Touch Football
0:00:41.879,0:00:46.969
Love the sport itís for all ages. Lucky enough
here Iíve got the mixed open title named
0:00:46.969,0:00:50.659
after me. Iíve won it eight times. Iíve
been captain for the Australian mixed open
0:00:50.659,0:00:56.219
team for a few years now. Iíve won a few
of the menís 30ís as well now and played
0:00:56.219,0:00:59.219
Australian menís 30ís so Iíve been very
very fortunate. Probably been in the right
0:00:59.219,0:01:00.019
place at the right time.
0:01:00.019,0:01:01.729
0:01:01.729,0:01:08.729
My background is Lebanese. Born in Australia
so Iím Australian. Mum and Dad are from Lebanon.
0:01:11.610,0:01:18.610
They migrated here in 1966 and probably the
same as most migrants come over with only
0:01:18.979,0:01:22.000
a thong ñ not that he lost one, he found
one.
0:01:22.000,0:01:29.000
They did it the tough way you know. Hard because
it was a new country. They didnít know anyone
0:01:30.659,0:01:35.470
here, had to find a job , they worked two
shifts and they sort of did it the old fashioned
0:01:35.470,0:01:39.009
way.
0:01:39.009,0:01:46.009
Actually it started with my friends. We had
touch football competitions running week nights
0:01:51.229,0:01:53.880
and a few of the guys got together and said
hey thereís this touch football game ñ itís
0:01:53.880,0:01:57.579
sort of like league but you donít have to
tackle, you donít get hurt, you know, we
0:01:57.579,0:02:02.590
should put a team in, make a night of it.
Wednesday nights go and play and then go for
0:02:02.590,0:02:05.909
a pizza and stuff like that. So it really
did start informally. Got playing for a couple
0:02:05.909,0:02:10.700
of years and they started to mention things
like the regional championships and said why
0:02:10.700,0:02:14.690
donít you come down and trial for this itís
the next level in touch. Itís sort of just
0:02:14.690,0:02:20.489
carried on from there. You play for your local
affiliate, maybe a Parramatta or a Manly or
0:02:20.489,0:02:24.590
a Hawthorn in Melbourne and from there they
picked our regional teams and from the regional
0:02:24.590,0:02:29.739
teams they went on to pick the city country
teams, state teams and Australian teams. Itís
0:02:29.739,0:02:33.880
sort of like youíre in the pool youíre starting
to swim and you keep going because youíve
0:02:33.880,0:02:36.720
got five laps to go ñ itís just been really
good.
0:02:36.720,0:02:43.720
My background is that we play for a team called
Western Suburbs of Sydney. We are a very very
0:02:50.949,0:02:56.519
multicultural team there. Weíve got nationalities
ñ Australian, Italian and Lebanese. Weíve
0:02:56.519,0:03:01.949
got some Chinese guys there, weíve got Pacific
Islanders there, weíve got a couple of Japanese
0:03:01.949,0:03:08.060
players there so weíve got a great range
cultures. I think now as a coach youíve got
0:03:08.060,0:03:13.389
to learn not to judge a book by its cover.
They are keen to learn so as a coach its rewarding
0:03:13.389,0:03:16.109
to pick up someone like that and actually
see them progress and become better players.
0:03:16.109,0:03:20.410
The benefits are unreal. When you are touring
and you get to learn the backgrounds of these
0:03:20.410,0:03:24.489
guys thatís where you really enjoy it and
you think you know youíre missing out on
0:03:24.489,0:03:25.900
so much because weíve got our blinkers on.
0:03:25.900,0:03:32.900
I think the rewards are in the fact that if
you can create something that is successful,
0:03:39.040,0:03:42.759
not necessarily as a result but in terms of
the atmosphere that you built. If you can
0:03:42.759,0:03:47.590
create a family and get people just to get
on. Sport is sport especially at this level.
