As a bit of background - My son is a talented little soccer player. He plays for a Victorian NPL under 11 kangas team, scored 30 goals this year from midfield, played up in under 12's for the last part of the year, does 500 juggles, tricks, almost made the state school boys team as a year younger etc etc etc...but I can tell you as a parent of a good young athlete, trying to navigate things hasn't been easy.

I would almost say that that one almost needs to be an outlier (and avoid the system) in order to help your kid reach any sort of potential. I'm not sure how much you know about soccer at junior levels in VIC but the best outcomes are not coming from NPL clubs or the FFV systems but through outlying 'academies' - like Glen eira soccer club, Heart wings world and some clubs in geelong - who are not only producing more technical kids but kids who look happier and kids who are ultimately making the state teams and getting picked for Melbourne Victory and melbourne City academies.

Ned Zelic said in a recent podcast that the problem is that we don't look after our good young players. The system is geared towards 'fun' and perceived fairness when in fact its a little unfair to treat all kids the same when some work harder and sacrifice more than others...So these academies tend to be more meritocracies whilst the NPL clubs have identity issues - are they community clubs or are they cradles for young elite athletes.

Many believe 'enjoyment' being the key to retention I reckon this has two aspects. 1. why is retention the be all and end all ? As I said if a child doesn't have the competency, the drive etc isn't dropping out and trying other things normal? Secondly from an elite perspective i wonder if elite kids drop out because they don't get recognition and reward for signs of early competence?

So a typical example is one child at an early age is taught that effort = rewards and that the more you practice they better you will be. In my opinion kids are never too young to learn about personal responsibility and that actions have consequences. So the child, with a little prompting by the parent slowly learns really good habits which translate to excellent onfield performance over the next 4 years.

But we know what happens in real life - the coach and the other parents emphasise 'the team' before the individual, the advanced kid rotates in the same positions as the less advanced kid, the team captain is rewarded as an encouragement award, and on the sidelines the parent applaud the one thing a less advanced kid does in a game and ignore the 30 things the better kid does week in and week out...This then plays out again and again and again in differnet ways as the kids advance - and then the child with the good habit says at some point - whats the point! Unless someone in a position of authority or power also recognises the childs performance.

As a parent its difficult because I reckon most parents with talented kids kind of give up and let their kids drop back into the pack rather than fight to find the best place to help their kids reach their potential. Ive had 3 NPL technical directors tell me things like - This club has never produced a kid who played in the seniors, the only kids who will ever be any good need a parent who played professional sport, and now I hear that the new youth technical director of an a-league club reckons none of the kids in the talent identification squad for under 13's would make a top academy in Europe...Whats the point then? Where is the excellence? I disagree with all of them but i can tell you its not easy bringing up a well rounded kid, with a talent - and trying to help him reach his potential. Many times the well meaning administrators and the clubs themselves are at fault

Moral - Look after and respect the good players - they probably deserve it!

Zoltan, very interesting as was having a similar conversation with some NPL senior and Junior coaches on the weekend.
The consensus was that if they had young kids coming through the 10 to 14 age bracket they wouldn't have them in the npl and would do as you suggest put them in the academy environment.

They spoke of insider dealing with kids being sent to the TDC programs and a junior npl coach being paid $15k for the season by a parent on the proviso the coach with his connections got him a trial with one of the A league academies.

There is a lot of corruption going on behind the scenes and from what I hear none of it is for the benefit of the kids. 

Hi Stamap. Thanks for that and just confirms my thoughts. Heartbreaking that soccer doesn't have any clear meritorious pathways for kids who just wanna be world class. If we were in Germany or Spain there would be many elite academies and pathways and corruption would be less of a problem.

I reckon if we trace back all the current Australian team members we would find stories of disenchantment with the local scene and driven overseas early. Mooy and Cahill and pasquale come to mind.

It's actually less risky to travel and test your kids ability in their early teams then hang around trying to suck up to the right people .

Cheers
Zoltan

Firstly it’s a game if it’s not fun then we have already lost, those of us who love the game know that to be a fact.
Secondly we started a system ( the National curriculum) designed to insurer that players everywhere got the best training and the correct training in a formation designed to encourage possession play. Systems being what they are people got involved so most elite academy’s the coaches son played in the academy, the directors son plays in the academy the TD’s son plays in the academy, the state selectors children are in the academy. There is no way that will assist the most talented players advancing through the ranks.
I my opinion most players at any age group in any NPL academy are actually preventing the talented players getting in.
If you take any age group in academy’s 4 maybe 5 players aren’t in it that should be and at least 7 should not be in it because they are not good enough, daddy has connections or they are just making up the numbers.

