Hi everyone,

Springwood United Football Club logo states "United In Sport, Uniting the Community"

 My role as Chaplain for Springwood United Football Club is to encourage and support people in that role of being involved in the community of the Club and the community at large.

Firstly I am here to support, encourage and pray for you the people in the club who work at the coal face, who work in the lives of players, parents and supporters.

As coaches and managers you have an amazing opportunity to make a positive impact in the lives of the players and their supporters. Whether it is with a smile or a word of encouragement you have the chance to build into the lives of the players, helping them to enjoy their time playing soccer and feel more confident in themself.

My role as chaplain is to assist and encourage you in this great role. How I can do this is something I am looking into and would appreciate your feedback and thoughts. How can I support/ encourage you in what can be a tiring as well as exhilarating role.

As you think of this I will seek to send you an email each week asking you a couple of simple questions.

How can I support you this week?

Is there anything I can be praying about for you and your family, or for the people you support; players and parents?

My role is to help you to care for and be there for the people in your team.

The second role I want to develop is to be a club that shows its care for and involvement in the greater community.

With this in mind I am going to have a box in the clubhouse for non-perishable food (cans of food, noodles, rice, long-life milk, breakfast cereal etc) that will be donated to Winmalee Neighbourhood Centre. The Centre uses the food to support people in the community who are struggling.

If your team can bring up just one (or more) non-perishable item each time you play at Summerhayes and put it into the box this would have a great impact on the community. Over 60 teams play at home each week, that can mean over 60 items are collected each week to assist those in the community who are struggling.

Thank you for taking on the role as Coach or Manager.

Again my two questions to finish with;

How can I support you or the people in your team; players and parents this week?

Is there anything I can be praying about for you and your family, or for the people you support; players and parents?

Have a great week

Damon Dreves