Immanuel College Old Scholars Soccer Club

President’s Report 2005

 

The Australian folk singer Paul Kelly wrote the lyric ‘from little things big things grow’. These poetic words could quite easily be the soundtrack to the inaugural season of the Immanuel College Old Scholars Soccer Club. 2005 - The Year of the Dove.

The short history of the ICOS Soccer Club was born out of a game held between close friends and associates in the latter part of 2004. Two teams called ‘The Jury’ and ‘The Guild’ captained by the brothers Hooper battled for 90 minutes in a match that will be remembered for its competitiveness, good sportsmanship and humor. The result saw ‘The Jury’ triumphant but more importantly generated the idea of a combined side that would ultimately compete in the Collegiate Soccer League as Old Scholars of Immanuel College. This combined team held the qualities of friendship, competitiveness, good sportsmanship and humor close to their heart and ingrained them into the club culture.

In season 2005 the ICOS Soccer Club finished in 8th position with two wins, six draws and eight losses and was eliminated in the first round of the Collegiate Cup. My Congratulations to Rostrevor who were 2005 A2 CSL Champions with twelve wins, two draws and two losses. Despite these results I consider 2005 to be an extremely successful year. I have never been involved with a club that promoted such equality and gave so much ownership to its players. This season has been extremely rewarding for me as a player and president.

I thank Immanuel College for its support and the use of the Morphett Road pitch for training and the Old Scholars Oval for game day. We hope to strengthen our relationship with the school in the coming years.

Many thanks must go to the Board of 2005 for their efforts in getting this club off the ground. Our treasurer Michael Allan delivered a healthy surplus and has kept the books and player statistics meticulously clean. Ben Hooper’s work with the Dove Tales has done a great deal for club culture and player morale and I thank him for his administrative support. David McCouaig, Ryan McKee and Ben Willsmore are to be congratulated for their fundraising efforts and general development of the club. The chocolate sale, film night and presentation dinner were success stories which I hope become regular fixtures in our calendar. I would also like to recognize the efforts of Juan Hooper and his home game barbeque and drinks stall which was greatly appreciated by all at the club.

I would like to thank Jan Pfitzner for his leadership with the playing group this season. Due to the rotation policy Jan was never given the freedom to choose his best 11 players; however, he still managed to put a competitive team on the pitch every week. His training sessions have been educational and enjoyable. Jan deserves credit for the dramatic increase in skill level across the playing group and the implementation of triangles into our game plan. I hope Jan will continue to lead and educate the playing group in the years to come.

The old saying goes ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ and I am reluctant to make too many changes to our club in 2006 that could be detrimental to the culture that we have created. Excellent numbers have attended the ‘pre’ preseason; however, we must maintain a high percentage of Old Scholars in the playing group to ensure the continued support of the school.

I am opposed to registering a second team in the Collegiate League as I believe we do not have the infrastructure in place to support such a change. We will eventually need a training facility with permanent lighting and change rooms and an Old Scholars recruiting plan to inject youth and bolster the numbers of our playing list.

2006 should be a year that ICOS Soccer Club strives for greater on field success and strengthens the club culture that is already in place.

Adam Hooper
ICOS Soccer Club President