But most of all it is a game and must be fun for all players and spectators and a positive experience for as many children as possible making them a life long supporters.

The problem is that parents pay for their children to pay. They feel that their child is entitled to game time which I understand. Then there are children who don't have a bone of talent so their parents pay even more to get their child into the team. It means that what is supposed to be an elite environment is no longer one and the talented players in those teams are not being challenged to improve at training. 

I was at a club in the eastern suburbs last year where I had two very good players, some decent players and at least 4-5 that I wouldn't have looked at twice for that level. This created many issues. I was let go because I was honest with people. The club didn't take my advice last year and this year they finished last out of 26 teams. It was obvious that the parents of these children had a massive say in the club. 

My point is that this happens a lot in youth football in NSW which means that the talented footballers aren't in a challenging environment during crucial development ages between 13-18. 

As a parent, you have to do your research on the club and coach. You have to understand the environment that you are getting your child into and decide whether or not that is the environment you want for your child. 

Hey thefootballlover
Do you think we spend too much of our time, money, effort on the elite few or too little on the masses?

Thanks replies. We need to cater for both masses and elite. But if we are not honest and really look after the best young players we will get bad outcomes at international and national levels like we currently are.

If this was tennis or running or swimming life would be easy because you can easily measure performance by who wins. Soccer is more about opinion but getting good, elite honest opinions and decisions based on fairness is almost impossible because of the way local soccer is set up (old school administrators) and because the pathways are so small that corruption and bias is inevitable.

The football lover is spot on but his last paragraph is sad. It's almost impossible for any regular parent to understand what clubs and politics is like. The average talented 8 year old at a well meaning community club doesn't even know about npl let alone academies where state coaches send their own kids. By 11 it's too late because the top 20 kids in the state are way ahead. At least the academies are producing quality because top 20 npl kids is pretty bad.

Too hard as a parent....

I'm not sure how to answer that question to be honest.

In terms of NSW, I think the youth leagues should go back to NPL 1, 2 and 3 to line up with the senior leagues and then introduce pro/rel based on youth results to weed out the political clubs (clubs that only sign children for money or who they know) as much as possible. However, the most important part is that players are selected on their ability and not how much money their parent(s) is willing to pay. Based on my experience, its all about having a challenging environment which doesn't happen when you have too many political players in a football team of 16 players. 

My confused thoughts at the moment are if you have an academy with an NPL club, is the academy take time and resources from the first team or is it a cash cow for the first team. Either way it’s not fair on the academy players or parents and I don’t know of any other football country that insists on this structure.

Npl clubs aren't academies

Apparently all NPL clubs in Queensland must have an academy with both male and female players in every age group from U12 up

Hi Krones. What we are saying is the npl system is supposed to be elite but in truth it is compromised because every team usually only has a few good players. The best players are leaving the npl system and joining private academies.

Yes up here until yesterday there was no choice but there is now.

What do you mean?

Hi John - i also have 2 young kids playing under 7s (girl and boy).. im looking at moving my kids from their local community club where the standard of coaching and structure for development isnt getting the most out of the kids abilities but im really struggling to find a decent club.. I would love to hear your thoughts of any decent clubs/academies you have looked into and tried.
I also agree with your comments about the pathways into professional football. its increasingly difficult for kids to make it to the top level so i want to give them a great opportunity to try and make it - i am not convinced that NPL clubs are the way to go - paying high yearly fees doesnt always equate to quality coach and environment.
where would you say professional clubs source their talent from? their own junior teams? academies or NPL clubs?

I've heard that Sydney FC charge their academy players about $6000 while other NPL clubs (outside the A-league academies) are capped at $2500.

In my experience, the rego money that youth players pay is to pay the first grade players. I've had to beg for equipment (including footballs!) in the past. 

Gareth edds GESA has a partnership with roar so now players and parents have 2 choices

Whats the point?

Peddling a dream that just isn’t there.

Hypotheses – Australia’s soccer Industry of which can claim an incredibly impressive 1.1 million participants, has no pathway to professional success.

By professional success – I mean not just playing pro soccer but having a successful career where you earn say more that 250k per year for 7-10 years.

Any child wanting to be a successful professional soccer player in Australia (make a decent living and have a good career) might as well give up and go surfing because the chances are about the same as winning the lottery. Your child has more chance to be prime minister, 5,000 times more chance to be a doctor and a 50 times more chance to be an Olympian in another sport.

Lets see why.

The pathway to professional play in Australia is currently via the A-league clubs. We have 10 A-league clubs with squads of 26.

That’s 260 professional players in Australia. Compare this to AFL who have 18 teams x 38 platers = 684 professional players. Almost 3 x s many.

