Went to a meeting last night in my local zone and we were introduced to the format for the introduction of Small Sided Games.

I don't know if this is the way it is being introduced throughout Australia but in my zone the only age groups to play SSG this season under the new format will be 6 & 7 year olds.

In the past kids in my zone from 6 to 9 year olds played rooball, basically a six a side game. At the age 10 the kids moved onto a full sized pitch and played 11 a side football.

It seems absurd to me that we introduce a system that is supposeed to help develop kids and we let last years 9 year olds progress onto a full sized field and play 11 a side football. This situation will not change until last seasons 6 year olds get to 10's when they start to play 9 a side on the 60X40 pitch.

Surely a better situation would be to also start this years 9 and 10 year olds on 7 a side on the 30X40 pitch.

The roll out would be quicker and more beneficial for the kids. Afterall why should we keep sending kids up to the full sized pitch when we know they would be better off playing the SSG format.

I believe there are about 17 associations in NSW alone introducing the new SSG formats in 2008. A good number are doing U6, U7 & U8. Many are doing U9. In Sutherland the U9 age group previously have gone onto the full field & playing comp.
The only ones a bit upset about it just don't understand, they see winning a comp is more important than player development. This season's U9s will lead the way & won't get to a full field until U13. It was considered that after having had 1 season on the full field it might just stir up too much to drop this season's U10s back to a half pitch.
We will be conducting a number of SSG tournaments for all ages with an eventual winner on the day to maintain that great Aussie spirit of competition - so hopefully a reasonable balance.

Im under the impression my 9's becoming 10's this season will still be under the Rooball format in QLD.

We have been playing 9 - aside 2 x 25 min on about a 3/4 full size pitch.

I was also under the impression all states & Assocs were going to devise a national strategy ?

I am so hoping so, but have my doubts as to anyhting eventuating.

We should be producing teams & footballers that slot stright in to the national systems if nothing to advance the better players that may 1 day play @ a reasonable level.

We have seen this galring issue with Pim's training camps, haveingt to re educate the players to a system wanted to be played.

Now if these professional players havent ahd this education & no plan is in place @ grass roots level what hope does the next couple of generations have?

so for now, ill stick to my 3-3-2 (9 aside) system & just keep encouraging the kids to express themselves & cover all the positions on the field the best they can, in an effort to make the players & team more flexible, because who lnows where or how 1 day this kids will be asked to play, & that can relevant from local amatuer footy to the pro stuff.

But, if i had a plan or direction the national body wanted the players going, I would only be to happy to conform.

It all starts in the suburban parks doesnt it.

They have, the FFA some months ago produced the National Football Development Plan. It is an all encompassing blueprint for our game.
One component of the NFDP is Small Sided Games for juniors which should be fully implemented by 2011 & has players staying on small fields until 13 yrs.
FFA has recently produced a handbook covering all aspects of SSGs & an acompanying DVD with coaching structures is being distributed to clubs as we speak.
Visit FFA website & these documents can be downloaded.
The plan is done, the support material is happening, the future is exciting & we are participating in the most exciting time for our game.
Soap box again!

We all know about the national development plan and where we will be at 2011. It seems to me though that zones are being left to themselves to implement the plan the way they see fit. Unfortunatley where I am, there is going to be a group of kids that are going to learn the game in a way that we are trying to move away from and I think that is wrong.

All kids up to 9 years have been playing a form of SSG. I think the implentation of SSG should start with those kids that are now moving to a large field, In my area that means 10 year olds and probably this years nine year olds, then introducing the new kids to the 4 v 4 format. In this way all the kids are going to benefit from the SSG format from day one.

Yeh I heard about this plan late last season.

STill yet to have anyhting presented via our local assoc.

Was talk of some sponsored jig, supplying all Reg Coaches with a training pack, inc balls, bags, balls, beacons etc as well b4 the start of this jnr season. ( ill take any xtra gear everday of the week)

Am not sure if thatw as just QLd, but was a big spread & hoohaaa in the media about.

Still waitng to ehar if that comes thru as well.

We have out jnr Sign Ons ina cple weeks up here so hoping to be informed up then.

Wont hold me breath :)

Looking for your thoughts ;-

our local associations are going to the new plan of 4 aside games no keepers
just players at the moment u6 and under 7.

Is this the quickest way to kill football off ??? young kids that want to play
football for (FUN) want to emulate the players on tv in a game senario. if we
put them into 4 a side games dont you think they will get sick of this format after
how many years u7 to u13.

i can understand the kids that love and i mean love football, but tell me in all your
clubs is this the majority or the minority ? i can tell you the majority in the clubs
i know play for fun and can take it it or leave it as soon as grading comes along and
they cant play with their mates there gone. the ones at present that are talented and
want to persue football furthur end up in an academy where they play 4 on 4 etc.

i understand the reckoning about kids getting more touches but what if the kid doesnt want
more touches just wants to be part of the team do his little bit and fit in to the group.
if you get these kids in 4 on 4 they are gone for good.

