A-League 53 end of Season Review

A League 53 End of Season Review – by Scruttino

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P	Last 6
1	Almighty Scallywags	22	15	3	4	81	29	52	48
2	Glasston	22	15	3	4	65	20	45	48
3	Otago United	22	14	4	4	50	23	27	46
4	Jokers	22	13	1	8	56	36	20	40
5	BONDI ICEBERGS	22	11	5	6	56	33	23	38
6	SYDclub	22	12	0	10	49	37	12	36
7	Cheltenham	22	10	4	8	48	39	9	34
8	Dunder Mifflin FC	22	9	3	10	57	47	10	30
9	Arrested Developers	22	7	3	12	34	50	-16	24
10	City Water Motel	22	7	3	12	51	72	-21	24
11	Hawthorn FC	22	2	2	18	24	85	-61	8
12	Ayreon	22	1	1	20	16	116	-100	4

Almighty Scallywags looked gone with 4 games to go and almost blew it threw inputting the wrong tactic causing them to lose their last match badly. But the Otago lost in the last round meaning that the Almighty Scallywags goal difference was enough to win them the title despite being on the same points score as Glasston who almost pulled off winning the A-League after being promoted the season before.

The Jokers had the hardest run home but they won all their games against the three teams that finished above them causing havoc in the run home for those challenging for the title, but elevating them to their highest ever A-League finish. Bondi Icebergs had a great season for a promotion team and will only get better in the next. SYDclub have had a solid season much like their past few they have been there or about mid-table. Cheltenham hit the wall late and fell to 7^th but secured the last spot of safety.

Dunder Mifflin seemed destined for the playoffs for a while now. But the surprise was a big loss for City Water Motel in their final round due to a playing with 10 men and a gaping hole in the centre of defence. This along with Arrested Developers winning against Dunder Mifflin meant City Water lost the goal difference advantage and became automatically relegated along with Hawthorn and Ayreon.

 

Round Commentary

Round 12 – 22-02-2015 09:30

City Water Motel	1-0	Jokers
Cheltenham	2-2	Dunder Mifflin FC
SYDclub	3-1	Hawthorn FC
Glasston	1-2	Almighty Scallywags
BONDI ICEBERGS	2-1	Arrested Developers
Otago United	1-1	Ayreon

Predictions
City Water Motel 1 – 3 Jokers
Cheltenham 2 – 3 Dunder Mifflin FC
SYDclub 5 – 0 Hawthorn FC
Glasston 1 – 3 Almighty Scallywags
BONDI ICEBERGS 4 – 1 Arrested Developers
Otago United 7 – 0 Ayreon

tosspot
Why do you think my team has gotten a goal worse since last round?

scruttino
Just a feeling

scruttino
This time we really did do our best to lose, lol

Round 13 – 25-02-2015 10:30

City Water Motel	0-7	Dunder Mifflin FC
Jokers	4-3	Hawthorn FC
SYDclub	2-4	Cheltenham
Glasston	4-0	Arrested Developers
Almighty Scallywags	10-0	Ayreon
Otago United	4-2	BONDI ICEBERGS

Predictions

City Water Motel 2 – 3 Dunder Mifflin FC
Jokers 3 – 1 Hawthorn FC
SYDclub 2 – 2 Cheltenham
Glasston 4 – 2 Arrested Developers
Almighty Scallywags 7 – 0 Ayreon
Otago United 2 – 2 BONDI ICEBERGS

scruttino
For whatever reason, the boys are doing things the hard way. We definitely living on struggle street at the moment

Round 14 – 01-03-2015 14:30

Hawthorn FC	1-7	City Water Motel
Cheltenham	1-3	Jokers
Dunder Mifflin FC	0-1	SYDclub
Ayreon	0-4	Glasston
BONDI ICEBERGS	0-4	Almighty Scallywags
Arrested Developers	0-3	Otago United

Predictions

Dunder Mifflin FC 2 – 3 SYDclub
Cheltenham 1 – 2 Jokers
Hawthorn FC 2 – 3 City Water Motel
Arrested Developers 0 – 3 Otago United
BONDI ICEBERGS 1 – 3 Almighty Scallywags
Ayreon 0 – 5 Glasston

scruttino
A much needed win. Mid table is now extremely congested, 5 side within 2 points of each other.

Round 15 – 04-03-2015 17:15

Hawthorn FC	1-1	Dunder Mifflin FC
City Water Motel	1-4	Cheltenham
Jokers	0-4	SYDclub
Ayreon	2-4	Arrested Developers
Glasston	2-2	BONDI ICEBERGS
Almighty Scallywags	2-4	Otago United

Predictions

City Water Motel 2 – 2 Cheltenham
Jokers 1 – 1 SYDclub
Hawthorn FC 1 – 3 Dunder Mifflin FC
Glasston 1 – 2 BONDI ICEBERGS
Almighty Scallywags 3 – 1 Otago United
Ayreon 1 – 4 Arrested Developers

scruttino
Forgot to check my suspensions, a centre back off the bench was not up to scratch. Comprehensively beaten

Round 16 – 08-03-2015 14:15

Dunder Mifflin FC	0-4	Jokers
Cheltenham	4-2	Hawthorn FC
SYDclub	1-3	City Water Motel
Arrested Developers	1-1	Almighty Scallywags
BONDI ICEBERGS	6-1	Ayreon
Otago United	1-2	Glasston

Predictions

Dunder Mifflin FC 2 – 3 Jokers
Cheltenham 3 – 2 Hawthorn FC
SYDclub 2 – 1 City Water Motel
Arrested Developers 1 – 5 Almighty Scallywags
BONDI ICEBERGS 8 – 0 Ayreon
Otago United 1 – 1 Glasston

scruttino
Well that makes things very interesting, Glasston lead once again, AD and AS draw, City Water start to pick up the pace and you won’t want to play from here on in. Plus the Jokers put on a master class in short passing and pull themselves out of the relegation zone, Bundy returns in round 18 so things are finally looking up.