Every year maybe 2 youth players break through to be regulars in an A-league team. Then the likelihood is only one of them will go onto make a great career.

So the reality is if your kid makes an a-league academy as a 13-17 year old (an amazing achievement) their chances of making it as a successful professional is still about 100-1. Don’t sell the house just yet!!

The A-league clubs are made up of Internationals, stalwart ex socceroos and Australian Journeyman players lucky to be earning 100-150k per year. The Journeyman spend 2-3 years on a A-League roster (something to tell the grandkids) and go back to NPL teams earning 20k per year and working out what to do with the rest of their lives.

To eck out a decent living in the A-league you would need to have at have at some stage player for a Socceroo squad at some level and even then there is no guarantee.

So the only real option is to try your chances overseas as a youngster. This takes incredible will power and belief and a large portion of reckless stupidity to take this risk with your family. But you know what – its more risky to hang around and try and play the NPL political game, then navigate what must be a nightmare of politics and intrigue to get on an a-league list only to be still a marathon away from real success…

This guy gets it!

A gem amongst a sea of waffle.

Elite kids, yup, despite what some parents may think, they're fecking everywhere i.e. a dime a dozen.

A real shame that many parents don't possess similar enthusiasm towards academic achievement. 

Stamap and Zoltan.  Great posts.  

All the best with your son Zoltan. Sounds like a talented boy Thanks to Mum and Dad's devoted support but also his drive and passion.
I hear you and I'm sure sososo many would agree - very hard being a parent especially when you know the system isn't "honest".
Even though overall things have improved from way way back especially coaching, I say that lightly for their are good coach's and then there are many who's ego's and lack of player management astounds me how did they get the job in the first place !.
Politics/back room dealings haven't stopped since my Father had to just give up in my teens and now I'm not in that exact position with my now 17yr old who could have should but for lame coaching last few years and attending trials that are just pressure cookers purely to see high numbers and selectors knowing what positions needing to fill don't give other kids much of their time so why not just say so in the first place so everyone knows if its worth the time and effort - I'm not speaking for myself on that last one but on the countless discussions I've had with many parents through our YL years.
Clubs not being honest what their looking for, how many have been retained, the bolters from the outside getting in and you have to deal with your boy so dejected on outcomes that just didn't make sense.
You confront people (nicely might I add) and they just are too gutless to be honest.
Overall its so dog eat dog and you just think how many great young promising prospects just go away back to club football because parents have had enough of the crap.
Hey footballlover, as you know come trials time things are kept pretty close whats going on amongst clubs and who's assigned to this position that position.
Sometimes you don't know who actually is the Coach of xyz squad till just on the season due to changes by Admin etcetc...
So many clubs purposely set trial dates on the same day and times as you know might I add.
You can research so much but it doesn't help at times, you hear one thing then you hear another then its something completely different.

Academies/ or pathways ? I just don't know about them tbh.
Cash cows ? in todays world I guess so for so many people are into "look at me" so I find these places not in the true path of developing a kid to camaraderie and playing weekly games enjoying the wins and licking the wounds and lessons from loss's .
Mine was asked a number of times to join one due to a coach I know well, so we went for a couple of runs to feel it out.
I'm sure my boy would have got really fit, technical skill probably improved But my observation :
Huge numbers in every age group, so many Mums/Dads thinking their sons are the next beckham ronaldo messi but.......
No weekly competition games.
Games against other academies IF the boy is selected to play or your paying good bucks but to play in Div1 club football, like wtf (sure its the coaching for the privilege) .
I suppose its horse's for course's.

Says it all on one part John Doe.

I completely understand and agree. Obviously there are clubs that are organised properly but my experience (I've only been at two clubs) is that there's a lack of pathway. Every time there's a new coach at the club, he basically restarts the whole team because the club doesn't recommend any retentions based on how a player performs over the course of the season. Players are forced to trial. It has meant that after a week or two of trialling with their own club, players leave. Happens a lot between 16 and 18's now because the youth and seniors are basically run like two separate clubs. I've always been in favour of promoting players from within so I always watch the younger age group so it is a very frustrating situation when it quality players are allowed to leave in other age groups. 

Agree mate.
Problem is clubs know countless players turn up for trials.
They don't wish to retain too many in the hope better turns up.
Double edged sword but it shows no loyalty to sound and probable improving players but everyone wants it now type of thing of today.
Promotion within is always the better way.
The separation now even more so of seniors and YL is not club bonding as well.
I know its semi pro when talking PL1 and it has its hurdles/issues but 2/3 need to lift their management game.

