Team Talk | Issue 5 | Little League Soccer

TEAM TALK THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF LITTLE LEAGUE SOCCER MALAYSIA

BKK SUPER CUP

BRING IT ON, BANGKOK! FCKL head north for tough test

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IN THIS ISSUE

WITH DIGNITY

Little League joins forces with Dignity for Children

FOR THE FUN OF IT DVFA visit The New Camp for morning of football fun

BRAND NEW

FCKL launches latest elite-level academy

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CONTENTS

There’s a new elite programme in town as Little League launch FCKL Bandar Utama

04 LITTLE LEAGUE NEWS The latest happenings, events and promotions from around the Little League Soccer Community

06 START OF SOMETHING NEW

10 FOOTBALL FUN DAY

Little League rolls out its FC Kuala Lumpur elite programme to players in Bandar Utama.

Bandar Utama players joined forces with teams from DVFA recently for a mini football carnival.

12 BRING IT ON, BANGKOK! Behind the scenes at the Bangkok Super Cup as FCKL go close to clinching the Under-12 title.

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NEWS NEW WRISTBANDS FOR BANDAR UTAMA Coloured bands for Little League and FCKL players With the launch of the FCKL Bandar Utama programme at The New Camp (see page 6), Little League Soccer has introduced a new ‘check-in’ system for all players training at Bandar Utama.

Coming in the form of coloured wristbands that represent a month of training, the system presents players with a Little League Soccer silicone wristband once they check in each month. Players will then be asked to wear that band for every training session in the month before switching it the next month for a different colour.

The wristbands help coaches to quickly identify registered players and allow head coach Filipe to rectify any issues with registrations. And, we hope you agree, they look pretty great! Get yours now at BU training sessions.

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DARREN STEWART NAMED MALDIVES HEAD COACH

FCKL PLAYERS SELECTED FOR NFDP

New role for Little League Singapore General Manager

Three players training with national development squads

In great news for the wider Little League family, our general manager at Little League Soccer Singapore has recently been appointed head coach of the Maldives national team. Former head coach at Balestier FC, Darren holds a UEFA A Licence and has been a big part of the growth of youth football in Singapore through Little League Soccer and their competitive Turf City FC teams. With over 15 years of coaching experience at both junior and senior levels, we’re sure Darren will do well in the new role. We’d like to wish him a hearty congratulations and all the best in the new high profile job.

Following a great first term in 2016, we are delighted to announce that several of our FCKL players have been selected for Malaysia’s NFDP programme. Set up as the national grassroots football development scheme, the NFDP aims to provide a pathway for youth players to the highest level of Malaysian football. As Little League Soccer’s own elite development programme, it is a great honour for FC Kuala Lumpur to have been instrumental in the players’ progression. While the boys are now training with their NFDP squads, the fact that they choose to still come to FCKL sessions is a fantastic bonus for our club.

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DOING IT WITH DIGNITY

This summer, Little League Soccer entered a partnership with local charity Dignity for Children. With a shared goal of improving lives through education, we’ve been working collaboratively to provide football workshops for both the children and the teachers. Team Talk dropped into a recent session with the Dignity teachers.

WANT MORE?

LOOK OUT FOR OUR COVERAGE OF THE LITTLE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS CUP IN THE NEXT ISSUE!

What started as a trial session for underpivileged children at Pusat Komuniti Sentul became a very real programme for change for Little League Soccer recently.

Inviting teachers and staff from Dignity for Children to the KLFA Football Centre, Little League head coach Filipe Goncalves and senior coach Chris Nathan led a football coaching workshop with the intention of educating the educators.

Looking at the basics of training sessions, from set-up and planning to feedback and progression, Filipe and Chris talked the

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teachers through a sample lesson in the classroom before putting them through their paces out on the pitch.

Though a little shy at first, the Dignity staff soon warmed to the occassion, offering feedback on how their teaching experience could help on the field and even attempting to run a few drills and training exercises themselves.

Ultimately, the goal is for Dignity teachers to be able to offer their own sports programme to students in the build up to their annual football tournament, the Faisal Cup.

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THE START OF SOMETHING NEW As the growth of our BU training centre continues, Little League Soccer is delighted to roll out a brand new elite development programme for children in the PJ area. FCKL Bandar Utama aims to replicate the FC Kuala Lumpur programme, offering expert coaching to the most talented young footballers.

Following the success of the FC Kuala Lumpur elite development programme at the KLFA Football Centre, Little League Soccer is delighted to announce the launch of FCKL Bandar Utama.

Designed for talented youth footballers in the Petaling Jaya area, the new academy follows FC Kuala Lumpur’s proven training methodology in midweek sessions at The New Camp, Bandar Utama.