Round 17 – 11-03-2015 10:45

City Water Motel	3-2	Arrested Developers
Dunder Mifflin FC	2-3	Almighty Scallywags
Jokers	2-5	BONDI ICEBERGS
Cheltenham	5-0	Ayreon
Hawthorn FC	0-4	Otago United
SYDclub	0-1	Glasston

Predictions

City Water Motel 2 – 1 Arrested Developers
Dunder Mifflin FC 1 – 4 Almighty Scallywags
Jokers 2 – 2 BONDI ICEBERGS
Cheltenham 7 – 0 Ayreon
Hawthorn FC 1 – 5 Otago United
SYDclub 1 – 3 Glasston

Round 18 – 15-03-2015 17:30

Ayreon	0-4	Jokers
Otago United	3-1	Cheltenham
Glasston	9-1	Hawthorn FC
Arrested Developers	3-1	SYDclub
Almighty Scallywags	5-0	City Water Motel
BONDI ICEBERGS	2-1	Dunder Mifflin FC

Predictions

Glasston 4 – 0 Hawthorn FC
Arrested Developers 1 – 3 SYDclub
Almighty Scallywags 3 – 1 City Water Motel
BONDI ICEBERGS 3 – 1 Dunder Mifflin FC
Ayreon 0 – 6 Jokers
Otago United 1 – 2 Cheltenham

Round 19 – 18-03-2015 10:45

Cheltenham	0-2	Glasston
Hawthorn FC	0-3	Arrested Developers
SYDclub	1-4	Almighty Scallywags
City Water Motel	4-4	BONDI ICEBERGS
Dunder Mifflin FC	10-0	Ayreon
Jokers	2-0	Otago United

Predictions

City Water Motel 1 – 3 BONDI ICEBERGS
Dunder Mifflin FC 4 – 1 Ayreon
Jokers 1 – 3 Otago United
Cheltenham 1 – 2 Glasston
Hawthorn FC 2 – 3 Arrested Developers
SYDclub 1 – 4 Almighty Scallywags

bestplaymaker2134
do it again next round thanks scru.

scruttino
Well that was unexpected. Let’s see what happens aye

scruttino
Well I just watched the match and there was quite a lot of over to you, back to me between the wing defenders when the attacking wingers were both positioned on the same side of the feild as they both tackled mercilessly. So at time it seemed as though they were passing the ball to each other.

2 other things stuck out. 1 – Cowdell scored directly from the corner, I’ve never seen that before

and perhaps even more spectacularly Duncan pulled off 3 saves in a row from the same attacking movement as he scurried back and forth across the goals.

I think that game was a one off

Round 20 – 22-03-2015 10:45

Otago United	3-0	Dunder Mifflin FC
Ayreon	2-6	City Water Motel
BONDI ICEBERGS	0-1	SYDclub
Almighty Scallywags	2-0	Hawthorn FC
Arrested Developers	1-1	Cheltenham
Glasston	0-1	Jokers

Predictions

Glasston 3 – 2 Jokers
Arrested Developers 2 – 4 Cheltenham
Almighty Scallywags 7 – 1 Hawthorn FC
BONDI ICEBERGS 3 – 2 SYDclub
Ayreon 0 – 5 City Water Motel
Otago United 3 – 2 Dunder Mifflin FC

scruttino
Another unexpected win. I had a some luck this time though and even then it was a bitter struggle.

Unless Cheltenham or Myself can pull an upset over the Scallywags this is their title to lose now.

bestplaymaker2134
My XI’s average form is currently at 5.6. It will only get worse next week as I got rid of all my youths neglecting the remaining Tour Bonus friendlies that I still have to play.

“Accidentally” use your youths, thanks.

Round 21 – 25-03-2015 14:30

Dunder Mifflin FC	3-2	Glasston
Jokers	3-1	Arrested Developers
Cheltenham	0-3	Almighty Scallywags
Hawthorn FC	1-3	BONDI ICEBERGS
SYDclub	8-0	Ayreon
City Water Motel	1-1	Otago United

Predictions

Glasston 3-1 Dunder Mifflin FC
Arrested Developers 2-3 Jokers
Almighty Scallywags 3-2 Cheltenham
BONDI ICEBERGS 3-0 Hawthorn FC
Ayreon 0-5 SYDclub
Otago United 3-1 City Water Motel

scruttino
Some more upsets. This has been an unusual close to the season. But unpredictbility is good as it give everyone a chance

scruttino
Those results should also relegate the bottom three. AS while it’s still mathematically possible for Toss to still make the playoffs it’s unlikely.

Dunder Mifflin have a good chance to avoid relegation given there superior goal difference and Syd playing Otago in the last round.

Round 22 – 29-03-2015 10:00

Glasston	11-0	City Water Motel
Arrested Developers	3-1	Dunder Mifflin FC
Almighty Scallywags	0-8	Jokers
BONDI ICEBERGS	2-2	Cheltenham
Ayreon	0-3	Hawthorn FC
Otago United	0-2	SYDclub

Predictions

Glasston 3 – 1 City Water Motel
Arrested Developers 2 – 4 Dunder Mifflin FC
Almighty Scallywags 3 – 1 Jokers
BONDI ICEBERGS 2 – 1 Cheltenham
Ayreon 1 – 5 Hawthorn FC
Otago United 3 – 2 SYDclub

bestplaymaker2134
I got hit by karma

eric_the_eel
What was that ?! Trying to throw your game?

bestplaymaker2134
Noo…i tried to change tactics for an upcoming friendly game.,,and failed.

tosspot
Wow, you didn’t want to win the title.

I also got lucky and escaped auto-relegation.

bestplaymaker2134
@tosser

Yeah ok lets go with that. I wanted eric to win so I threw the game. I’ll be expecting eric to return the favour next season. 🙂

Extra Time

So with 4 rounds to go I thought I’d do a from here to the finish piece. Awarding wins to teams that are currently above the other the will be facing in the coming rounds and see where this projects the final ladder.

Glasston-42-Che/J/DMFC/CWM-54
Otago-42-J/DMFC/CWM/SYD-54
A. Scallywags-39-SYD/HFC/Che/J-51
B. Icebergs-33-CWM/SYD/HFC/Che-45
Cheltenham-32-G/AD/AS/BI-35
SYD Club-27-AS/HFC/Ayr/OU-33
Jokers-28-OU/G/AD/AS-31
D. Mifflin FC-24-Ayr/OU/G/AD-30
C.W. Motel-19-BI/Ayr/OU/G-22
A. Developers-17-HFC/Che/J/DMFC-20
Hawthorn FC-5-AD/SYD/BI/Ayr-8
Ayreon-4-DMFC/CWM/SYD/HFC-4

So as can be seen none of the top 4 have to play each other again. This should make for a straight run to the flag with goal difference being the winner.

Glasston start with a +6 advantage over Otago. Yet it bears keeping in mind that Glasston lost to the Jokers the first time round.

The toughest run home goes to the Jokers, with Cheltenham a close second. 5 teams can change the course of the title but would enter there matches against teams above them as the underdogs. The Jokers having 3 chances at it, Cheltenham, SYD Club and everyone’s equal chance roughy to cause an unlikely upset Dunder Mifflin all have 2. City Water Motel also have a game each against Glasston and Otago, but while they are a chance, it would be a long shot. Like the odd of 99/1 you use to get for ‘The Phantom Chance’ way back when in the Melbourne Cup each year.

