I've been thinking a lot about player pathways and all the great players over the years who made state rep teams, junior national teams, a-league squads etc only to drop off and never be seen again. Im looking at Daniel De Silva who is particularly worrying me. Going from potentially the best u16 in the world to having a career on the brink. Plenty before him (kaz Ptafta etc)This rather than being a problem is actually normal because very few players actually 'make it'. Hundreds of reasons these great young players 'don't make it' - many of which is out of their control. This could be very few pathways (as here in Australia), injuries, having un supportive coaches - list goes on. 

So what then can a young player control? What then will give the young player the ability to keep moving up the ranks, eventually to be spotted, to be given those big chances at reaching their potential and going on to be successful professional footballers. 

I started thinking about Daniel Arzani - who only 3 years ago was labelled un coachable by Syndney Fc. I also look at someone like Jackson Irvine who despite some limiting technique is someone who I would pick in any National team going forward. Same could be said for Timmy Cahill who during the golden period was not an automatic started but has gone on to be our greatest socceroo.

The answer - All these guys 'bring it' on game day. Nothing too revolutionary here but whenever we talk about youth development or one of our national squads doing poorly we talk about structural issues and poor technical development. Rarely do i hear anyone talk about being mentally tough. At the top the physical, tactical and technical difference are so small the only real explanation as to why Belgium and Croatia are more successful than bigger countries must be mental. 

My son is in the elite young pathways here in Melbourne but I can tell you no coach has ever spoken to him about preparing for match day. It is almost as if this should be a natural occurrence when in fact the opposite is true. 

The first step here is to actually make 'performing in games' a THING. I have written about basketball before and the superstars in the NBA are fully accountable for 'performing' in each game. It is talked about incessantly by the basketball media. Lebron James for years was derided because although his team was great and his stats were great he could not not be relied upon in the last 3 minutes to close out games. 

So my advice is to tell kids that an important skill they all need to learn of they want to be successful footballers is to bring it every time they step on the pitch. Are they playing accountable football or are they letting others do the work? Did they score an important goal, did they land an important tackle - did they influence the game? 

When Arzani was asked how he felt about playing the in the seconds at Celtic his response was great. He basically said it was fine because his only job was to bring it every time he stepped on the pitch so that by not picking him they (the gaffer) would look foolish. 

That's a great post Zoltan - I'm really keen to hear your thoughts on the Victorian club v academy debate. When you get a chance can you please reply to my direct message. 

Thank you,
Bart

From another thread...

They should give me a job

Lessons for Australia
Mombaerts, whose tactical acumen and faith in youth has been on show at Melbourne City, said immigration has helped France. Asked to compare the Australian and French systems, he pinpointed aggression as a key differentiator.“Aggressiveness is one example: in the A-League the players don’t have enough aggressiveness. You can play more intense when you’re aggressive – more duels, break lines, press with more accuracy,” Mombaerts said.“Aggressiveness is capacity to win duels, offensively, defensively and to play with intensity. When dribbling, a lot of players stop. When you have aggressiveness, you never stop. You continue.“This mental energy makes the difference, You are on the front foot. When you have this kind of player (aggressive) plus speed, it makes a high level player.“If they have to develop one thing in Australia, it’s mentally. First you have to create more high quality academies. Lots maybe focus on the technical aspect, but the mental side of things I’m not sure.“We work on speed, speed, speed, speed. With and without the ball. Quality of muscle. Want to build quick player. Not many countries do this and build good mental strength.”Fitting into the team is constantly reinforced in Australia’s top sports - Aussie Rules, Rugby League and cricket. The French success reinforces Australian football’s need to glance over international borders in search of key developmental ingredients, more so than other Australian sports.“France is about developing the player. In Australia we think it’s about the team and players will come out of that. It’s not the case,” McBride said.
"They value creativity and individual moments and become excited and proud about. Almost the opposite to tall poppy syndrome, that's why you see them produce lots of confident players on the ball and in particular creative attacking players that can impact a match. That's the big difference" 

Hadn't realised Arzani was labelled uncoachable at SFC?

Hold old is your son, regarding preparation for match day, Zoltan?

16...

Ta. 

I was thinking he might be younger. 

I’m not sure what I think about  match day advice for 16 year olds? 

Its simple - its like homework - take responsibility.

Be aware of the game (so look at the game from the outside in) and take responsibility when needed. 

Doesn't need to be stressful - just an awareness that doing certain things at the right time is a skill.