AN ELITE PROGRAMME FOR PJ Speaking ahead of the launch, Little League Soccer head coach Filipe Melicias Goncalves was enthusiastic about the future for FCKL Bandar Utama. “The programme is built for players that are committed to training, matches and both local and international tournaments.

“FCKL is the natural progression from Little League. We use the same facilities and the same coaches but we shift the focus from fun to development.”

That’s not to say that FC Kuala Lumpur sessions aren’t fun, Coach Filipe points out, just that players and parents know that hard work is required to achieve the elite development programme’s goals.

Those goals will be familiar to families involved in the FC Kuala Lumpur setup at the KLFA Football Centre.

“In the short term,” Coach Filipe explains, “we want to have five FCKL Bandar Utama teams competing in the KL Junior League.

“In the long term we want to make those teams competitive not just in the league but in local and regional tournaments, too.”

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Overall though, there are wider goals than tournament results for Coach Filipe and the FCKL team. “Ultimately our objective will always be to develop our players to their fullest potential.”

The objectives, structure and staff clearly mirror those that have helped FC Kuala Lumpur develop into one of the country’s premier youth soccer development programmes. Does that mean Coach Filipe sees FCKL BU being as successful as the original outfit at KLFA? “Definitely, yes,” he says emphatically. “There

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is no reason for it not to be. Our success stems from the training structure we have in place.”

“Every player is welcome to join and play with Little League Soccer, and everyone plays at an appropriate age-group and ability level. This allows us to spot talented players and promote them to our competitive FCKL teams.”

That players can now be promoted to elite teams in Desa Melawati as well as the Bandar Utama and PJ area is surely as huge positive for youth soccer in the Klang Valley and Malaysia as a whole.

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PULLING TOGETHER

Though missing some key first team players, the FCKL Under-8 team came together well in Bangkok to finish a respectable eighth place.

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DVFA FOOTBALL FUN DAY

Joining forces with Dream Village Football Academy, Little League Soccer held a morning of football fun on Saturday, 23 July at The New Camp, Bandar Utama. With games, matches, breakfast and more it was a great way for the two teams to face some friendly competition.

Kicking off the new youth soccer term with some football fun, Little League Soccer joined forces with DVFA for a series of friendly matches at The New Camp, Bandar Utama on Saturday, 23 July.

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With tournaments in Under-6, Under-8, Under-10, Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 age-groups, plus breakfast sponsored by The Chicken Rice Shop, it was a great morning for Little League and DVFA families.

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Team Talk was pitchside to catch the best of the action and festivities. See our photo highlights from the morning below and don’t forget to check out the full photo story at www.littleleague.my

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“WITH TOURNAMENTS FOR PLAYERS FROM UNDER-6 TO UNDER-16, IT WAS A GREAT MORNING FOR FAMILIES FROM BOTH ACADEMIES.”

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BRING IT ON, BANGKOK!

Earlier this year, Team Talk followed five FC Kuala Lumpur teams on their journey to the Bangkok Super Cup. Facing sides from Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, the teams came up against some tough competition. But that didn’t stop them from coming away with great results – and plenty of experience.

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On Friday, 3 June 2016, FC Kuala Lumpur travelled to Thailand for the Bangkok International Super Cup. After spending the night in the city, the teams headed out to Harrow International School for Saturday’s group games in the Under-8, 10, 12, 14 and 16 age-groups.

the opening game of the tournament against a big, strong iPlay Girls team, they lost points in their first two matches before picking up two wins. A must-win final game against Flick FC gave them a chance to get into the Cup competition but the boys were unable to overcome the tough opposition.

UNDER-8 Missing some key members of the team that did so well in this year’s KL Cup, the FCKL Under-8s faced a tough challenge on the first morning of the Bangkok Super Cup. Drawn for

UNDER-10 After recently claiming the title in the U10 KL Junior League, FCKL’s Under-10 team had big goals for the Bangkok Super Cup. And though a few players were unable to travel this time,

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Coach Will fielded a strong side on the first morning of competition. Indeed, the team finished the group stages strongly, only just missing out on Cup placings for tomorrow’s knockout matches.

UNDER-11 Coach Filipe’s Under-11 team was always going to have a fight in the Under-12 agegroup, but a top team performance saw them battle it out with some of their group’s best outfits to secure a solid place in the Plate competition.

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THE DAY THAT COUNTS

UNDER-12 Coach Shazwan’s Under-12 team look to build on their success at the KL Cup and the KL Junior League in this year’s Bangkok Super Cup, and they got their campaign off to an excellent start on day one. Three wins and an unfortunate loss see them qualify for the Cup competition.