Almighty Scallywags require the Sim to get to work on Glasston and Otago. If it does then their superior goal difference will win them the title.

Otago are consistent, but so are Glasston and both have a similar run home in terms of the strength of teams they will be facing. So there won’t be any large swings in goal difference either.

This one is going down to the wire. I’m tipping Glasston to do the unthinkable and win the A-league after being promoted from Div 1 the season before.
I don’t know if has been done before, but I can’t remember it while I’ve been around.

theme_dreamer
From memory Brooklyn Massive did what was truly unthinkable and after coming back from inactivity they won div 2, div 1, and then the A-League in consecutive seasons. Nice write up by the way.

scruttino
Thanks. I’ve thrown a real curve ball into the mix by upsetting both otago and glasston.

Competitions

The Rowden Medal

Name	Team	Points
Boyde Minne	Almighty Scallywags	42
Isidoro Barea	Otago United	40
梅凡迅	Glasston	30
Ricardo Cugat	SYDclub	30
Mikolaj Prus	BONDI ICEBERGS	29
Leo Brasgaard	SYDclub	19
Ainar Reeder	Dunder Mifflin FC	19
George Nica	City Water Motel	19
Subin Late	Arrested Developers	17
Ian Kilmister	Jokers	16

Minne takes it out in a close battle with Barea, but neither will be playing in the A-League next season. So it’s time for a new brigade of players to come through.

Bundy’s Boot

	Player	Team	GP	G	YC	RC
1	Boyde Minne	AS	22	65	0	0
2	Ricardo Cugat	SYD	22	43	2	0
3	梅凡迅	GLN	22	38	2	0
4	Mikolaj Prus	BIG	22	33	1	0
5	Isidoro Barea		20	33	0	0
6	George Nica	City	22	30	1	0
7	Ainar Reeder	DMFC	22	27	0	0
8	Rudy Digiuseppe	JKS	22	23	0	0
9	Lance Freeman	Chm	22	21	0	0
10	Subin Late	AD	22	19	0	0
11	Egon Spengler	DMFC	22	15	2	0
12	Rodriguinho Arruda	Chm	22	15	0	0
13	Bran Marcola	AS	21	14	1	0
14	Ernest Christian	OTA	22	14	1	0
15	Victorio Rolado	BIG	22	13	0	0
16	Ían Kilmister	JKS	21	13	3	0
17	Remy Bundy	JKS	5	13	0	0
18	Dan Raison	Hawk	22	12	0	0
19	Dale Gilding	GLN	22	11	0	0
20	Braedan Ross	City	17	11	0	0

Boyde Minne had this in the bag a long time ago. But it will be his last season in the A-League as he has been sold, so we’ll have a new face next season.

A Cuddly Sheet

Goalkeepers (Goals Against)	Clubs	Clean Sheets
Kirk Dale – (29)	Almighty Scallywags	9
Dale Barling – (20)	Glasston	8
Rob Duncan – (36)	Jokers	7
Oliver Beattie – (37)	SYD Club	7
Bleyd Renney – (23)	Otago United	5
Yuce Farhat – (33)	Bondi Icebergs	5
Randle Maciver – (39)	Cheltenham	5
Evan Gillingwater – (47)	Dunder Mifflin FC	3
Alekos Petaloudas – (50)	Arrested Developers	3
Bongbong User – (72)	City Water Motel	1
Jeremy Dowsing – (85)	Hawthorn FC	1

Kirk Dale had a great second half to the season and to take out his first warm blanket keeping award for the best clean sheet record in the A-League

The Waterland

Team	Total Points
Glasston	91
Almighty Scallywags	89
Otago United	84
Bondi Icebergs	84
Jokers	83
SYD Club	74
Cheltenham	65
Dunder Mifflin FC	61
City Water Motel	60
Arrested Developers	41
Hawthorn FC	32
Ayreon	24

Glasston take out the Waterland for the most MVP point accrued per team over the season, the top 5 were all quite even by then end though. No blow out winners.

Club MVP’s

Almighty Scallywags	Player Points
Boyde Minne	42
Henry Brask	13
Bran Marcola	9
Earnest Tebby	7
Edgardo Toro	6
Patric Linqvist	6
Kirk Dale	3
Berkem Lemi	3
Berkem Lemi	2
Duran Acikel	2
Dacosta Tupman	1
	89

 

Arrested Developers	Player Points
Subin Late	17
Carman Haydock	7
Bernie Nunn	6
Thomas Trigo	5
Earle Surman	3
Kacangala Waago	1
Kirk Hilton	1
	41

 

Ayreon	Player Points
Humphry Sawbridge	5
Dalwood Reiter	5
Russ Tearle	5
Luck McRoberts	3
Edison Sparrow	2
Henry Turnbull	2
Arneil Bunworth	1
Niles Maddern	1
	24

 

Bondi Icebergs	Player Points
Mikolaj Prus	29
Victorio Rolado	11
Umit Erel	10
Norm Bonham	8
Sedat Turkoglu	6
Adam Sandler	5
Yuce Ferhat	4
Sam Playford	4
Ryan Pincini	4
Dylan Grimes	2
Nash Claringbold	1
	84

 

Cheltenham	Player Points
Lance Freeman	15
Benny Mewburn	9
Rodriguinho Arruda	9
Marshall Mackney	8
Gerd Kaps	7
Randle Maciver	5
Barth Fasey	4
Jarrett Trenoweth	3
Eliot Lester	3
Larry Schonke	2
	65

 

City Water Motel	Player Points
George Nica	19
Barnabas Edwards	7
Francesco Di Palma	6
Bongbong User	6
Boyde Whelpton	6
Adam Carroll	4
Jayden Pfingst	3
Clay Goodward	2
Braedan Ross	2
Honorato Oliviero	2
Tommy Crapp	1
David Mellbad	1
Boyce Schulzte	1
	60

 

Dunder Mifflin FC	Player Points
Ainar Reeder	19
Manol Nichev	14
Loud Dowsing	9
Dario Tenser	6
Egon Spengler	6
James Biddell	5
Garry Cagle	1
Aron Itoafa	1
	61

 

Glasston	Player Points
梅凡迅	30
Dale Gilding	11
Dale Barling	10
Benney Lamb	8
Keith Callaghan	7
Cisco Radaban	7
Jordan Wayland	6
Paulino Maju	4
Roch Duda	3
Ed Norman	3
John Bennett	2
	91

 

Hawthorn FC	Player Points
Dan Raison	9
Paul Warhurst	8
Stan Christina	6
Jeremy Dowsing	5
Mack Millar	2
Russell Raison	1
Martyon Moran	1
	32

