Decentric, I know Coerver in the ACT works closely with several of the local clubs although I am not sure of the commercial arrangements behind this. For instance, at my local club Coerver puts on three free pre-season sessions and I suspect (I could be wrong) that what they get out of this is some hands-on advertising and they then pick up kids for their school holiday or other programs. I understand they also have some programs through local schools which I assume they are paid for. Coerver is a business after all and like any other business they need to make money. I have no problem with this (and by way of declaration i have no affiliation with them whatsoever, except as a paying customer for my kids!). I guess they need a certain critical mass of coaches/players before they invest in any particular geographical area - this does suck for smaller populated areas.
I think the tensions that have existed in Australian football circles about money making coaching courses have had some justification in the past but as we grow as a football nation I see a place for them as a supplement to 'free' Federation based programs, such as SAPs. There'll be good kids who miss out on SAP places and they can get very good coaching through Coerver or other business based models (admittedly only if their parents can afford it). At the end of the day the Coerver model can be judged on the quality of its 'graduates' and arguably it is doing OK. And with former Socceroos like Steve Corica getting involved as a licensee Coerver is maintaining its appeal. And even if kids don't go on to become professionals, spending hours playing and learning technical football skills is better than being bored and/or getting fat watching too much tv or video-gaming.
I see you reference decision-making in your comments and I am unsure whether you mean institutional/administrative decision-making or decision-making in game based situations? If it's the latter, I have observed that this could be a weakness of the Coerver programs, and ultimately small sided games and individual skills won't automatically make great team players in the 11 a side game. And Coerver does reward individual skills, which taken to an extreme at the younger levels could mean it rewards 'the hogs'. Of course, as these more selfish kids with poor on field decision-making get older, they'll get caught out. I am just happy we have a program where young Aussie footballers are learning very good technical skills and gaining the ability to win their 1 v 1 and indeed 1 v 2 battles etc. These are very interesting times for the development of our game and our young players.
Edited by Riv of Canberra: 1/2/2013 05:25:34 PM
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