I know from the last couple of years even kids picked in the academy that played in small groups got fed up with it and all they wanted to do is to play a full style game. some pulled
out some didnt come back, and these were kids that were picked with some skill.

it might work in europe were football is the no.1 sport, but why when your looking for a team sport to play would you pick football 4 on 4 when you can play AFL in a game senario or NRL in a game senario like the big boys do ?

If clubs loose the Majority, which are kids that play the game for fun and to be like the big boys running on the field with a keeper etc they will be gone. all these kids that just want to play help clubs stay afloat with clothing , canteen sales etc.

this will be one more nail in the little clubs coffin.


Ok breed a national team, keep it in an academy run by the asocciations. leave the clubs to offer football to the masses the ones that dont want to be viduka,kewel or an a league player.


am i right in what ive written or way out of the park ?

What's so fun about hoofing balls back and forth across a badly oversized pitch and running them down again? And that is if they get to kick the ball at all, you have already noted how some kids are almost completely left out, which I'll bet is lots of fun.


Isn't that the same in every sport?


Why would it be such a loss if kids who aren't participating anyway, stop coming along? They might actually join in if they don't have to run 100 miles just to get a touch of the ball every half-hour.


It would be nice to see some statistics. I don't decide against things based totally on anecdotal evidence.


Catch-22. Football will need a stronger national team to become the number 1 sport here, and in order for that to happen, changes have to be made at a grass-roots level.

I don't know about AFL, I haven't been to a kid's AFL game, but the version of NRL that the kids play is naturally FAR less physical than the version that the adults play, in fact, it's usually just touch football with only a few of the rules from the adult game, a VERY watered down version of what the "big boys" play, but does this mean the kids don't have fun?


Yeah that's worked out great so far. Two World Cups and we've only beaten one team there.

Just give it a chance. If registration plummets they will probably change it back anyway.

thanks Walshy for your reply my post was done to gauge what other people were thinking as the majority of parents and people i have come accross apart from the die hard parents whos kids kick a ball 24/7 are making the above comments ive put into the post.
Isnt it far more important to have proper coaches to teach the kids the proper way to control kick dribble the ball, and then to work as a team player with passing the ball. the team that has only one or two kids kicking the ball and doing everything isnt this just bad coaching ?

In regard to the world cup. my opinion is its more to do with bad preperation lack of game time playing together as a team. along with the change in group that has given us a better chance of qualifying. Until the dutchman Guus came along and whipped them into shape with stratagies to win and telling the players they werent guaranteed a spot they would have to earn it.

The kids will still be taught the necessary touches, of course, and they will have more chances than ever to refine their ball movement skills, especially in tight areas where it counts most.

I don't understand why anyone would think this would change. It would obviously be bad for the kids' skills if they were no longer taught to pass and work as a team. At the end of the day, the FFA has poured a LOT of time and money into developing a system which targets technical ability, something which Australian footballers are often accused of lacking, and which is based on the youth development of the best footballing nations on Earth. Our old system simply wasn't working, and it's about damn time something was done about it.

I've seen coerver coaching's version of 4 v 4 and the kids were selfish at first, but they quickly figured out that it was most effective if they used each other and passed the ball between themselves to maneuver around the opposition. The staff at coerver taught the kids simple skills involved in passing and dribbling, and then threw in a few more complicated moves like the elastico and the stepover, among others, which the kids then got to practice amongst themselves over and over again.

I haven't seen a single elastico in the A-League this season, and everyone raved when Nathan Burns pulled off a Cruyff turn a few months ago. It's disappointing that we don't see these things more often, the crowd goes mad whenever someone shows even the slightest bit of technical flair. If the development plan can help increase the technical ability of future players, it will strengthen the code in Australia immensely.

Craig Foster at The World Game makes a good case for SSG's. He deserves a lot of credit for being almost the only person to engage the community and to promote SSG's to the skeptics.

Mokummer, you were voicing similar comments to what we are hearing around the East of Melbourne. However, the people we are hearing it from are the same type of people you describe. Die hard footballers, mainly European, traditionalists, who are living their dreams through their kids.

I have been involved in senior and junior football both in Sydney and Victoria. I was born and bred in England but have lived the last 12 years in Australia.

I am against this new plan, not because I think it is a bad idea. I love the concept, kids on a smaller field, less players, more touches. However, I believe that the FFA have not thought through what we are really lacking. I think this has been rushed and also that the state federations have had too much influence on the outcome.

Every state is implementing this differently. That can be seen from what has been written to date. The FFV have briefed all their clubs and the only thing that appears to be standard is the size of the pitch, the duration of the games and the number of players on the park.

What we should be concentrating on is the point you raised in your second email, the standard of coaching. Coaches are usually a parent who puts their hand up. Clubs can not afford to pay quality coaches as this sends rego fees through the roof. There is one such club near us that has a coach wage bill in excess of $30K a season and their fees are in excess of $500 bucks.