 

Jokers	Player Points
Ian Kilmister	16
Rudy Digiuseppe	14
Bent McMahon	9
Remy Bundy	9
Joao Mumbach	7
Rob Duncan	7
Dane Cowdell	6
Kalin Lungarov	6
Lewis Benton	3
Savas Pnevmatikatos	2
Herbert Nelson	2
Edgar Coleman	2
	83

 

Otago United	Player Points
Isidoro Barea	40
Bruno Frasquito	11
Hortencio Secco	7
Ernest Christian	6
Bleyd Renney	5
Eliot Gruer	4
Matthews Groves	4
Kamiel De Meyer	4
Herman Cameron	1
Bernard Feutrill	1
	84

SYD Club	Player Points
Ricardo Cugat	30
Leo Brasgaard	19
Zbyszko Lanczak	9
Larkins Ziliotto	8
Adolph Sperling	3
Yaar Maa	2
Oliver Beattie	2
Oliver Kennewell	1
	74

The Full Time Release

So my top 4 prediction at the halfway mark was almost right, with my team pulling off some upsets to cause havoc on the run home a grab 4^th. But next season deteriorations kick back in and we’ll see what the real impacts are on our older players.

But the Scallywags are selling up so that’ll be one team and those coming up below have rapidly improving squads, that will have to deploy their talent in a reduced title winning window. Otago, Glasston, Bondi and perhaps myself but we’ll see as I’ve 2 retirements that I don’t have the players I’d wish I did as replacements, at least they still need more training.

But the extra international player available, through an additional work permit being granted to Australia will help fill the void, though I’ll still likely go for a younger player in the 19-22 age bracket, rather than buy up an older player.

Have fun in the new season.

Cheers, Matt

U/23 National Cup Season 53

U/23 National Cup Season 53 – by Scruttino

Final

Crimson Eagles FC – BONDI ICEBERGS – 3-2

Both sides lined up with very different tactics Crimson Eagles were going to run a wing formation and Bondi Icebergs short passing down the centre. The Crimson Eagles Phil Heberle had entered the game in great scoring form and quickly got to work notching his hat-trick in the 59^th minute. Then Bondi subbed off there strikers and the game was a stalemate until you guessed it (well you will if you keep reading) Bondi again receive the benefit of an opposing player being sent off.

This time it was the Crimson Eagles striker Bradley Markwell, meaning it would be a defensive grind until the end. Bondi began to apply the pressure but this time there wouldn’t be late game comeback, as they had to wait until the last kick of the game to score their 2^nd and by then it was all over and the Crimson Eagles had won another U/23 title to add to their season 51 success in the same cup.

3^rd Place Playoff

The Smoking Tree – SYDClub – 5-0

This game was a one sided affair as the Smoking Tree steadily built up the pressure and the goals came steadily at regular intervals, 5-0 was a fair result as SYD were out played in all aspects of the game. Giorgos Sakelariou continued his good form with 4 goals and the man of the match.

Semi Finals

BONDI ICEBERGS – SYDClub – 3-1

Bondi again find themselves at the benefit of their opponents receiving a red card. It turned a tight contest into game where the Bondi subs came on and ran amuck, SYD can consider themselves unlucky, but that is how it goes sometimes.

Crimson Eagles FC – The Smoking Tree – 3-2

Heading into Injury time the Crimson Eagles were cruising at 2-0 up. Nothing could possibly deny them from here, they relaxed and bang 93”, bang 96” Giovani Montiero and Giorgos Sakelariou strike to send it into extra time. The shock off the game being sent into extra time seemed to focus their minds once more though and Phil Heberle secured their passage into the final with his 3^rd goal for the game.

Quarter Finals

Rangers – Real Madrid – BONDI ICEBERGS – 1-3

Thanks to a 26^th minute red card to Rangers – Real Madrid defender Gong Guo Mo, this game was turned from an interesting contest into a one sided affair in which Bondi failed to make the most of their chances. Rangers- Real Madrid defensive game kept Bondi honest by winning the possession count and BONDI won with 2 injury time winners to break the 1-1 deadlock.

SYDClub – Warringah Navigators – 1-0

Despite Warringah defensive midfielder Luck Millgate receiving his 2^nd yellow card in the 59” minute. This game kept on going until the deadlock was broken at 104” in extra time by Cregan Borserio. A really good game that had everyone in the edge their seats right until the end.

The Smoking Tree – Otago United – 2-0

Otago had more possession and shots than the Smoking Tree, but this was a game where it all counted for nothing and the little Aussie battlers kept the 2 footed challenges flying in and took their chances when they came to hand.

Red Devils United – Crimson Eagles FC – 0-3

The Wing formation once again proves effective even with 36% of the possession as the Crimson Eagles won through matching their opponents shot for shot and holding them out with a wall defence. Red Devils can consider themselves a bit unlucky here as 64% of the possession should mean you have a good chance of winning, but in this case they failed to score at all.

Group Stages

Group 1

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	BONDI ICEBERGS	14	11	3	0	76	5	71	36
2	Crimson Eagles FC	14	10	3	1	54	10	44	33
3	Ayreon	14	10	2	2	74	10	64	32
4	HASSELHOFF BABES	14	9	0	5	51	31	20	27
5	Hop Skip Jump	14	4	0	10	30	60	-30	12
6	Gunyah	14	3	1	10	18	49	-31	10
7	Brisbane Roar FC	14	3	0	11	14	94	-80	9
8	Mustard Tigers	14	1	1	12	5	63	-58	4

A three way contest between Bondi, Crimson Eagles and Ayreon. Ayreon scored more but on this occasion it wasn’t enough to get out of the group. The Babes just weren’t good enough and no one else was in the hunt.

Group 2

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	SYDclub	12	9	2	1	54	11	43	29
2	Rangers – Real Madrid	12	8	2	2	46	11	35	26
3	Girrawheen SC	12	8	1	3	55	18	37	25
4	Telita	12	6	1	5	33	28	5	19
5	Arrested Developers	12	4	2	6	24	30	-6	14
6	City Water Motel	12	2	1	9	18	67	-49	7
7	Kildary	12	0	1	11	8	73	-65	1

SYDClub had a tough struggle with Rangers – Real Madrid and Girrawheen, with the aforementioned prevailing. Telita and Arrested Developers where focusing their attention elsewhere.

Group 3

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	The Smoking Tree	12	10	1	1	55	6	49	31
2	Red Devils United	12	8	2	2	26	11	15	26
3	Dewrang Lions	12	7	2	3	34	11	23	23
4	Jokers	12	6	1	5	22	27	-5	19
5	Crystal Phallus FC	12	4	2	6	27	29	-2	14
6	Kangaroos	12	1	3	8	12	28	-16	6
7	AMICI	12	0	1	11	5	69	-64	1

The Smoking where tough to beat, the Red Devils showed there steady improvement. Dewrang Lions where a surprise, while the Jokers had no interest in the chase.

