A major problem with the FFA's current system for developing players is that in order to be discovered you would have to be known at a very young age to have talent. What I mean is not that 'late-bloomers' are rare here but that players who only really start to develop in their mid to late teens are not being given a chance as opposed to players who have had these skills since they were barley walking. Studies have shown that potential athletes should only start to pay attention to their sport of choice when they turn 14 yet in the current system 14 is way too late. Who else believes this is a problem? If so how would you go about fixing it?

This is not what i have seen in practice.
Not speaking for the nation only from my own personal experiences
At U12s many were picked and many good players over looked at U15's many of those that should have never been in elite programs have failed (maybe due to the lack of good coaches in the elite system) or possible form their lack of skill.
Some of those that should have been chosen at U12's have gone on to be chosen and excelled.

As a foot note
At u16's some have been chosen for elite positions who clearly do not have the technical ability to be there, some are quick , some are strong, some are fast, will they develop the skills in the future?
I think not mainly due to their incapability to grasp the fact that they are lacking.
Why were they chose?
What will they do?
What will become of those dropped?
I have no idea but it will be interesting to watch.


It will only take another three years to judge the results.

Fair comment.

Good thread, Big Theo.

I read recently that Brian Clough said he was a very average player at 15 years of age.

Nevertheless, Clough went on to score at almost a goal per game at senior professional level, mainly in the English Second Division. He still won two or three senior England caps. Clough expressed great reservations about the modern phenomenon of clubs operating 'academies' and focusing so heavily on elite players.

I wonder if the 'elite' concept from early ages has originated from the 10 000 hours rule?

I also have observed that some elite players become elitist.
This in my opinion is neither good for the player/young person nor the sport.

I totally agree with you, Krones.

With FFE it has been good to step into the world of kids/youths who really appreciate coaching, because they haven't been deemed good enough to access FFA programmes in the past.

FFA staff coaches allocate very small amounts of time to give to most young footballers.

Plenty of opportunity for "late bloomers" - it's up to them to push for higher honours. Cream always rises to the top.

That said, generally speaking, these "late bloomers" tend to underestimate the massive class differential between the park level where they maybe succeeding and top shelf elite youth football. It's worlds apart.

Very true about the standards required to play State level U13, U14 and NTC levels. Where we have the problem is that we have such a small and narrow player development system and one that first identifies young players at U11 level for the Futsal Nationals and now with the Skillaroos the same issue arises. We find them, a handful at 11yo, and provide this small group with the best coaching the State federation and the National Body can provide and hope for the best. Instead of letting clubs do the development of players and the Federations supporting them.

Then one of the best players (Leckie) to come out of the country the last couple of years hasn't been any where near the "pathway"

From what i gather from listening to Berger and Edwards the goal of the FFA is to eventually integrate development clubs into the system. They were coy on the subject but suggested that the "b-league" will be made up of clubs who focus on youth development or something along those lines. They were definitely aware of the shortcomings of the current system, specifically the small group it can cater too.

From what I gather going forward there will be a system of accredetation for clubs, they will be from family friendly participatory upto elite Academey type clubs.

After 7 years though I wish we had some more concrete changes at this level of the game.\

Dirkvanadidias posted this link in the junior development article section that you might find interesting.

http://static.bundesliga.de/media/native/autosync/dfl_leistungszentren2011_gb.pdf

Edited by Arthur: 18/1/2012 12:57:29 PM

Dimi,

There will be no b-league. State league clubs have already said they cannot sustain the cost involved.

I agree there should be a widening of the amount of players that receive top level training. Only then can the real cream eventually get to the top. But there is also an issue with "some" state league clubs that have a different agenda to giving cream a chance. We all know those clubs.

The NSL was stripped of it's national status because some clubs were not open to everyone. I think the underpinning state league clubs that are not open need to be stripped from underpinning the A-League clubs. This is why I think there is a push for local associations to move towards owning more underpinning state league clubs.

Many players that rise to the top don't necessarily make it through the standard system. In my opinion the system is too narrow in methods and narrow in thinking and skills. I still don't agree we should be embracing a system which is not in line with our wide cultures and differing skillsets. But by the same token a national side playing a combination of differing styles would be a mish mash to blend into a uniform team.

The system needs to open up more and provide more to everyone. This ridiculous situation of identifying 11 and 12 year olds as future stars is simply ludicrous. Late bloomers can bloom anywhere from 16 upto 22 years old. And isn't it about putting the best on the park. Not who we thought was the best 10 years ago...

I've coached kids that were absolute stars at 9-10 year old then when I check back 5 years later their fat and taken up the whistle. I also coached 11 year olds that could dribble past 9 players with ease simply dissappear off the face of the football earth when I checked 5 years later on. Wow I thought what a waste of talent. These kids would have pawned silly the SAP players.

As I've said previously with coaching different kids respond to different methods. What works for some draws blank faces for others. Then a differing method is used and the penny drops. So if our system is stoic which it appears then we will not harness all the talent.

This is why the system needs to be open to differing methods of training and development instead of drawing a very closed method.

Edited by Aussiesrus: 18/1/2012 01:38:34 PM