Hi LFC

Thanks reply - yep i can see what you have described playing out at my clubs NPL trials. In higher aged groups there are kids good enough but for whatever reason they are not getting in. The tragedy here is that kids and parents think that trials is a meritocracy and they invest time, money and emotional energy convincing themsleves to follow their passion and give soccer a red hot go - only to be smashed in the face by the system (NPL club administrators). Like you said more honesty and reflection is needed.

The footballlover - this is where your post is complicated for me. There is a huge part of me that is very happy when I hear that a new coach messes up the system and says all gloves are off. Trial and lets pick the best 16 not just kids who have been with the clubs for 10 years who for whatever reason aren't progressing. As i said I believe that talent is developed from working harder than others - therefore the better kids always (in the most part) deserve to get picked before the other kids. 

Before everyone screams i would put a proviso on this. Picking the best kids all the time should only be the case in elite circumstances. So the best of the best kids - which is supposed to be the NPL charter. NPL clubs are not community clubs. NPL clubs were put in place to be the regional (rep) clubs where all the best local kids come together to learn and push eachother so we can be worlds best....(Although I believe the charter has been watered down recently)

The issue is our NPL clubs have rich, long, and mostly ethnic histories - which make meritocracy impossible. So we have a watered down, less than elite system producing bad results. 

By way of example lets look at a typical say under 12's situation. 

Community Kangas under 12 team - say Clifton Hill should lose to an NPL under 12's team 6-0 (pretty standard).
But The NPL teams are losing to Academy teams (like Glen Eira) 6-0.....

Not good enough for an NPL system that is supposed to be elite. There is a huge gap in expectation and ability. I get annoyed that my NPL club is getting crapped on by an academy side which is now the benchmark. This is how far behind the NPL system is. 

Don't our best kids all deserve the level of competition the academy side offer?

If you look at Melbourne Victory and City under 18's - most players are 14-17 years old. And as discussed by John Doe only 1 out of 100 of them will forge a successful professional career. If a young guy at 17 is struggling to make an NPL under 19's their pathway to professional soccer is going to be even harder. Maybe playing for fun at a lower division is a much better (and less stressful) outcome. Energies doing a trade or concentrating on VCE a much better option - instead of selling a dream that just isn't there.

Hold on.. I never said retain players just because they've been at the club. I retain players that have earnt it. What's the point of having youth teams if we aren't going to develop the players and give opportunities to those that have earnt it? 

Each club needs a good TD that ensures good players are kept regardless of who the coach is. 

Agree. Have you heard of clubs dropping long term players who deserve it? Hopefully if the trial was bad the td would step in otherwise that would be a terrible situation

Your comments regarding academy teams don't match my experience, a local U12 NPL team played a U13 "Academy" team (who's fees were much higher than the NPL club by the way) and beat them comfortably 3:1, despite U12 NPL kids playing half pitch most the year. I also know of a number of kids leaving academies for NPL & community as fees are too high and parents arent happy with level of competition in the state leagues they often compete in, even though many play up a year to try & improve competition. 

There simply arent enough "elite" kids to fill all the NPL team spots so there is a big gap between the best and worst in the NPL league. FFV is rumoured to be introducing a tiered junior NPL: soon which will fix some of the competition issues. 

Thanks for that. Guess not all academy teams are equal. Bare in mind many academy teams are made up of kids 1-2 years younger because of the less competition in the ffv leagues. And yeah the costs for some academies are too high hence we avoided one of them. Last year my son then 10 was offered a position in an under 13 academy team but the cost was 5 k so we said no. But their training was 100 pct better than my npl experience. Very skill based.

These guys are filling a market. Any parent with a daughter who does ballet knows that 4 k is not unusual.

IMO I wouldn't focus to much on the politics. They will always be there.
Keep them grounded and as humble as possible. Don't live your dreams through your son and put the pressure on them at any stage. Instil the hard work and ethics that we all know we need to succeed at anything that we do. Make no mistake if your son is good enough and has the right attitude which leads to hard work, there is no coach or TD or club that will stop him from becoming what he wants.
The words Talented, elite should never be used. If you do, in the end they will start with..... WAS.  
I would just try and find a coach that shares the same morals and values regardless of the club or comp.

Yes!!

People get offended with straight talk. The ffv cal it a ‘talent identification program’ for elite kids. Plus life is about moments. Just because a child is talented now doesn’t mean he will be talented tomorrow that’s a given.

This is not about my kid it’s about whether the current systems promote excellence.

At the end of the day it’s just soccer.