Group 4

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Warringah Navigators	12	9	2	1	60	8	52	29
2	Otago United	12	9	1	2	56	14	42	28
3	Skoolage United	12	8	1	3	72	14	58	25
4	Abbotsford	12	8	0	4	64	18	46	24
5	Glasston	12	3	0	9	22	57	-35	9
6	JuveMount 2004	12	3	0	9	16	55	-39	9
7	Joachim Wiking	12	0	0	12	2	126	-124	0

This was a tough group, yet the familiar faces of Warringah and Otago got through. Skoolage and Abbotsford put in a good show, but didn’t have the quality in the end.

Top Scorers

Pos.	Player		Team		Goals
1		Danny Howard		Skoolage United	38
2		Walter da Silva		Ayreon	33
3		Phil Heberle		Crimson Eagles FC	33
4		Pete Nelson		Abbotsford	31
5		Herbert Wright		BONDI ICEBERGS	31
6		Charles Hayman		Dicksons FC	28
7		Antony Mcmahon		SYDclub	27
8		Cooper Green		Yanimas	26
9		Bickford Mcmillan		Tapyra AD	25
10		Randell Will		Skoolage United	24

U/18 National Cup Season 53

U/18 National Cup Season 53 – by Scruttino

The Final

Crimson Eagles FC – The Smoking Tree – 0-3

Cubit for the Smoking Tree scored a Hat-trick and was awarded the mana of the match, as they ran riot 15 shots to 5. It was a steady procession of goals and dominances at 16” 41” 69” minutes. Although the Crimson Eagles again had more of the overall possession this time it was the team that generated more shots that won and The Smoking Tree fully deserve the Season 53 U/18 title.

3^rd Place Playoff

Jokers – Rangers – Real Madrid – 0-7

Already being down a man due to suspension with no bench players to replace the suspended player the Jokers took the field with 10 men. They were never in the contest as Rangers – Real Madrid amassed 20 shots to nil and won 7-nil, with Serena scoring 4 and Copelin 3. The Jokers shame was completed with a second yellow card to Barclay resulting in them finishing the game with 9 men. Still, how they got this far without any 3^rd year youth players is still a wonder.

Semi Finals

Rangers – Real Madrid – The Smoking Tree – 0-2

Ranger – Real Madrid had more possession and more chances, but they couldn’t convert their chances and The Smoking Tree took the win.

Crimson Eagles FC – Jokers – 2-0

Crimson Eagles had more possession and the Jokers more shots, but in this one the possession game came out on top and the shots of the Jokers all missed.

Quarter Finals

BONDI ICEBERGS – Rangers – Real Madrid – 3-4

In a close contest Rangers – Real got out to a fast start and though Bondi clawed them back each time there were always playing from behind.

The Smoking Tree – Hop Skip Jump – 2-1

An early injury and late red card to Hop Skip Jump allowed The Smoking Tree to run them down late in the match.

Jokers – SYDClub – 3-2

SYD were leading against the run of play at 60 minutes, but the Jokers scored 2 late goals to win a match they had dominated on all but the scoreboard.

Otago United – Crimson Eagles FC – 0-5

This was one way traffic the whole way Otago were never in it.

Group Stages

Group 1

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Rangers – Real Madrid	12	11	0	1	38	11	27	33
2	Jokers	12	7	0	5	19	18	1	21
3	HASSELHOFF BABES	12	6	2	4	21	18	3	20
4	Glasston	12	6	0	6	17	22	-5	18
5	Abbotsford	12	4	1	7	18	19	-1	13
6	Telita	12	4	0	8	15	19	-4	12
7	Red Devils United	12	2	1	9	7	28	-21	7

Rangers – Real Madrid love these U/18 comps’, and the Jokers seem to always pop up and do well even when they don’t have a full youth list or in this case any 3^rd youth. The Babes and Glasstonwhere close but unlucky this time round.

Group 2

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	BONDI ICEBERGS	12	11	1	0	63	7	56	34
2	The Smoking Tree	12	9	1	2	36	14	22	28
3	Dewrang Lions	12	6	2	4	24	28	-4	20
4	Skoolage United	12	6	1	5	24	26	-2	19
5	Kangaroos	12	2	4	6	11	25	-14	10
6	Crystal Phallus FC	12	1	2	9	12	35	-23	5
7	AMICI	12	1	1	10	13	48	-35	4

Bondi and The Smoking Tree were a lot better than the rest. Everyone else ended up with a negative goal difference and that says all you need to know.

Group 3

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	Hop Skip Jump	12	9	2	1	31	6	25	29
2	Crimson Eagles FC	12	7	3	2	31	7	24	24
3	Girrawheen SC	12	8	0	4	27	19	8	24
4	Warringah Navigators	12	7	2	3	29	9	20	23
5	City Water Motel	12	4	2	6	23	21	2	14
6	Mustard Tigers	12	1	2	9	6	30	-24	4
7	Dunder Mifflin FC	12	0	1	11	0	55	-55	0

Hop Skip Jump surprised everyone and while Crimson Eagles matched them on goals scored and conceded. In terms of points they were locked in a battle with Girrawheen and Warringah, but their greater goal difference allowed them to progress.

Group 4

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P
1	SYDclub	12	9	2	1	37	11	26	29
2	Otago United	12	8	2	2	34	11	23	26
3	Ayreon	12	7	1	4	33	19	14	22
4	Arrested Developers	12	5	2	5	21	26	-5	16
5	Joachim Wiking	12	5	0	7	30	22	8	15
6	Brisbane Roar FC	12	4	0	8	19	30	-11	12
7	Dribblers FC	12	0	1	11	0	55	-55	0

Top Scorers

Pos.	Player		Team		Goals
1		Brandes Hayward		BONDI ICEBERGS	32
2		Kyle Copelin		Rangers – Real Madrid	31
3		Cregan Durbin		BONDI ICEBERGS	22
4		Nash Hursey		The Smoking Tree	18
5		Jordon Duncan		Crimson Eagles FC	18
6		Potter Winkless		Dewrang Lions	15
7		Olliver Mccormick		Skoolage United	14
8		Dale Pearman		BONDI ICEBERGS	12
9					10
10		Carman Rennie		HASSELHOFF BABES	10

Ice Hockey – Most expensive transfers S44 (Top 10)

Most expensive transfers S44 (Top 10)

Crew has opened for us a list with the Top 10 most expensive transfer last season and I did my job as a reporter and contacted all the managers and they all kindly showed the players so we could publish here, exclusively in The Zone.
The intention in this article is only to show the players as I believe managers have the curiosity to see them and maybe analyse whether they were worth the money or not, however we are not going to analyse anyone in the magazine because it would not be fair to the managers who bought them and made this article possible to be written. What I can say though is that they are really, really good players and I would be really happy to have them in my team haha.
Let’s cut to the chase now and show them, enjoy!