0:03:47.590,0:03:52.859
We donít get paid so itís not as if itís
a lifeline for them. They actually pay to
0:03:52.859,0:03:56.930
play this game so we make sure that if you
are going to pay you are going to enjoy yourself
0:03:56.930,0:04:03.930
and have a really good time. Yeah thatís
probably one of the challenges.
0:04:09.150,0:04:12.949
When I hit my teens and they realized that
I was taking a liking to this touch football
0:04:12.949,0:04:17.470
thing, dad was always on my case saying what
about your school work, you know, what about
0:04:17.470,0:04:21.150
your study. They didnít realize that that
was my out from my study and my break from
0:04:21.150,0:04:25.479
things. Thatís pretty much the way they were
brought up. Having come over and having done
0:04:25.479,0:04:29.150
it the tough way they sort of donít want
to see me do that. Speaking from a Lebanese
0:04:29.150,0:04:33.759
background, weíve taken some teams to the
world cup to represent Lebanon. Weíve taken
0:04:33.759,0:04:38.460
mixed teams and weíve taken menís teams.
Itís always hard to recruit some of the Lebanese
0:04:38.460,0:04:43.500
girls especially in a mixed environment because
the old school thinking is that they shouldnít
0:04:43.500,0:04:50.500
be going away with boys unless theyíre engaged
or something like that.
0:04:53.940,0:05:00.940
Weíve a thing called the Blackest Cat. We
travel around Australia and we run Touch clinics
0:05:01.910,0:05:06.060
just to develop touch and thatís for kids
from the ages of 10 to 18. We come across
0:05:06.060,0:05:10.870
a lot of kids who are multicultural. The beauty
of those clinics is because the kids are young
0:05:10.870,0:05:14.990
g the parents have to drop them off and they
end up making a day of it, having a picnic.
0:05:14.990,0:05:18.780
They see their kids having a really good time
and having a lot of fun and they realise that
0:05:18.780,0:05:25.780
this sport is pretty good. Thereís no contact,
thereís low risk of injury and we try and
0:05:26.190,0:05:33.190
encourage them to come to things like that.
0:05:37.930,0:05:43.350
The first thing is to make sure that its fun.
Donít worry about the results, worry about
0:05:43.350,0:05:47.050
the process. If you can breate something that
people want to be a part of it doesnít matter
0:05:47.050,0:05:51.180
if they donít win because they are actually
enjoying themselves. One of things I do with
0:05:51.180,0:05:55.090
every team Iím involved in is that I actually
get them to talk about themselves in the team
0:05:55.090,0:06:00.440
environment. You might do a little session
we you might say youíve got to answer four
0:06:00.440,0:06:05.180
basic questions like your name, your nickname,
something you like to do outside of Touch
0:06:05.180,0:06:12.180
Football, where youíre from, what your background
is and the funniest thing youíve seen a family
0:06:12.360,0:06:17.180
member do. It actually invites them to open
up and maybe tell a story and get people start
0:06:17.180,0:06:23.120
thinking oh thatís mad. The idea is to get
the parents to come to training sessions or
0:06:23.120,0:06:29.850
come to the trials. Once they see the environment
the kids are in and know that the kids are
0:06:29.850,0:06:35.720
safe then you can start to break them down
a bit. Half the challenge is to get the cultural
0:06:35.720,0:06:41.320
parents there because they donít really see
sport as a necessity. They see it more as
0:06:41.320,0:06:45.810
something that might get their kids injured
and they look at the negatives effects and
0:06:45.810,0:06:50.820
say if you do sport you get injured, you break
our leg you canít work, how are you going
0:06:50.820,0:06:57.820
to feed your family ñ the snowball type effect.
0:07:00.210,0:07:03.180
We can only benefit from everyone participating
and everyone encouraging people to come on
0:07:03.180,0:07:08.990
board. Sport should be taken as something
that you enjoy. If you can put together groups
0:07:08.990,0:07:13.919
of people who enjoy being together then they
can enjoy their sport it can only to make
0:07:13.919,0:07:20.919
our sport, no matter what it is, across Australia
much better.
