FFA needs to remain in the driving seat

Mate, I know what you mean with the day care centre mentality...an opportunity to switch off from parenting (and even bugger off for a coffee) for 40 minutes. I have a good bunch of parents but have seen it happen with other teams.

Griffo. Valid points , I just get frustrated at times, where parents I feel use the sport like a day care centre . You're right though .

We are on the same page here I think Bondy. One way of assessing the AIS is via the quality of players coming out and performing in tournaments (technical reports, not necessarily results). I remember just before the U17 World Cup last year that the comments from AIS and FFA seem to indicate their excitement at the AIS programs performance and squad familiarity. We all know how those measures stacked up. Not sure what role the AIS has in the future when you could have multiple youth development programs of a similar nature with A-League clubs.

-1 Hope you are taking the p*** Bondy with this comment... Isn't the stat of kids going on to representative football something like 0.1% of 1%? For the rest, they might have fun and learn the game according to their ability and go on to play All Age football with their mates as adults. Those same kids might also one day put their money into and follow an A-League club because of their experience growing up with football. One way of destroying future fans and supports of the game is to tell them (via their parents) they are not wanted in the sport when they are young. FFA sanctioning that would be paramount to shooting themselves and the game in the foot.

But see my point is Griffo ,I'm posting about my game were in which with the A.I.S. is hidden from football people like the Roarers here, and then i watch junior football world cup's and watch the Spanish U/17 s give us a hiding . How can I or anybody else make some form of independant and valid evaluation of the A.I.S. when i dont even know whats going on down there . I've been posting about the A.I.S. for the past two days, I dont even know what the bloody thing is .

Just on youth development and the "Parent" situation in junior soccer or football, one thing I would like done is ask every parent at any age group are you driving or are you prepared for your boy or girl to represent this nation . If not then get out of our sport and get your kids playing the sport you watch but don't let your kids play .

+1 ...unless of course this is 'classified' information that should not fall into 'enemy' football association hands. ;-) I think FFA should put all the elite training information and methodologies they can up somewhere. Some community coaches can't get enough info and tips to pass on to their players.

Just on the A.I.S. I've just been on their website ,I can read about nutrition and god knows what else but can they actually put some video explenations up or something like that ,because people who care about football are left completely in the dark until Berger goes on S.B.S. and talks a 4.3.3..

This is really hard to judge, just from the first couple of years. We are really going to have to wait 10 or even 15 untill we know the end result. Hopefully it works.

Titus, that exposure to the game (on TV) might be part of the puzzle but another is the involvement of clubs in development of their juniors and youth, and the communications with parents regarding the clubs development philosophy. Over the few years I have been coaching juniors, there have been a few kids who I personally felt could have moved up an age group. I would have loved to have said: "Hey (Mum and Dad), your child is good enough to play in the next age group, and will learn a lot more and move further ahead with coach X if they go up". Most parents would do this but the factors they will consider are: costs, time, whether little Johnny or Jane is physically able to compete at that level, whether the child wants to leave friends, or is even interested (as Bondy pointed out above). I suspect some clubs are actively pursuing this already, while for others it isn't even on their radar (in terms of football development). The main problem for clubs is if they have coaches able to move the child forward when they are an age group ahead. It comes back to quality community coaches spread throughout the age range at a grassroots club, but I think more work from FFA to encourage clubs to do something this simple (move up) would help push youth development forward a little further while we grow coaching numbers at least at grassroots level.

Well sais Titus. I've been involved/played in football for 30 odd years and my parents are Rugby League tragics .Overall they have no interest in football never really have and never will .But they bred two football tragic kids that have very little time for N.R.L. I went to a coaching clinic on the Central Coast and a bloke called John Warren rang my parents back and asked if i'd come along to the next one, buy my parents reckoning " I supposedly decided i didn't want to" .

"a system where gifted players are put up to a higher age group to continue the pace of their football education rather than stagnating in their age groups." I think this is an important point, while small sided games promote a spirit of non-competition and just having fun, I think it is important that someone is identifying the more talented youngsters and seeing if they want to go into a more challenging environment. Whilst most kids play soccer, their fathers are often Rugby League or AFL dads who won't push their kids to play, follow or passionately support the game and without FTA coverage it is often too hard to make the kids realise that they can play the game at a professional level if they are prepared to commit themselves to it, as well as learning the fundamental skills and techniques at an early age.

good article. Enjoy the discussion so far on youth development - for me one of the big plusses of the HAL has been watching and guessing which up and comers can go on and do well, making it overseas and or challenging to get into the roos... seeing the skill levels rise etc (from burns, djite to oar, langerak and ryan, amini and now rojic), and the competition getting a boost of excitement every time a youngster shines. of course lots of talent goes overseas first still but the fact there is a decent pathway here is gold for fans. I understood that CCM has a system based in some part on acadamies from Sao Paolo - whereas others might have a different approach again - does it really matter though so long as the talent they produce is coming through. it seems that a lot of the players are still coming from clubs like blacktown demons, Sutherland sharks or Marconi (in NSW at least) etc before moving on to HAL clubs - what do they do to make talents like Amini attractive to HAL clubs in the first place? they must be doing something right? more coaches of a decent qualification, to match the enthusiasm that has always been there, seems like a logical approach to harness whats out there. not only in developing talent but identifying it too.

I think FFA can set a standard and keep rising the bar for coaches and their ability ... but to attempt to tell the A-League clubs what and how to coach is a step to far... Training acadimes by there very nature look at developing skills...

I believe the point on having a larger percentage of coaches is spot on but there are two facets to this: the elite youth coaches in academies and the coaches at grassroot levels. Agree on the HAL club academies being the way to go. The AIS is too limiting in training enough youth to create a critical mass where those gifted generational players will come through in large enough numbers. Ramping up the numbers of youth needing to be trained will require greater number of coaches with quality education behind them. Equally improving the education at grassroots will give a greater pool of players at a higher base-level of quality that go into elite programs in HAL clubs. For that the FFA needs to look at other models of improving education and attracting those community coaches into clubs. We are a long way off paying for a few positions in grassroot clubs to manage coaching so something different in the interim? A friend in Germany tells me of their system in Bavaria. Qualified coaches for sure, but a system where gifted players are put up to a higher age group to continue the pace of their football education rather than stagnating in their age groups. Short term measures like this might help while we grow our coaching ranks.

I think your solution of more FFA trained coaches is spot on. Pretty much all the countries which punch above their weight consistently in football have a large ratio of coaches.

With the National Curriculum and the connection to youth A League footballers I dont see it with a lot of H.A.L. clubs ,with some H.A.L. clubs playing a lazy somewhat direct game that some may suggest was no better than N.S.L. football 15 years ago . I feel either the youth footballers aren't sufficient enough technically passing through say the A.I.S. then go to H.A.L. clubs that play results based football with in some cases a scattered football philosphy. That one could suggest the National Curicculum is somewhat confused I would strongly suggest some youth footballers now playing in the H.A.L (who aren't that bad technically) have been picked up through State League football with no involvement from the A.I..S what so ever or any form of National Curricular . I believe we must have the senior national team playing the technical and visual football for the youth to learn from not the other way around, I.E. did you teach your parents how to cook or drive a car ? The very difficult challenge continues .

Don't worry the FFA will still be a driving force at one A-league Club, Sydney FC. How can the sport develop when the governing body owns one of the teams and expect the other clubs and fans not to believe that there is a distinct hint of favouritism?