Number 10
From HC Vivatoons to Uxx Horelica for 4 690 335 Euro (2014-11-15)

Very young player, maxed with 10 in Power and fast enough with 8 in quickness, what a great promise the Slovak team have in their squad!

Number 9
From Zabicky to HK Greenhorns for 4 924 859 Euro (2015-01-08)

Absolutely complete player with only 26 years old. He will have with luck, 10 seasons more to help the 23 time champions of Slovenia’s Top League.

Number 8
From MarquinhosHC to Cide Spor for 5 000 000 Euro (2014-10-27)

What a beast he is and even with 33 years old he still hasn’t started his retirement plans, meaning that he can be Cide Spor’s centre in line 1 for around 3 more seasons.

Number 7
From Priests to Gandalf Dragons for 5 179 506 Euro (2014-11-21)

Strong and resistant, you will definitely not find a defender much better than him with only 24 years old.

Number 6
From HC Toporu Juniors to HC Magic Rangers for 5 355 001 Euro (2014-10-31)

Really young player. The Polish side have a top, top winger to help them going back to Div2. Oh I wish I had him.

Number 5
From Ice Cold Perhaps to Grube Bolki Gizycko for 5 360 384 Euro (2014-10-17)

Experienced player and complete, if Grube Bolki Gizycko have a couple of players like Andrzej Oleszak so they will definitely be a contender to win the Polish league this season.

Number 4
From Montana Bears to Inkula Flames HC for 5 437 797 Euro (2014-12-31)

Kenny is almost perfect in the primary attributes and one of the best players I have ever seen at this age. Great purchase by the Finnish Top Team.

Number 3
From Falsztyn SA to HC Chelmza Team for 5 773 659 Euro (2014-10-16)

Only a boy, still in development but you need more than few coins to sign a player with 10 pucks in Power in Shooting.

Number 2
From H.T. National Bucuresti to HC Chelmza Team for 5 788 127 Euro (2014-11-24)

Yes, that’s right. Another player bought HC Chelmza Team. Have they robbed a bank? Haha Anyway, another great player and I hope I don’t play U23 matches against them lol.

Number 1
From Falingos HC to Hc Lila Hästen for 6 483 247 Euro (2015-01-03)

The most expensive player of season 44 is Alex Anger, sold by over 6M. He has a great future ahead, that’s for sure but imagine the pressure he has got on his shoulders for being number 1 in this list? Poor little rich boy!

Half of the players in this list have 23 years old or less and they cost altogether 28 million Euro. Do you still need a reason to train properly your youths? I don’t think so!
One more time I would like to thank all the managers who bought these players for kindly send me their pictures so I could make this article.

By agapitod

Ice Hockey players with highest amount of pucks

‘Ever wanted to know who the most talented individual players in the game are? We were curious too, so we ran a script to locate the players with the highest puck/ball counts, excluding form’ has written crew in one of the last statements of 2014.
They gave us the list with names only but we are very curious crew, we want to see how they are! For this reason, we have contacted all the lucky managers, owners of those hockey stars and we have got most of them. Have a look…

N.15 – Cezary Klucznik, Grube Bolki Gizycko

Class player, he has 78 pucks altogether but are not very far from number 1.

N. 14. Emanuel Jerca, Atlético Mineiro HC

The manager has sacked him and for this reason, we could not see Emanuel Jerca.

N. 13. Bozhko Kash, Eslovenia Ice

Even though he is number 13 in the list, he is in my opinion the best player of all. 10 pucks in 5 attributes, are you kidding me?

N. 12. Mats Salqvist, Piruanik Nation

Absolutely complete player, I understand now why Piruanik Nation are so strong.

N. 11. Peter Svensson, Tallboda Tigers

Great centre for Tallboda Tigers, the player was bought for less than a million euro. This is truly a bargain!

N. 10. Korneliusz Rakowski, Zaduszniki

One more player with 78 pucks, Korneliusz is a real loyal player and never left Zaduszniki. He’s already retired though and might start coaching soon.

N. 9. Charlie Björnberg, Fågelmara IK

Another retired player, Charlie and his 79 pucks have helped Fågelmara IK to win Generation Cup and Season Cup two times in a roll.

N. 8. Cristobal Zaera, Gang Bang Squad

Another player sacked and so, impossible to see how good he was.

N. 7. Buğrahan Çelikta, HC Steaua Lehliu

Despite of having only 7 pucks in Power, he is perfect for Romanian Div2 and 80 pucks total is not for anyone.

N. 6. Cláudio Mendes, Drink Team

Wonder why Drink Team have won the Irish Ice Hockey League so many times? A bit because of this player, very often seen as player of the match!

N. 5. Ioan Anton, Strateni FC

The manager hasn’t replied our request so unfortunately we don’t know how he looks like.

N. 4. Mats Eggers, St. Intrigue Sharks

Great player, could have been keeper if he wanted haha. What a strong defender he was.

N. 3. Rodney Olalla, Astilleros Guayas Hochey

Very intriguing, Rodney has 80 pucks total but only 5 in power and still training it. Not maxed in power, 37 years old and NOT MAXED in power!!!!

N. 2. Jakub Vašut, The Middle Line

The youngest player in the list, Jakub already has 80 pucks and if he still trains something, I would say he’ll be number 1 very soon.

N. 1. 洪峰锋, 中吴八邑

Made in China, the player with an unpronounceable name has the highest amount of pucks (according to crew). He came from the team’s academy and never left the club so we can assume the manager is really good at training players. Well done!!!

So this was the list of these spectacular players that I wish they were all in my roster. I hope crew does that every now and then because is really fun to see some Top Players like them.

By agapitod

Ice Hockey – How to train a defender

We have showed the development of a centre, winger and a keeper in the previous zones and now, in the last article of the series we will see how to train a defender.
The player in the spotlight today is Kyle Blackley, a strong and absolutely fast defender, one of the best U21 serving the English Team at the moment, trained by nffc1985, manager of Top English Team, Deez Cold Nutz.
How to train your (DEFENDER)
Coming from Nottingham, Kyle arrived at Deez Cold Nutz looking extremely promising with 22 pucks, one of the highest amounts I have ever seen at the age of 15. The manager is an expert at developing youngsters and has done a pretty good job with him as you can see in the picture.

