Foundation Football (ages 5 to 8)
KEY DATES & TIMES​
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​​Season start: 29 April
Season finish: 2 September
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Saturdays at Karori Park:
Sonic 6s: 8:30am to 9:30am
Super 7s: 9:30am to 10:30am
Great 8s: 10:30am to 11:30am
1. OVERVIEW
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Foundation Football covers three age groups ("grades"): Sonic 6s is for players born in 2018 and 2017, Super 7s is for those born in 2016 and Great 8s is for those born in 2015.
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Foundation Football focuses on small sided games and skill building activities, to ensure our youngest players get lots of touches on the ball, develop key football skills and techniques, and have heaps of fun.
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The winter season runs from April to September on Saturday mornings at Karori Park, at a time depending on grade. It is open to kids of all of all abilities.
More information is set out below.
2. WHAT IS FOUNDATION FOOTBALL?
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Foundation Football mixes small sided games and fun skill building activities. Teams participate in a range of these games and activities each Saturday morning, in a "station rotation" format.
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Teams
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Players are placed into small teams of between 4 and 7 players at the start of the season. The teams are put together by grade coordinators, who will aim to place your child with their friends (you can list up to three friends when registering) or kids from the same school.
"Station Rotation"
The games and activities (each game or activity is a "station") will be set up in a circuit each Saturday morning. Teams will start at one station, and rotate to the next station every 15 minutes. Teams will complete four stations each week.
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The games and activities will change each week, as will the starting station for each team.
An explanation of the week’s games and activities (see here for an example) and a map showing the starting station for each team (see here for an example) will be circulated each week.
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Games vs Activities
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Games are normal football games - a small field, with goal at each end, and two teams competing to score more goals than the other. We also run variations on normal games - for example some games will have two goals at each end of the field, or goals will be replaced with poles which players need to dribble the ball though to score.
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Activities are aimed at developing a wide range of skills and abilities, such as dribbling, shooting, passing and general movement and balance. They are designed to be fun, using variations on games like bull rush, tag, and stuck in the mud to emphasise and develop certain skills.
"Festival Weekend"
Every third Saturday is "Festival Weekend".
Super 7s and Great 8s play an inter-club tournament these weekends. The tournaments are held around Wellington, meaning that sometimes they will be at Karori Park, but other times they may be further afield (for example, at Alex Moore Park in Johnsonville, or Wakefield Park in Island Bay). Capital Football publishes a draw the week before each Festival Weekend, which determines when and where you will play.
For Sonic Sixers, the programme runs at Karori Park as usual, with only Karori teams participating, but all stations will be football games (i.e. no activities).
Trainings during the week
You can choose to sign up for our Emerging Swifts training programme.
Emerging Swifts is a skills development programme that mixes small sided games and training drills, delivered by the club's coaching staff on Monday afternoons.
See here for more information on, and to register for, Emerging Swifts.
3. WHEN AND WHERE?
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Season begins: Saturday 29th April
Season finishes: Saturday 9th September
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Sonic 6s: runs from 8:30am to 9:30am each Saturday at Karori Park.
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Super 7s: runs from 9:30am to 10:30am each Saturday at Karori Park.
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Great 8s: runs from 10:30am to 11:30am each Saturday at Karori Park.
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Note that Super 7s and Great 8s may play at a different time and location during Festival Weekends (see above for more information).
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School holiday break: Foundation Football runs on the first and last weekend of the school holidays, but we take a break for Easter weekend and the middle weekend of the holidays..
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School Holiday and Summer Programmes: The club runs a very popular school holiday programme, and a summer programme during terms 1 and 4. We encourage players to keep up their football over the holidays and summer by getting involved in these! More information can be found on the "Programmes" page here.
4. WHAT GEAR DO YOU NEED?
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Players need to have their own:
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Plain black shorts.
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Black football socks.
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Football boots.
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Shin pads.
Football boots and shin pads can be bought from most sports stores and off TradeMe. Socks and shorts can be purchased from the Soccer Shop or from most sports retailers in Wellington.
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The club provides each team with the following gear at the beginning of the season (all of which must be returned at the end of the season):
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Black and white striped Waterside Karori playing tops (1 per player).
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Bibs.
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A player of the day trophy and certificates.
Balls, cones and other gear required for Saturday morning games and activities are provided on the day.
5. TEAM COACHES AND MANAGERS
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We want to create a fun and positive environment for our players. The more support, encouragement and involvement from parents the better! The success of Foundation Football depends on the assistance of parents.
Team management
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Each team needs a coach/manager to:
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take responsibility for the team's gear, and ensure it is all returned at the end of the season;
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act as a point of contact for the team - make sure players turn up on the Saturday, and notify your Grade Coordinator if your team will be missing players (so that we can ensure teams are even on the day); and
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award the player of the day award each weekend.
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Coaching
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The club provides a number of club coaches to assist with the set up and delivery of games and activities. However, parents will be needed to run the remaining games and activities.
When your team arrives at a station which is not being looked after by a club coach, a parent (or parents) will need to run it. This is not a big task. The games take care of themselves - get them underway and then step back. The activity stations require a bit more input, but experience is not necessary. A good Foundation Football coach doesn’t need to know everything about football - they just need to be enthusiastic!
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The club provides a range of coach development training and resources, to help keen parents improve their coaching ability. See the coaching section of the website here for more information.
6. HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
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Step 1: Register for the winter season
Online registrations will open early in 2023
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Please email support@karorifootball.co.nz with any questions.
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Step 2: Grade Coordinators will put together teams
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Grade Coordinators will put players into teams after registrations close, in early March.
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Grade Coordinators will then be in touch with you, with information on your team and the start of the season. This might not be until late March.
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The club will separately email you once registrations have closed with more information on the season, how things will work, key contacts, and other key details.
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Step 3: The season starts!
Kick off on Saturday 29 April 2023!