Clubs under the old system, needed 1 coach to a squad of 10-15 kids, this squad now needs five coaches, most of which will not have a clue about football (round ball version anyway).

We need greater education of our coaches at a reasonable cost. We also need set criteria, drills, targets etc to be prepared so that we can gauge the players throughout the process to see how they progress. This will highlight areas that certain coaches, clubs etc are falling down and give an indication if the problem is individual to the player or a failing of the coach.

If its the player then little can be done other than extra training and repetitiveness. If it is the coach then further training and guidance can be offered.

Only when we have such a system, will our players be at similar standards com their senior playing days.

The way we are going, will keep the kids interested. They will get more touches of the ball and yes they will more than likely come back next year. But without quality coaches who can teach them the finer things about the sport such as trapping, passing, heading etc they will be little further advanced than they are today.

Thats me and my soap box!!!

http://theworldgame.sbs.com.au/the-future-is-small---part-1-106314/

Craig Foster's blog on SSG's. I know it's a lot to read but it's good.

As stated Walshy, good article. However, it trys to justify the reason for small sided games. This I do not think is an issue. Anyone with a brain can see that less people, smaller pitch = more touches per minute.

However, there is a difference between having a touch and being able to play. If you can not trap, control or pass a ball then you are fighting an up hill battle. Clubs need educated coaches who know how to teach these arts. Educate the coaches, coaches educate the kids, the kids put the teachings into practice in small sided games.

It can not be much more simpler than that.

Go watch a junior game, it wont take long to pick out who the teams stars are. Watch them play and see how many can control a ball and pass it on in one movement, see how many can play two even three touch football, very few! The first touch will put the ball 5-10 yards in front of them and they are now in a 50/50 situation with the oppositions players.

If we are serious about improving the game, we need a program and plan to educate those that are supposed to be educating our future players.

Is this an argument against SSG's? If they can't pass a ball, the format is irrelevant. From what I can tell, it's a different problem altogether, which requires a different solution.

You guys are acting like the passing drills are going to vanish, and that kids football will now consist %100 of SSG's with no other drills.

Kids playing in some Brazilian ghetto won't have good coaches, if they have any at all, but they still pump out quality footballers who have learned independently through exposure to similar formats. SSG's aren't a silver-bullet solution to everything, nor are they supposed to be, but they are a big step in the right direction which Australia needs.

its not an argument its finding other peoples thoughts regarding ssg. i just wrote down what a lot and i mean a lot of peole are saying to me. the wording i used in my first post is basicly out of the mouths of a fair few people. as the start of my msg states your thoughts on the subject ! My teams have been doing small side games for training for 3 years well before the National plan. (but for training) not every weekend on top of training.in the early under 6 under 7 they were trained properly how to pass dribble etc etc
im lucky the kids i have love their football to death, but they all look forward to a full size game on weekends.

Whalshy you mention Brazil, the kids in brazil have nothing else from the time they can walk they are on the street or in the home kicking the ball 365 days a year of course they are going to pump out skillfull players if you got Australian kids playing football 365 days of the year 24/7 we would have skillfull players too. but here our kids have a lot of choice and no football in the summer season.
My son did some summer camps training and also futsal, man he developed out of sight. lets have our football go all year round and we will pump out quality footballers too.

No, as I said in my first post I love the concept. The fact of the matter is though that the kids although getting more touches etc will still be dependant on coaches with none or little knowledge of the game. Thats not a failing of the coaches, because they are a parent who has put up their hand to help out their local club. We need to educate these wonderful volunteers so that their input is more worth while.

In respect to your comment on Brazillians coming out the ghettos, thats a bit over the top dont you think? Do you really think these kids come straight off the streets into a proffessional clubs first team?

Scouts see the talent, they are then subjected to quality coaching, not a dad with NRL or AFL background (Except maybe L.Love from Victory).

SSG is a big change to the development of football in Australia and change is always seen by some as something to be feared. Sure kids will be playing on smaller fields with less people but in terms of training teams can share a coach for training, you don't have to find extra coaches. (rooball team 8 with subs, SSG team 4 maybe 5 with a sub)

I'm not sure Mokummer has read the Football Development Plan stating that kids will be playing 4 a side till they are 12. In the plan it is clear that as kids get older the field size increases as do the number of players and yes a goalie is added at age 8.

In the past kids have played Rooball in NNSW, 6 a side, till they are 9 then move onto the full size pitch. Watching kids who have played on a pitch say 40m by 35m to a full size pitch, while to them exciting at first quickly turns to utter exhaustion for most of the players. This is the problem, the kids have to learn how to run and run long distance to keep in the game. For them it is no longer a game of skill.

SSG allows them to develop their skill and by gradually increasing the size of the field their staminar slowly increases also.

Change is scary, but try and see through this and look at the benefits.

SSG needs to be implemented quicker.

Good post.

Check these two articles out regarding SSG's, very interesting!!

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid958992159/bctid1434028187
http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1126121770/bctid1435949735