As Kyle Blackley arrived in the middle of season 40, the manager had to rush his training a bit, therefore he put him to YCC (Youth Conditioning Camp) so he could catch up with what he had missed during his first season. He trained Power and Checking that week and gained a puck each and a couple of days later he went to Training Camp, where he gained 3 pucks and ended the season with 3 more pucks in Checking, 2 in Power which was pretty good.
Kyle Blackley had attended the same TC in the second season and after it, he stayed at Power department until the end of this term when he maxed in this attribute. Having 9 in Power at the age of 17 was superb and with good amount of pucks in Checking and Stamina, Craig decided to focus on these attributes in the last season as youth and sent him to same TC for the third time in a roll.
Maximizing in Checking early in season 42, Kyle Blackley took advantage of the training Camp to gain 4 pucks in Stamina before becoming professional. Unfortunately for the manager, he also maxed in Shooting after only 3 weeks training this skill but still, he looked as a star defender and very suitable for the National Team even premature.
The Training Camps chosen for him in his first seasons at Deez Cold Nutz:
– Centre Package No. 8 (Checking, Power, Stamina)
– Centre Package No. 8 (Checking, Power, Stamina)
– Centre Package No. 8 (Checking, Power, Stamina)
The pictures below show his development season by season as a youth player at Cold Nutz.

Craig promoted Kyle to the professional team in season 43 and made him train Skating and Quickness in this period. He gained ‘only’ 4 pucks but looked more confident on the skates and much, much faster and most importantly, didn’t max.
Same idea, same plan for season 44 and he gained 5 pucks in Skating and Quickness together. Although he maxed in these skills, the amount of pucks he has is great for a defender and he needs now the tertiary attributes to be developed only and Craig put him to train Puck Control until he maxes but won’t be sent to TC anymore.
The Training Camp chosen for him in his professional career:
– Wild Card Package No. 2 (Stamina, Quickness, Skating)
He’s one of the U21 English Team stars, playing in the first line and we can see why, below.

So this is the end of the ‘How to train your youth’ series and as you can see, it’s not so hard to train a great player, you just need money for TC, good coaches, take hockey seriously and of course, a bit of luck so they don’t max early lol.
See you next time!
By agapitod

AIHL 45 Review and 46 Preview

AIHL Season 45 Review

	Team	W	D	L	=	P	Status
1	Warringah Wizards	21	1	0	108	64
2	Dunedin Thunderbirds HC	19	2	1	101	59
3	Finlandia HC	13	4	5	36	43
4	GRATEFUL DEAD	13	2	7	55	41
5	Relaxmore	12	4	6	51	40
6	Brisbane Roar HC	11	1	10	19	34
7	Kangaroo Crusaders	9	3	10	-5	30
8	Caboonbah	6	7	9	5	25
9	Polar Bear Club	6	2	14	-41	20	div1.1
10	Kariah	6	1	15	-33	19	div1.2
11	Berry H.C	1	0	21	-183	3	div1.3
12	Whats this	1	1	20	-113	4	div2.6

 

Warringah had the better of Dunedin and so the title went to Warringah. It was a tight contest for 3^rd with Finlandia winning out from the Grateful Dead and Relaxmore. Brisbane Roar were comfortable in 6^th and the Crusaders won out against Caboonbah to avoid the playoffs. Caboonah survived the playoffs as most other teams were inactive or close to it. Polar Bear Club were unlucky in that they had to face an active side that was half decent, they lost and were relegated.

 

AIHL Season 46 Preview

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P	Last 6
1	Brisbane Roar HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	Caboonbah	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Dunedin Thunderbirds HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Finlandia HC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	GRATEFUL DEAD	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Ice Road MutherTruckers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	Kangaroo Crusaders	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Monegeeta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Relaxmore	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	The Jugular Vein	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	Warringah Wizards	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Yaroona	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

It’s difficult to see anyone challenging Dunedin or Warringah. Lock in Ice Road Muthertruckers for last as they won a league in which they amassed only 18 points and progressed due to 10 teams being inactive. The Jugular Vein and Monegeeta seem the most likely contenders to at least challenge to stay up. Finlandia, The Grateful Dead and Relaxmore will again challenge for 3^rd, the safety of Brisbane Roar, Kangaroo Crusaders and Caboonbah depends on how strong The Jugular Vein, Monegeeta and Yaroona actually are.

Written by Scruttino

A-League 54 Preview

A-League 54 Preview – written by Scruttino

	Team	M	W	D	L	+	–	=	P	Last 6
1	Almighty Scallywags	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	BONDI ICEBERGS	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Cheltenham	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	Crimson Eagles FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	Dunder Mifflin FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	Glasston	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	HASSELHOFF BABES	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	Jokers	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	Myrtou FC	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	Otago United	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	SYDclub	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	Warringah Navigators	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

 

So we have 4 new, old or returning teams in Warringah Navigators, Hasselhoff Babes, Myrtou FC and Crimson Eagles FC.

So far only Almighty Scallywags are selling up, meaning there will be no treble of titles and we’ll have a new winner. Otago and Glasston are still the favourite as neither team are going anywhere, but there will be another top 3 spot up for grab now. Bondi and the Jokers are the likely contenders for 3rd, but Cheltenham and SYD Club won’t be far behind. The mid table congestion is likely to grow as Warringah, Myrtou, and Crimson Eagles will provide tough competition for those who remain. But if the Scallywags were not selling up I’d have the Hasselhoff Babes pencilled in for the wooden spoon, as 1.2 was a very weak league and winning is not a good judge of being able to survive in the A-League.

But that leaves one automatic demotion place left, it will likely come from either Myrtou or Crimson Eagles as both side are still young. Most teams remaining have at least 2 players retiring, and although some side still have relatively older squads, deterioration will only be in their first year and the affects won’t cause them to drop off the map just yet. We will find out more towards the end of the season as to how quickly the affects will be felt, but my suggestion is you won’t see much change until next season and the one after that. As older players will become a liability only when they begin to lose their 2 balls, until then they will still be better than the majority of younger players.