Very good points JDB03....that saying the cream rise's to the top has its merit but let me expand a little on your last sentence which is so important and a very good one.
Important that a coach likes/suits the style/morals/values of the young up and comer - mine has just gone through 2 wasted seasons with a coach who's style of play doesn't suit his game therefore that precious time is lost never to be gained back. (we should have changed after the 1st season but its not as easy as said, your thinking give it one more go or not ??, trails are here there and everywhere and similar times as mentioned, such a melting pot).
Were past it (YL) being mine is about to start his 2nd season in 18's but I'm saying this for Zoltan being his boy is younger - time pass's too fast, if things are not looking in the right direction get onto it, question, make move sooner rather than later for you can't afford losing a season on development.

I can agree with what your saying because of the lack of quality coaches out there that play a style that only has one main focus....winning. But.
The right coach will suit every kids playing style. The right coach will encourage every kid to express their strengths and improve there weaknesse.
It's not easy as the boys get older.  

Just took this advice.
Left a strong club with little technical development and going to a slightly weaker club with good coaches and has greater success moving kids into talented pathways.
See what happens.   

good on you making the call.
Time doesn't stop as I quoted.
Hope it works out lets us know.

So here's what happened when I changed my lad from a top club to a slightly weaker SAP/JDL club who nurtures their kids differently.
He went into his age team for training and usual game trials during Dec and Jan. In Jan the TD put him into the rep trials for age and he got in. No surprise there as he was tearing it up at his old club as well. Old club TD doesnt like rep team standards. 
The TD then gave him some trials in the age above and 2 weeks later reassigned him age above. He is tall for his age and his old club refused to play players up.
2 weeks later he was asked to trial for age above rep team and got in. I didnt think he would handle it but he aced it again. Old club wouldnt have bothered.
1 week later he was ask to trial for area academy. Got in to my surprise again. 
Now before all this he trained 6 days a week for an hour over the last 18 months. Intermediate intensity, all skill bases followed by lots of leisure time, school work and chores. 
The thing is the previous TD gave his 1 favourite kid the opportunity to play up an age for a couple of weeks, he failed and that was it.  
Find a TD or coach who champions your cause and they will open doors for a shot because thats all we ask for at the end of the day. 

Hume City seem to understand the issues and have opened a performance academy that compliments (along side) its NPL teams.

Whatever way you see it hey are 'looking after the better players' by supplementing (for free) their development with more focused, higher level, probably skill based sessions. Bravo Hume city who I reckon realise that Excellence is 'not a given' and that they (we) need to do something extra to improve youth football outcomes at an elite level. And this does not mean they don't care about the wellbeing of individual kids, nor does it mean that parents who aspire to better coaching and systems are Damir Dokic's or Earl Woods's. It just means that people who understand excellence understand that in context its ok the try and be good at stuff. Soccer should always be seen in context and school, being good citizens etc should always come first.

"This is the first step forward to being able to deliver high quality football education to our kids at no cost to them. My background makes me recognise the need for change as we work towards making elite football development free for those good enough.

"If I could get one message across to our parents it’s that we are looking to push the boundaries of player development"

"Think about domains like GPS data, wellness cards, pre/post game nutrition, skill acquisition, warm-up protocols, injury management and recovery, sports psychology, etc. The list goes on".

http://humecityfc.com/2017/09/23/performance-academy-coach-appointed/

Amazing inspiring stuff that should be more the norm (at NPL level) than some kind of anomoly

This is great to see from HC. Colin Copper is a quality coach.  

Clearly you have misinterpreted my post completely and for some reason have taken some offence to it and my views. I agree with everything you said I was just trying to help you understand whats (IMO) is the most important thing, and in yours and my control when it comes to a kid trying to reach his dream of playing pro football. Make no mistake I have seen it all over the passed 12 years of my 3 boys playing football in VIC. TBH that's football in this country and I cant see it changing any time soon.
BTW yes I do still believe that the cream does rise to the top the only difference here is there's cream and there's cream. To many time parents think there kid is cream but there not. And again that not directed at you just incase you were wondering.

That’s cool. Just whenever someone gives administrators some real feedback a fairly quick defensive reply is to suggest that the parent shouldn’t try and live out their dreams in their kid. That stops meaningful dialogue pretty quickly.

The problem we need to recognise is that the npl isn’t really producing any cream. Yes there will always be kids rising to the top of our system. The problem is we are climbing mount Donna buang and we should be aiming for Everest.

So no I don’t think the cream is currently given a chance.

I'm no administrator for one. My reply wasn't defensive regardless of how you took it. I never said once that the npl is producing cream and my suggestion for parents not to live through their kids is directed at the delusional ones that put pressure on their kids which will ultimately lead to disappointment. 
Do yourself a favour and read the post before you get upset for no reason. Good luck with your son. 