Love the sport itís for all ages. Lucky enough
here Iíve got the mixed open title named
0:00:46.969,0:00:50.659
after me. Iíve won it eight times. Iíve
been captain for the Australian mixed open
0:00:50.659,0:00:56.219
team for a few years now. Iíve won a few
of the menís 30ís as well now and played
0:00:56.219,0:00:59.219
Australian menís 30ís so Iíve been very
very fortunate. Probably been in the right
0:00:59.219,0:01:00.019
place at the right time.
0:01:00.019,0:01:01.729
0:01:01.729,0:01:08.729
My background is Lebanese. Born in Australia
so Iím Australian. Mum and Dad are from Lebanon.
0:01:11.610,0:01:18.610
They migrated here in 1966 and probably the
same as most migrants come over with only
0:01:18.979,0:01:22.000
a thong ñ not that he lost one, he found
one.
0:01:22.000,0:01:29.000
They did it the tough way you know. Hard because
it was a new country. They didnít know anyone
0:01:30.659,0:01:35.470
here, had to find a job , they worked two
shifts and they sort of did it the old fashioned
0:01:35.470,0:01:39.009
way.
0:01:39.009,0:01:46.009
Actually it started with my friends. We had
touch football competitions running week nights
0:01:51.229,0:01:53.880
and a few of the guys got together and said
hey thereís this touch football game ñ itís
0:01:53.880,0:01:57.579
sort of like league but you donít have to
tackle, you donít get hurt, you know, we
0:01:57.579,0:02:02.590
should put a team in, make a night of it.
Wednesday nights go and play and then go for
0:02:02.590,0:02:05.909
a pizza and stuff like that. So it really
did start informally. Got playing for a couple
0:02:05.909,0:02:10.700
of years and they started to mention things
like the regional championships and said why
0:02:10.700,0:02:14.690
donít you come down and trial for this itís
the next level in touch. Itís sort of just
0:02:14.690,0:02:20.489
carried on from there. You play for your local
affiliate, maybe a Parramatta or a Manly or
0:02:20.489,0:02:24.590
a Hawthorn in Melbourne and from there they
picked our regional teams and from the regional
0:02:24.590,0:02:29.739
teams they went on to pick the city country
teams, state teams and Australian teams. Itís
0:02:29.739,0:02:33.880
sort of like youíre in the pool youíre starting
to swim and you keep going because youíve
0:02:33.880,0:02:36.720
got five laps to go ñ itís just been really
good.
0:02:36.720,0:02:43.720
My background is that we play for a team called
Western Suburbs of Sydney. We are a very very
0:02:50.949,0:02:56.519
multicultural team there. Weíve got nationalities
ñ Australian, Italian and Lebanese. Weíve
0:02:56.519,0:03:01.949
got some Chinese guys there, weíve got Pacific
Islanders there, weíve got a couple of Japanese
0:03:01.949,0:03:08.060
players there so weíve got a great range
cultures. I think now as a coach youíve got
0:03:08.060,0:03:13.389
to learn not to judge a book by its cover.
They are keen to learn so as a coach its rewarding
0:03:13.389,0:03:16.109
to pick up someone like that and actually
see them progress and become better players.
0:03:16.109,0:03:20.410
The benefits are unreal. When you are touring
and you get to learn the backgrounds of these
0:03:20.410,0:03:24.489
guys thatís where you really enjoy it and
you think you know youíre missing out on
0:03:24.489,0:03:25.900
so much because weíve got our blinkers on.
0:03:25.900,0:03:32.900
I think the rewards are in the fact that if
you can create something that is successful,
0:03:39.040,0:03:42.759
not necessarily as a result but in terms of
the atmosphere that you built. If you can
0:03:42.759,0:03:47.590
create a family and get people just to get
on. Sport is sport especially at this level.
