My thesis is that when youth get to 17-20 they are in the death zone. This age group playing elite football has very little up side and a heap of downside. 

1. Virtually no 17-20 year olds consolidate themselves as professional footballers in the higher leagues. You might get a game or two, sit on the bench a lot but most of the time you will spending time in the youth leagues of dubious quality especially here in Australia. Think of the talent who have pretty much been beaten down in this age window (Arzani, Pasquale, patafta, de silva etc etc etc). There are too many to mention.

2. This happens for a few reasons. a) younger bodies 'can' take more time to mature into men and therefore cannot cope with the riggers of senior mens football. b) The system won't let you. Pro leagues are full of players who have 'served their apprenticeship' and teams rarely back a younger players with a full time spot. Its structural and political. 

3. By the age of 17 most players (who will eventually be elite) have already maximised skill development (golden years between 7 and 13) and mentally/tactically are pretty close the maximising potential. Any coaches will tell you that you never stop learning yada yada yada but truth is if a younger player listens, and takes instructions well - they can and should be able to fit into any system quickly (especially if they have been elite juniors). Point being the learning to a major expectant has already happened. 

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IMO the system doesn't want to acknowledge this because the machine depends on players between 17 and 20 'buying in' to the dream. It keeps teams and clubs going and haps pay the bills. 

Also there is the rare younger player that is physically ready at a young age. They are already men. The current system also is good for 'late bloomers' who were not elite juniors but as they have got bigger, and as others have dropped out, find themselves getting more game time in better NPL leagues. This will probably wane again once they hit 20 when the top teams only require players who tick 'every box' not just a physical few.

So what to do between 17 and 20 so that you might peak at 21, 22 and 23......????

School would be one thing. The other thing is to maybe acknowledge this time as being 'difficult' for young players and somehow take the pressure off for a few years. Easier said than done when the carrot remains allusively close to the stick. At least acknowledge that this time must be approached with 'extreme' caution by all involved (at elite level).

Bottomline is that maybe 'trying to be elite' at this age will destroy you mentally and therefore as a player. In psychology they reflect that motivation can take a massive hit when 'rewards don't meet expectation'. Do that for long enough and as we all know players drop out. 

Tell me I'm wrong....