Presidents Message
Welcome to Sunnybank Saints Soccer Club!
The past twelve years that I have been involved with the club, I have seen amazing growth at the Club. Established in 1978, Sunnybank Saints has fostered and encouraged the sport of soccer in the local community for over 30 years providing an enjoyable and affordable sporting association among persons both young and old, and male and female.
The Club was established by and has constitutional ties with St Barnabas Anglican Church Sunnybank, which encourages participation in worship and undertaking of the same.
Based at Lister Street in Sunnybank we field teams in the Queensland Christian Soccer Association winter competition for Brisbane and the surrounding area. Our Club is currently one of the largest of over 45 clubs affiliated with the Association.
Our registered player numbers have more than doubled over the last 17 years, from 270 in 2002 to over 800 registrations last year for the 2023 season.
The Club’s expansion in recent years is largely due to a stable, hardworking and innovative committee.
In January 2006 we received recognition at the Australia Day Awards sponsored by local member, Judy Spence, as the Sporting Club of the Year. Coincidentally, this was the year I joined the club with my son playing in U5.
Since the introduction of our own in-house Under 5 and Under 6 competitions the player growth in the Under 6 – Under 8 age group has been amazing. We fielded 19 teams in the 2018 season for this age group alone. Unfortunately we have seen a drop off in the U5 age group and took a decision to amalgamate the U5 and U6 age groups for 2018 and beyond. We will revisit this if we get increased interest from the U5 age group.
In growing the junior club, we have seen our club field more full teams in the U9-U13 age group.
Success of a club is not just built on victory in winning games and competitions. The success and strength of a club is seen in friendships made, teamwork both on and off the field, player and team officials’ behaviour on and off the field, fair game time, and the emphasis of fun and enjoyment of the game.
During our time at the Lister Street field we have, installed an irrigation system, erected two covered grandstands, constructed a storage shed/canteen and upgraded the field lighting. In 2018 we commenced the new club house which will opened in 2020 providing new toilets and change room facilities, as well as a referee’s room, disabled toilets, canteen and a community meeting room.
We are also trying to develop facilities at the Calamvale fields in conjunction with other clubs and have built a multi-storage shed as well as installed competition level lights to one of the soccer fields.
Administrative innovations over time by the Club include:
- Introduction in 2004 of an Under 5 competition
- Introduction in 2006 of an Under 6 competition
- Introduction of qualified in-house referees for junior matches
- Club Loyalty Award program to acknowledge long service to the Club
- A policy on equal game time regardless of skill levels
- A comprehensive website
- On line registration for both returning and new players
- Grading for U11 upwards
- Hiring a Coaching Director
Our Club is greatly enriched by players and families from many ethnic and religious backgrounds. We are proud of our achievements in bringing family orientated soccer to our local community underpinned by Christian values and good sportsmanship.
Of course we must all be committed to make sure that FUN is the absolute first priority for every age group closely followed by fair game time for every player.
I encourage you to get involved, take on coaching and manager roles for your child’s team, it provides you with a far more rewarding experience than just turning up to watch them play, and please participate in duties like line marking and helping at the canteen.
Enjoy the 2024 season ahead. Be encouraged and recognise that the committee will support you wherever necessary throughout the year.
Ken Nean
Club President