"Hume City have retained over 90% of their current NPL Junior rosters but have a few spots available for the right player."

I was at Hakoah for a bit last year. The head coach Mark Robertson had his kid at the club until the under 14's then took him to England to try his luck. He signed with Man United and now his at Man City. I think that tells you enough - if you have the chance, take your kid to Europe. 

Hi football lover. Yep I think that (going overseas) seems to be the consensus. The jury is still out as to whether my son has the drive and talent to take his game far. This year he has shown glimpses and he just needs to work hard and stay positive but I also feel the need to try and help him navigate the next few years so the system doesn’t destroy his motivation.

If in 2 years time he takes up basketball instead it wouldn’t worry me in the least.

I’m also a fan of the road less travelled so 6 months in a European town exploring and having him immerse himself in a soccer culture could be fun...

Let’s see what the soccer gods decide.

Overseas is not the answer

Just listening to Alan Davidson talk about his son Jason when he was Japan.
It worked for him.

Yep but I don’t think overseas is not the answer. As I recall his kid was miserably.
People can do what they like but being an older parent I can advise you of this.
Your child’s childhood should not be destroyed for the sake of football and you risk your families happiness on the off chance something could come of it.
Just saying and not wanting a fight over it.
It’s up to you

Why can’t going overseas be an adventure if done properly? Why would going over and having a crack equal destroyed lives?

Plenty more shattered 20 year olds here in Melbourne playing xbox, living at home and doing a meaningless business degree.

Depends how you see risk...

Like I said up to you

I agree on many things with Krones3 but on this we differ. As he says "Its up to you"

But going overseas is not easy either nor is it always achievable not from a talent perspective but from a life perspective.

I have been fortunate to travel overseas for Football with my kids several times.

I would recommend this for any player who's family can afford it.

Lot's of traps first of which if you've played at and A-League NPL side you could have problems.
Secondly having an EU passport or ethnic heritage in your destination country is important.
In the majority of cases you need to be 18yo to transfer overseas.
You need to be careful of going overseas were no International Transfer Certificate ITC many people and organistations are offering placements at overseas Clubs like Getafe and Hercules in Spain or Chesterfield in England but your not part of the Club only an International Program. And it costs.
Some Football tours you go to training programs and you might go to AJAX but you not actually training with AJAX Academy Coaches.
Theses groups hire the facility and hire some ex-AJAX players or Coaches and off you go.
So you end up in the Marketing Department not the Football Department.
Tournaments are good to go to, no bullshit there you might play a Real Madrid youth team, this has happened.

Any way if anyone interested can PM me for more details

You don't have to ruin the kids life or your families life to move to Europe. The family has to be organised and get jobs like everyone else. The European lifestyle is great.

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer when considering a move OS.
At what age?
Is the kid ready mentally?
Can the parents afford it?
Which club?
What does the kid need to improve on and does the program here not provide it?
Is the kid good enough to start with?
Im all for it if you can tick the boxes, if not don't go.
I had the opportunity to take one of my sons OS two years ago and decided not to as we though he wasn't ready mentally. Like I said its an individual choice that only the family can make. Sometimes you might get it wrong but that the risk you take. 

In most cases, no.

Expensive lesson, especially for the kids who trash all chance of an education during the process.

Too many npl clubs is part of the problem in terms of watering down the quality of the npl league. But it doesn’t mean npl clubs can’t do things much better. Hume is listening! The academy teams might get the better kids it’s because they are providing a better product. Go and watch a training or read a website / watch a YouTube clip for one of them. Hume is listening.

I reckon all NPL clubs can take something from that.

Agree. MC youth system is miles ahead of most npl clubs and it's only getting better. If hume can replicate it to some extent they'll do well. 

I see on the ffv website they are reviewing the entire junior system in a very inclusive way. Great initiative and hopefully everyone who has something to say does so.

The bottom line is that their will be no perfect system and strong leadership with a clear vision will be what gets results.

Soccer should be a game that caters for all ability levels. kindness, fun, fairness and at the highest level excellence should be embedded in systems, processes and people.

Starts at the top!

Good luck

Under 11s...Geelong...I can safely guess which side you're referring to. :) and that team is a very well coached side. Some of those kids are already "doctors" on the ball

Agree. So the ffv, npl administrators and coaches need to explain why an under 11 side in Geelong is full of doctors and our teams aren’t. Or at least recognise and acknowledge openly that we have a low bar. Our kids are just as good at years 8 & 9 but the gap will widen.

