The Youth FA annual seminar for season 2011-12 was held last Saturday.
Guest speakers were Bjorn Vassallo CEO Malta Football Association, Ms Beverley Cutajar, Ray Bezzina, physiotherapist, Robert Gatt MFA Technical Director, Adrian Casha MFA Head of Refereeing Dep. and Fr Hilary Tagliaferro, Youth FA President
In an introductory address, Bjorn Vassallo said that if the youths in the Nurseries are well-taken care of, under the guidance of qualified coaches, better results will be attained by our national team, considering the fact that most Nurseries have adequate facilities.
Coaches should also have a zealous, professional and tactical approach towards our youngsters and programmed practice under the guidance of qualified coaches is of an utmost importance.
Ms Beverley Cutajar spoke about the management of stress in our Nurseries. Physiotherapist Ray Bezzina spoke about “The Biochemical Youth Screening Programme” which is a plan to screen the youngsters so that any defects or mulfunctioning of any ligament, muscle, hamstring etc., will be detected in its very early stage so that it will be cured in the right time.
Robert Gatt spoke about the MFA Technical Directorate which is divided into four regions which are, North, Central, South and Gozo.
He added that the main objectives are: to reach all Nurseries in Malta and Gozo; to organise instructional meetings in the hope of improving coaching staff at Nurseries; set objectives and training methods for young footballers aged 7 to 11/12 and develop their basic skills; to monitor training in Nurseries and to mentor coaches in Nurseries.
At present the Technical Centre is collecting information from all Nurseries about training methods, duration of the game and facilities in Nurseries.
Coaches from both the Technical Centre and Nurseries will be visiting State schools to promote the game of football among 7 to 12 year-old boys.
Adrian Casha spoke about respect towards referees, considering that a referee is subject to mistake as all human beings are. He said that during his 20 years of refereeing he always strove to respect players and spectators alike and was always very cautious when it came to issue warnings and sending offs.
He also stressed the point that a game should always be played in the best of sporting spirits and as respect gains integrity, a referee will gain high esteem from players, coaches and spectators.
In a short concluding address, Fr Hilary Tagliaferro thanked all those present for attending the seminar and augured all Nurseries success for season 2011-12.