My league preview final table predictions, in no particular order

1-2 – Otago or Glasston

3-4 – Bondi or Jokers

5-7 – Cheltenham, SYDclub and Warringah Navigators

8-10 – Crimson Eagles FC, Dunder Mifflin FC, Myrtou FC

11 – Hasselhoff Babes

12 – Almighty Scallywags

Ice Hockey – How to train a Keeper

The third article of the “How to train your youth” series is about keepers, the most difficult position to train and the most risky (and profitable) investment within the game. We are about to show a young keeper trained by alexsargent, manager of Kildare Ninjas and who kindly showed his training reports and helped TZI with this matter.
Earnán Willson is currently the U21 National Team’s keeper and I am quite sure you won’t see a 20 years old keeper much better than him. He has been playing league matches for the Ninjas since round 17 and since then, he’s been the best keeper of the Irish Ice Hockey League.
How to train your youth (KEEPER)
“I don’t remember why I put him to train keeper in the first place. Every time I get a bunch of youths, I randomly chose one or two to train this attribute and was pure luck that he’s turned out a great keeper” said Alex.
In fact luck is the main thing to train a keeper as it takes a lot of time to gain keeping pucks and a keeper maxed in 8 or 9 in keeping is not useful for Top Teams. Around 70% is luck in my opinion but the 30% remained is up to the manager and Alex did a great job with Willson, sending him to Training Camp in 4 opportunities, missing only season 41, so from a bet without any great expectations he became the U21 Irish star like you can see in the picture below.

“There was a keeping package available when my first bunch of youths arrived at Pipers Hill where we have our training ground so I took advantage and sent him to train 5 weeks intensively”. Thanks to that, he’d gained 6 pucks in that season.
In the second season, Willson didn’t go to training camp, therefore he just trained keeping and even though he’d gained only 3 pucks the whole season, they were very important for his development as it’s not easy to get 3 keeping pucks in a season, so that was a sign that he could become a great keeper.
He went back to TC in his last season as a youth player and got 4 pucks in total, reached the 8th in keeping and kept the manager’s hopes alive.
The Training Camps chosen for him in his first seasons at Kildare Ninjas:
– Wild Card Package No.6 (Stamina, Keeping, Quickness)
– Wild Card Package No. 5 (Keeping, Stamina, Play Intelligence)
And below you see his progression after three seasons. Quite promising but not at all certain of a success.

Even though Alex Sargent sacked/sold 20 team players when they became professionals, Earnán Willson obviously stayed in the team and he was close to the ideal level for keepers which is 10 pucks in keeping, so the manager gave him even more attention and hired a better coach to train him exclusively. “I had to sign a coach with 8 pucks in Keeping and just didn’t get a better one because they were too dear” revealed the manager.
In the first season as a professional player was when the manager had the greatest news, Willson gained his 9th puck in keeping and didn’t max! The next goal after reaching the 10th was then to train Stamina until 7 at least and he was already close to it.
Reaching now season 44 which is the one we’ve currently been playing, the keeper gained two pucks in Stamina and maxed out but his amount of pucks was enough to turn him into the main keeper of Ninjas and start playing league matches.
Alex has been now focusing in developing Play Intelligence and Quickness but won’t send him to TC anymore, that’s why the reason Earnán Willson is in the first team, even though he hasn’t reached 21 years old yet.
The Training Camps chosen for him in his professional era:
– Wild Card Package No. 7 (Stamina, Passing, Keeping)
– Wild Card Package No.5 (Keeping, Stamina, Play Intelligence)
And how he currently looks like.

So as you can see, it’s very possible to train a class keeper like Earnán Willson, although not easy, you have to believe, have faith and of course work for it.
By agapitod

Ice Hockey – How to train a winger

This is the second article about youths’ development and now we show a winger, perfect for small countries’ Top League or low division in big countries like Sweden, Poland, Brazil…
I know it might sound pretentious when I say “how to train your youth” because firstly, this is not a recipe and may not work as well as has worked with my players. Also, I’m not the best manager in the game and as a matter of fact, I’m very far from being this, but I know a bit of how to do it properly. You can see it as ONE of several ways to train a youth hockey player.
How to train a youth (WINGER)
I’ve picked Breffni McCready because he’s the one with good amount of pucks in the important skills for the position.
Seven seasons ago, the small boy from Rathmore came to our academy to train hockey. 15 years old and still with all his teeth in his mouth, he was one of the most ‘hard workers’ at the training ground and that made him a lot stronger and skillful nowadays. The picture itself can prove I’m right:

Different from other managers, I don’t train only power to max, instead, I make turns into important skills. Ironically, when I first saw McCready, I thought he could be a defender so the first skill chosen was checking. I didn’t start with power because all the spots were filled by ‘better’ players. Well to sum up, he’d got 7 pucks in his first season which is very good given the fact that at that time, players were still under training 1.0 and so, getting pucks was slower than nowadays.
The second season, I’d focused on secondary attributes so he could get even on his skills, not forgetting though Power and Shooting his new favourite skill to be developed.
In the last season as youth, I had to rush his primary attributes so I could decide whether he’d be sacked, sold or kept in the squad. Managerzone was in transition process to Training 2.0 so he had the ITC (Intense Training Camp) where he stayed for a week. His feedback was perfect as 7 pucks were gained again and no maxes other than the already known checking. Great Stuff!
The training Camps I had chosen for him were:
– Forward Package No.3 (Power, Shooting, Checking)
– Forward Package No.4 (Passing, Shooting, Skating)
– ITC (Power, Shooting, Skating)
– Forward Package No.3 (Power, Shooting, Checking)
The pictures show you his progress and how he looked after his season as amateur at Rathmore Lime Tree.

It’s common sense that a player when becomes professional, slows down his training results and starts getting less pucks per season but it didn’t really happen with McCready in his first season amongst seniors. He got 7 pucks, two of which were in Power and his last puck in Shooting.
After that season, his trainings started to go slower and he showed no good partial in quickness. Only four pucks were gained in S41 plus early max in Skating with six pucks. At this stage he still looked like a great promise, even with early maxes in checking and skating.
In the last season helping the U21 National Team and doing a fair job in the first line, McCready got four more pucks, which was ok but less than his teammates from the same season. It was when I realized he couldn’t become a top, top player because again he got an early max, this time in quickness.
Well in my opinion, a top player has to have at least 7 pucks in Stamina, Quickness and Skating and he had maxed with only 6 in Skating and Quickness. So now instead of being a top player, he turned into a good player for small countries with few managers like Ireland or maybe for lower divisions in bigger nations.
The training Camps I had chosen for him were:
– General Package No.1 (Power, Stamina, Skating)
– General Package No.1 (Power, Stamina, Skating)
– Forward Package No.13 (Shooting, Quickness, Play Intelligence)
After three more seasons, this is how he current looks like.

This season is the last one that he will be sent to TC and thanks to the new ‘Training Camp Exchange’ feature I was able to choose whatever package I want for him. I was in doubt whether to choose a package with stamina and play intelligence or stamina and puck control so I chose the “Defender Package No. 13” (Checking, Stamina, Puck Control) mostly because he has less pucks in puck control than in intelligence. If I’m lucky, he’ll get a couple of pucks in puck control, a puck in stamina and keep training this attribute.
By agapitod