helfenbaum (GP =6, DH =6) 12 10

U15 Max Nightingale 15 11

U13 Brad Sarif 17 11

Firsts Adam Sonnabend 18 10

U18 Liam Jeffreys 22 11

U14 David Booth 22 11

Please note that the Victor Sports Golden Glove Award is organised by team. Hence, if two goalkeepers play in one team, they will share the prize if they win.

Walker’s Words of Wisdom Barry Walker is the Director of Coaching (DOC) of the Hakoah Feds Youth Sides. He will be writing in every few weeks to keep you up-to-date with the goings on from the Coaching World of the Hakoah Feds.

Since my last Newsletter, the YDL have had a fantastic return or 27 points from 30 in the last two rounds v Northbridge & Nepean. Just as pleasing as the results is the fantastic football being played by all 5 teams and the great commitment from the players. The 13s had a 5-3 win against Northbridge and 5-0 v Nepean. They are in 4th Position. 14s had a 4-2 win against Northbridge and showed great character to come from 2-0 down to win 3-2 against Nepean. The boys are 3rd in the competition. 15s are now hitting their straps after two great wins- 4-1 & 4-0 and Steve Lawrence has the boys primed for a big game this weekend.

16s are playing sensational football with a 5-0 win at Northbridge and then a club YDL record win of 10-0 v Nepean.The boys are top of the Competition. Despite their loss at Northbridge, the 18s came out with all guns blazing to record a great 4-3 win over Nepean. The Club is now 4th in the Club Championship. Whilst some teams have catch up games, we are only 2 points behind Stanmore in Third. This is a reflection of how hard everybody is working within the club. There is a saying that if you are organised off the pitch, then you are organised on it. In people like Peter Grunfeld, Dawn Herman, and the YDL Committee, we have a group of people working tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure everything is provided and organised to give the players every opportunity to achieve their best on the field. Our team managers provide fantastic back up to the coaches and allow them to focus on what they do best, The 14s held a fundraiser for their Singapore trip on Saturday where the parents and boys sold Cakes etc in Rose Bay and at some of the grounds in the Eastern Suburbs. I would appreciate the whole club getting behind future events and support these boys. The Golden Boot is hotting up and this looks like turning into a very interesting competition. Jabba [Neil Jablonski] has only added one to his total; Jordan Koton managed 4 goals in the two games. The big mover was Gareth Milner from the 16s who scored 6 goals in the last two games !!! Looking forward to the weekend games at a nice and cold Springwood Barry Awards of the Week Player of the Week: In a week where a total of 29 goals were scored, and only 9 goals conceded across all seven Feds sides, there were plenty of contenders for the Player of the Week. Coming in as a very, very close second was Under 16 Gareth Milner, who put away a whopping four goals in his sides demolition of Nepean. However, this week’s ‘Player of the Week’ Award is a family affair. Fielding Centre-Backs in three teams, the Blumberg Family are not known for their prowess in front of goals. However, this week, all three of the Blumberg’s

got on the scoresheet, with Ryan in the Under 13s putting away his team’s fourth goal, Dylan in the Under 18’s scoring his side’s third goal, and Reserve Grader Jared opening the scoresheet in their match up in Bathurst. Considering that three defenders from the same family will probably never feature again on the scoresheet in the same week, we think it is only fair that the Blumberg’s take home this week’s ‘Player of the Week’ Award.

The Blumberg’s managed to all get on the board this week, despite their role as defenders, wins them this week’s ‘Player of the Week’ Award. L-R: Jared (Reserves), Ryan (U13), Bambi (Mother),Dylan (U18). Blunder of the Week: This week’s Blunder has been nominated by Reserve Grade Captain, and inaugural Blunder winner, Jamie Marcuson. At last Thursday night’s training, the Reserves played a friendly against the Under 18s for both sides to trial some new manoeuvrers. During the first half, it was clearly evident that Reserve Grade left back, Josh Grunfeld, was suffering from a severe injury, struggling to run, or move at all for that matter. When half time was called, Grunfeld was questioned as to what the matter was. I have had to verify his response for authenticity, as it was so hard to believe. But alas, it has been verified by a number of club members. Grunfeld was unfortunately suffering from chafing … of his crown jewels!

But this is not yet sufficient for a Blunder win. It was Grunfeld’s response to this ‘injury’ that win’s him this week’s award. Grunfeld went into his kit bag, and finding only one suitable substance, proceeded to rub himself with a banana to ease the pain. This cacophony of ridiculous events is warrant enough for a big ‘Blunder’ Award. Congratulations Josh!

Josh Grunfeld (left), seen here in fine form, is this week’s ‘Blunder’ winner for his ‘unusual’ use of the banana. The Upcoming Week This week the Feds Opens are up against Chopin Park Rams on Sunday 22nd May 2011 at Chopin Park, 23 Bungalow Road, Plumpton. First Grade kicks off at 3 pm. Reserves kick off at 1 pm. The Feds Youth sides are up against Springwood on Saturday 21st May 2011 at Summerhayes Park, Hawkesbury Road, Winmalee. Game times are: Under 13 – 8.30 am Under 14 – 9.45 am Under 15 – 11.40 am Under 16 – 12.45 am

Under 18 – 2.30 pm That is this week’s edition of the Hakoah Feds Newsletter. Until next time, let your passes find the man, your shots find the goal, and your skills find the girls. For any comments, please email the Feds Committee at hakoah.feds@gmail.com. To unsubscribe, please reply ‘unsubscribe’.