Day two at the Bangkok International Super Cup 2016 promised a lot for FC Kuala Lumpur. With two teams qualified for the Cup competition, three for the Plate and one for the Bowl, there was a lot for all age-groups to play for. But it wouldn’t be easy. Day one had shown how strong the opposition was at this year’s tournament and FCKL would have to come out firing in order to progress to the later stages of the competition.

the pitch on Sunday morning, they hoped they could build on the momentum they found at the end of the first day’s action.

Facing Singapore academy Football Passion they looked strong and sharp from the off, with some excellent defending and probing attacks sending the boys into a tense penalty shootout. On the line: a spot in the Plate semifinal against the Brazilian Football Academy from Hong Kong.

Though the youngest age-group in the tournament, the Under-8s had to wait almost the longest for their games to get underway on the second day. The first game didn’t disappoint though, with FCKL forcing Hong Kong side Galaxy to a penalty shootout. Sadly though it wasn’t to be for the Under-8s, as Galaxy clinched the win after three penalties each to send FCKL into the 7th/8th place play-off.

The players looked confident as they lined up shoulder to shoulder on the half way line but Football Passion held their nerve well to take the victory and advance to the final. A disappointed FCKL would have to settle for a place in the 7th/8th play-off but Coach Will was a proud man when looking back at the team’s second day performance.

When Coach Will’s Under-10s stepped onto

Securing a hard-fought slot in the Cup competition on day one, Coach Shazwan’s Under-12 team were exactly where they

UNDER-14 In a highly competitive Under-14 group, Coach Azizi’s team faced strong opposition from the off, but a never-say-die attitude saw them grow and improve throughout the first day. And with five matches now behind them they’ll set their sights on the Bowl competition.

UNDER-16 It was a mixed first day for Coach Chris and the Under-16 team seeing some early leads get turned over before the final whistle. But the squad stayed strong throughout their group games and will carry good momentum into the Cup competition tomorrow morning.

THE NEXT STEP All of the FC Kuala Lumpur teams will return to Harrow International School on Sunday, 5 June for the Bangkok International Super Cup knockout stages. The coaches and staff at Little League Soccer and FCKL would like to wish the players the best of luck and thank all the parents and families who have travelled to Bangkok to support the teams.

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wanted to be going into the knockout stages.

Their first test came against Sun Academy in the quarter finals – a match that looked like it could be a frustrating experience for FCKL with two good chances early on failing to end in goals. Adam Mukriz would finally open the deadlock, however, sending the team through to the semi-finals.

All that stood between FCKL and the final now was a match with last year’s champions Bangkok United. This was KL vs Bangkok, and the encounter was tense from the very first whistle. An early defensive mix-up and a stroke of good fortune for the home side saw FCKL go 1-0 down almost straight away but the boys fought back well, creating openings and looking dangerous on the attack. Despite their best efforts though, the goal never came

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and the team had to settle for a place in the 3rd/4th play-off.

For their final game of the cup, FCKL faced tournament hosts iPlay. With third place medals on the line, there was still plenty to fight for and both sides pushed to the final whistle, playing out a 1-1 draw that meant the game went to penalties.

With FCKL having lost two shootouts in the Under-8 and Under-10 competitions it was the last thing the coaches wanted, but the boys held their nerve brilliantly, scoring all three of their penalties. It would come down to iPlay’s final effort then – their striker vs our goalkeeper. And Sean did it, pushing the final penalty away to secure a well deserved third place for FC Kuala Lumpur.

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FCKL’s Under-14 team was keen to put their first day at the Bangkok Super Cup behind them when they returned to the pitch on Sunday morning. Just missing out on a lace in the Plate competition, they would play on day two in the Bowl, where they knew they had a chance of taking the trophy. Their first game saw them face FFV Hotshots and a good win meant they progressed to the final to play for Bangkok Super Cup bowl.

Kicking off at 1:20 in the afternoon, the Bowl final between Arsenal Soccer Schools and FC Kuala Lumpur was a scorching affair, and the FCKL team looked tired under the hot sun as the game entered its latter stages. Indeed, Arsenal took the lead and managed to hold on for the victory, pushing FCKL into 10th place overall for the tournament.

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PLAYER OF THE MONTH

TING TZE YOUNG ISSUE 5

When were you born and which team do you play for?

I was born on 15th July, 2007 and I play for FCKL Under-10s.

When did you join Little League Soccer?

I joined in May 2016 after attending Little League sessions at my school.

What do you enjoy about FC Kuala Lumpur?

I like the coaches and my friends are here, so the players are fun to play with as well.

What are your goals for the future?

I want to move to a higher level of football skill and also to be a good all-round player.

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