Because there's to many npl clubs to start with. The rest is not rocket science. 

from wikipedia

a reminder of why NPL is here

qte
in October 2010, Football Federation Australia (FFA) commenced a National Competition Review, its main objective being to review the current structure of football competitions in Australia, and to monitor and improve elite player development.^[2] By May 2012 the results of the National Competition Review were released. In it, a proposal to re-brand and revitalise state-based competitions in Australia.
qte

Being this thread is on Youth can I ask a question from a relo asking me about sending his 11yr old to a Academy such Milan here in Syd at this stage.
The Dad is very grounded and points out that he's not sure what to do but that the boy is goading him over development.
To date playing Div 1 club, you could say he's one of the taller lads so he stands out at this age and quite mobile.
I told him he should have tried out in SAP but he's missed the boat so the Dads train of thought is go to Milan so the kid gets a year of development/fitness and trial for SAP following season.
Any comments would be appreciated.

@LFC it is not easy to chose and I am speaking from my experience in Vic below.  

My experience with academies has been mixed and there is a fair variance in quality and so selection is really important. Marketing is cheap so dont always trust whats said, normally talking to previous members is good. Key issue with academies is that they tend to be short term as they dont provide enough development in the long term (due to most operating in community system) so kids & coaches tend to leave for NPL after a year or 2.

Also it is important for your friend to be clear about what he is trying to achieve, if he wants his kid to get into a SAP program then he should ensure the training he gets will meet the selection criteria for the SAP trials. Reason I am saying this is that many academies teach their kids how to play with structure & discipline while community teams at that age are normally ball chasers so watching academies play is often  impressive, but this can come at the expense of individual skills like first touch, technique, body position, etc which is normally what's looked for at trials. 

There are some quality coaches in the community system as well so if there is a local team that they played during this year that stood out as a potential perhaps he could also trial with them and also paying for individual tuition with a private coach who will work on honing individual skills, which would cost about the same as an academy.

In the end there is no perfect path and circumstances change quickly at so its important to monitor the situation and not be afraid to change.  

Thanks very much for your input AJF.
Pretty much sums up my train of thought - I'm glad to see over the border is similar.
Your last sentence pretty much covers my own experience with my son from 2yrs back that I made the wrong call staying in the club having faith things would change the following season regards his coach, same coach was assigned just before the following season koff so it was too late to move on......ce la vie now, things look very promising now for the coming season so its look ahead and do your best.

@LFC. I understand, couple of years ago the coach of my kids team started well then lost interest half way through the season and then just started running matches during training. Unfortunately TD was not engaged so didnt provide any input/guidance so second half of the season was a waste. Decision to leave club, friends & family you have know for years was tough but since we moved to a "professionally" run NPL team  we haven't looked back. 

Thats it, make the move sooner rather than later, time is of essence.

http://sport.bt.com/bt-sport-films-no-hunger-in-paradise-91364241852638

Good doco. Bit biased with leading questions. Bits I appreciated was that under 10 years is too young and more importantly too many people at clubs have opinions which confuses the kids.

The west ham kid turned out great. With vce exams out today how many kids and parents dreams are shattered? Hundreds of thousands in private school fees and a percentage will be disappointed.

But guess what most recalibrate, go through some meloncholy and try something new. So doco is good but a bit fake news.

Excellence is risky. Mitigate along the way but don’t be afraid to dream I reckon.

Really difficult to ignore politics because friends and family have a large influence in team selection but perseverance is the key.
If they're good enough they find a path to suit the individual. Beware of burnout. It's a real thing

WOW!  You have hit the nail on the head.  Trust me VIC is not the only state. 

Hi thanks for the info. It's a real valuable insight. Who are some of the academies you would recommend in the west.. I'm from keilor in Melbourne I have 2 kids not and girl 6 and 7 who play at a community club but want them to develop their skills 

@Gurk00

And others. A bit of an update on my kid before I reply. The original post still stands 2 years later - but the good news is that my son has reached all the major benchmarks for a 13 year old - despite the challenges. This would be NPL, State teams and A-league academies - also he is being monitored by a European club. So after lots of hard work and some luck he is where he should be (if he wants to be an elite adult player) and is a great young kid. He also does well at school and is well adjusted (we think so anyway).

A few points to make 
- Just because he is good now does not mean anything for the future. I like to joke that most good players at this age are 6 bad games away from being dumped and 6 ripper games away from being scouted. Never a time to be complacent. This continues to adult hood. His chances of making a decent living as a pro soccer player are still very very small.
- By in large from lets say the top 50 kids in the state i would say 80 percent  the parents are what most people would consider 'hyper vigilant'. That is the parents don't 100 pct trust the system and would never utter the words 'if the child is good enough they will eventually get spotted'. Most parents of elite kids go the extra mile. They search out best clubs, look at outside academies, they change clubs if they don't like the culture, they discuss performance with the kids (yes sometimes on the way home in the car). Maybe 20 pct of the kids come from non sporty families who let the system take control. 
- Even adult professional players need to take control of their own training. The norm is now private coaching whether that be skill based, plyometircs, speed and agility and strength and conditioning. 

