Fast, strong, courageous, smart and skilful, Caitlin Foord is not only one of the Matilda’s best players she is one of the most valuable soccer players in the world. Having played at the very top level of her profession in forward, mid-field and defensive roles, Foord is no one-trick wonder. Unlike many other footballers she is versatile. A coach can drop her into almost any … [Read more...]
Excruciating jargon – Basketball and soccer at their worst!
Two of the world’s greatest global games are rotten with jargon. Positively stinky with it! Why? I can’t say, for sure, but it has something to do with the fact that while both games crave growth and acknowledgment as the globe’s biggest and best sports they, ironically, seek to exclude outsiders by generating their own exclusive languages. Is basketball and soccer jargon … [Read more...]
2017 Koori Knockout – where NRL superstars and small town athletes come together to represent their communities
My daughter and I dropped by Leichhardt Oval on the Monday of the Labour Day long weekend to check out the Rugby League Grand Final. This wasn’t your everyday Grand Final, of course. For most of the footy-loving world, the season ended either on Saturday at “the G” when the Aussie Rules men wound down their competition or on Sunday at the ANZ stadium where the League boys … [Read more...]
The A-League – a football feast that fails to fill
For a product to sell, not only does its marketing have to be flawless, but the product itself must be pretty bloody good. At the commencement of the 2016/2017 Hyundai A-League season, the FFA, Australia’s leading football organisation, announced that they would be rebranding to enhance their expansion both nationally and internationally. This rebrand came in the shape of a new … [Read more...]
(It’s Great To) Suck at Something – Karen Rinaldi reveals why being a surfing kook is better than just okay.
Over the past 15 years, surfing has become a kind of obsession for me. I surf eight months a year. I travel to surf destinations for family vacations and seek (forgiving) waves in the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. I have spent thousands of dollars on boards of all sizes and shapes. In the sport of (Hawaiian) kings, I’m a jester And yet — I suck at it. In the sport of … [Read more...]