Our U8B team had a fantastic first season playing on a bigger field and while results really don’t matter at this age, it was great to see how much we improved as a team in the second half of the season.

Starting the year with a bare minimum of seven players, our boys never stopped trying each game and can be so proud of their efforts. The team that finished the season looked nothing like the one which started it, and that’s a testament to the effort the boys put into each training session and game.

I need to extend my appreciation to a lot of people who enabled the boys to get on the park this season.

Firstly, the Eagles committee and all the volunteers who put in tireless work behind the scenes to allow our kids to play each weekend, your work is very much appreciated.

Given our numbers, it seemed like every week we were begging to borrow players to help us field a full team or have at least one substitute as the boys adjusted to more running. There were so many kids who helped us throughout the year – from other Eagles U8 teams, the U7A and even the girls from WU8A – we are extremely grateful for you all showing phenomenal club spirit.

I want to express my thanks to all the parents for being so supportive throughout the season. It made the job of coaching the boys so much easier and I hope the kids had just as much fun as we did watching them learn and grow.

My thanks go to Adrian Perkovic for all his help with coaching this year. There is no doubt his knowledge and commitment ensured the boys improved greatly from the first game to last. I also want to thank Alicia Dowell for taking on the thankless task of the manager’s role and keeping everyone up to date with they needed to know. We couldn’t have done it without you.

To all the boys – Nicholas, Levi, Keaton, Huddo, Arlo, Tulloch and Jacob – it was a pleasure to coach you. And to Oscar from the U7A, we’re very thankful you filled in on so many occasions for us this year. It didn’t take us long to adopt you as one of our own.

I know the boys are all probably absolutely sick of me reminding you to spread out, pass the ball, keep trying your best and make sure you have fun, but it was very satisfying to see us genuinely playing as a team towards the end of the season and racking up some fantastic wins.

But what will stay with us most is the boys all sitting down and enjoying each other’s company over pizza on our final night of training. That’s what kids’ sport is about.

I hope we can see you all playing together for the Eagles for many more years to come.