@Gurk00

My advice to you and all young players is to continue focusing on skill development. Technique, technique, technique. So yes find an academy out west that will help. I don't know any personally but I think Joe Spiteri has an academy. Google it and check the references. 

The other big news is that the A-League teams now have pre academies usually run on Saturdays. Melbourne victory and west Melbourne will have ones in your area soon enough. They will source kids from here to be in youth teams or via the FV talent identification teams. 

Other advice - be realistic (early on) about your kids athletic abilities. Key things to consider - does your child excel at school athletics (100 meters, 200m and or cross country)? They should be the close to best in the school and at least regional level at school. Can your child dribble the ball easily. I still reckon this is a major Talent Id element. Takes natural ability to run with the ball at an early age.

Also I think early on does your child show early signs of taking responsibility for things? Doesn't have to be too much evidence but competitive kids will score a goal, or do a slide tackle at important times in matches and at training. 

Your kid is also one bad experience away from just completely dropping the game. Seen it happen too often.

Agree - and so what? It’s just football. If you read my posts I’m ok if he stops at anytime.

Zoltan you sound very level headed with regards to your son but i dont buy the 'Im ok if he stops at anytime' comment. Why would'nt you be upset if your talented kid quits? Deep down im sure you would be. 

Hey JDB03 - good question but honestly I'm ok. Thats the role of a parent I reckon. Teach the kids that hard work brings results (whether that be soccer or other things) but don't be set on an outcome. The moment you want your kids to 'be something' it takes away from enjoying the process. (smell the roses). It also means you are trying to live out your own dreams in your kid which is not a good thing.

Also think of it this way. My son gives up at the age of 15 we can look at it two ways. 1) what a shame the kid has given up, unrealised potential, burnt out etc etc or 2) wow the kid did amazingly well. He was a fantastic little soccer player as a 13,14,15 year old and that might be good enough. He may now go on to be a successful adult and human being and have nothing to do with soccer.

One way of seeing things is failure and the other way is success....

Its how we frame things....

Imagine when he is 35 years old and with a kid he can tell them that when he was young he played for Victory or Sydney etc.....thats amazing success in my opinion and in reality what will happen with 95 pct of the elite kids...

Some good advice there zoltan. 

I wasn't being negative towards you mate, just that I have seen a lot of kids drop football completely because of the people they had to deal with. There are people who are very good at killing a kids love for the game without even realising they are doing it.

yep........
Our game at SAP/YL levels needs a good kick in the arse, especially TD's/Coachs.
From my observations and yes I know they are not paid a lot and glad we have these committed people taking on these passions many have a sense of Entitlement.
I've watched over 2 boys going through the motions since wee lads loving the game, the way I've seen how some of these coachs interact with their squads and at times individuals, its abuse.
Who do they think they are ?! Klopps assistant levels.
These types should be run out of the game.

I hear ya - don't worry about that. 

People and agendas are always the problem...haha. 

I was thinking about the list from Jmitch post (how to be a professional player) and one big one that is missing is its important for all players and parents to always 'keep their own councel'. 

Let me put it another way. Any professional player will look back and see that over 20-30 years they will have had many coaches, many teams, many clubs ad many team mates. So the brutal truth is all those things come and go like the wind. The only real thing a player has is their own self belief. One persons opinion doesn't actually change anything.....the player is the same person they were yesterday (when they played well). 

So the hardest thing is to stay positive, gain perspective and continue to play well when the chips are stacked against you. My son is going through this a little at the moment. 

Many athletes these days have private coaches, managers etc. I know a few of the top juniors have 'advisors'. So a parent will tape footage of a game and someone independent of the club will look at the game and give the player personal advice without the club knowing. This is a great way to mitigate if a coach or a club has other agendas. 

As you guys have said I have also seen many kids get treated poorly. Its amazing when one person in a powerful position hold one view on a player how that view then becomes a fact by various others either not wanting to upset the apple cart or for whatever reason. Also be careful of other parents. They are quite happy to heap praise on kids just as long as that kid is not better than their own....human nature. 

What does this all mean? Success is not linear.....also A Chinese proverb "A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials"....

And if not their is always tennis!...


 

Hey Zoltan. Whats the latest news?