0:03:47.590,0:03:52.859
We donít get paid so itís not as if itís
a lifeline for them. They actually pay to
0:03:52.859,0:03:56.930
play this game so we make sure that if you
are going to pay you are going to enjoy yourself
0:03:56.930,0:04:03.930
and have a really good time. Yeah thatís
probably one of the challenges.
0:04:09.150,0:04:12.949
When I hit my teens and they realized that
I was taking a liking to this touch football
0:04:12.949,0:04:17.470
thing, dad was always on my case saying what
about your school work, you know, what about
0:04:17.470,0:04:21.150
your study. They didnít realize that that
was my out from my study and my break from
0:04:21.150,0:04:25.479
things. Thatís pretty much the way they were
brought up. Having come over and having done
0:04:25.479,0:04:29.150
it the tough way they sort of donít want
to see me do that. Speaking from a Lebanese
0:04:29.150,0:04:33.759
background, weíve taken some teams to the
world cup to represent Lebanon. Weíve taken
0:04:33.759,0:04:38.460
mixed teams and weíve taken menís teams.
Itís always hard to recruit some of the Lebanese
0:04:38.460,0:04:43.500
girls especially in a mixed environment because
the old school thinking is that they shouldnít
0:04:43.500,0:04:50.500
be going away with boys unless theyíre engaged
or something like that.
0:04:53.940,0:05:00.940
Weíve a thing called the Blackest Cat. We
travel around Australia and we run Touch clinics
0:05:01.910,0:05:06.060
just to develop touch and thatís for kids
from the ages of 10 to 18. We come across
0:05:06.060,0:05:10.870
a lot of kids who are multicultural. The beauty
of those clinics is because the kids are young
0:05:10.870,0:05:14.990
g the parents have to drop them off and they
end up making a day of it, having a picnic.
0:05:14.990,0:05:18.780
They see their kids having a really good time
and having a lot of fun and they realise that
0:05:18.780,0:05:25.780
this sport is pretty good. Thereís no contact,
thereís low risk of injury and we try and
0:05:26.190,0:05:33.190
encourage them to come to things like that.
0:05:37.930,0:05:43.350
The first thing is to make sure that its fun.
Donít worry about the results, worry about
0:05:43.350,0:05:47.050
the process. If you can breate something that
people want to be a part of it doesnít matter
0:05:47.050,0:05:51.180
if they donít win because they are actually
enjoying themselves. One of things I do with
0:05:51.180,0:05:55.090
every team Iím involved in is that I actually
get them to talk about themselves in the team
0:05:55.090,0:06:00.440
environment. You might do a little session
we you might say youíve got to answer four
0:06:00.440,0:06:05.180
basic questions like your name, your nickname,
something you like to do outside of Touch
0:06:05.180,0:06:12.180
Football, where youíre from, what your background
is and the funniest thing youíve seen a family
0:06:12.360,0:06:17.180
member do. It actually invites them to open
up and maybe tell a story and get people start
0:06:17.180,0:06:23.120
thinking oh thatís mad. The idea is to get
the parents to come to training sessions or
0:06:23.120,0:06:29.850
come to the trials. Once they see the environment
the kids are in and know that the kids are
0:06:29.850,0:06:35.720
safe then you can start to break them down
a bit. Half the challenge is to get the cultural
0:06:35.720,0:06:41.320
parents there because they donít really see
sport as a necessity. They see it more as
0:06:41.320,0:06:45.810
something that might get their kids injured
and they look at the negatives effects and
0:06:45.810,0:06:50.820
say if you do sport you get injured, you break
our leg you canít work, how are you going
0:06:50.820,0:06:57.820
to feed your family ñ the snowball type effect.
0:07:00.210,0:07:03.180
We can only benefit from everyone participating
and everyone encouraging people to come on
0:07:03.180,0:07:08.990
board. Sport should be taken as something
that you enjoy. If you can put together groups
0:07:08.990,0:07:13.919
of people who enjoy being together then they
can enjoy their sport it can only to make
0:07:13.919,0:07:20.919
our sport, no matter what it is, across Australia
much better.
