The pyramid of football in Australia

Griffo You make a decent point about the number of layers ... and we still have that nagging issue of the NSL clubs and the district associations... neither with clear pathways to the A-League nor clear technical improvements..

Welcome home... Hopefully as you say it will be onward and upward.. As you said managing the complexity of FFA on the current budget must be hair pulling out stuff ... and hopefully good decisions will be made.. As for FL ... he will be very hard to replace..

I agree that was one of the best promotional advertisements for the A-League. I also miss "Its football but not as you know it"One would hope that the FFA under David Gallop understands that we are still in a position where a Season promoting TVC is not a 'nice to have' but a requirement to announce our season has commenced. In another 10 years time 'everyone' will know that Footy season ends and then you either concentrate on the Spring Racing Carnival or the A-League until the Test cricket season commences then back to the 'Soccer' and before you know it it's Footy season again:)

Mid, fantastic discussion! It's great to be back in Oz less than 50 days before the start of the new A-league season. I think any organisation undertaking the task that the FFA are would pull their hair out! There'll all very complex issues. Firstly we have a game that the FFA has got right, for the most part, but only so far at the elite or A-league level. The A-league is light years ahead of its predecessor the NSL, but unfortunately there's only 230 elite players, and only 200 or so of those are Aussies. At state level, if you asked players/administrators/fans/mums & dads from each state how they think their local game is being governed, you'd probably get 7 different answers. The reasons for this are vast, from the money available to spend on things, to the sheer size of our country, and amount of players & clubs which we have to accommodate for. Our top tier simply isn't making enough money for it to filter down to state level. But that day will come. I honestly think just about most of our issues come down to money. Especially when we talk about teaching kids the right way to play from a young age, better coaches at junior and youth levels, talent identification and so on. If we can pay for the best people that will greatly improve our standards. Money also buys and builds infrastructure, like academies, A-league club training facilities, football specific stadiums, etc etc. I think the FFA cup will be a fantastic concept which will go very well. And the recent NPL finals announcement sounds great, where the top state clubs play each other in the Finals. Hopefully Fox broadcast at least the final. This will eventually form a National 2nd Tier type competition in some shape or form. And that's another step to shaping the Pyramid. The 2nd tier needs to be strong and stand up on its own 2 feet but also feed the top tier and vice versa. The new FFA Chairman is another issue. Frank Lowy is irreplaceable. Nobody is going to what he did for the sport. But where the game is now, we just need a person who can steady the ship and keep lobbying the government for more funding, especially the grassroots when the numbers warrant it. There are also new FFA board member positions up for grabs, with John Didulica from the Heart a strong contender. But I think with the appointment of David Gallop the FFA is onto a winner. Whoever the new chairman will be, David can run the sport quite well IMO. So it's a long hard road ahead, with heaps of planning to come. But I honestly believe that the first 8 years have been the hardest. It won't get much easier but now that have something to build on. We have momentum, so we must keep it going now. Onwards and upwards I say. Our potential is huge! We are Football!!

And WHO is to blame for this problem Mid? Who gave the TV rights away for a paltry $33M a year????????????

STOP MAKING SENSE!!! Frank Lowy will NOT allow anything like what you are suggesting as it would risk improving the sport.

You can blame Frank Lowy for that!

This and your other comment brendo I agree to a certain extent that more areas to play can only help if it is put in an area where they congregate 5-days of the week. Foz wrote an article on TWG some time ago that the schools are an under utilised bed of football development that could supplement community clubs (ie: more time playing, greater the technique practiced...). More school teams means more comps... I know from my own kids' school that they have a fantastic basketball court that would be prefect for futsal (great surface, benches, high viewing areas for the school to cheer, but I digress...). Problem though is they don't have any room for more, and it is chocka-block full of kids - oh, and anything that remotely resembles running or a ball hitting some other kid by chance is frowned upon at times (tch! don't get me started). No football is played unfortunately. I also think that more lobbying with local councils wouldn't go astray. Recently a third of a basketball court and hoop was put in a local park...which left me wondering if the local football club at that field asked or were asked about converting that to a full-sized futsal court (and maybe with hoops at each end). Seems there isn't enough space for football as it is, and what was essentially a flood zone is now just a small slab that only a few people can shoot hoops at...a wasted opportunity for more kids to kick a ball around. Reminds me of my friends in Germany - the local town council equivalent put a football court in for the local children. The only time they don't play on it is when it is covered in snow...

Mid, not for the first time I wonder if the pyramid itself is too complex a structure, with too many levels from bottom to top. Would a restructure of some sort give efficiencies that make the dollar go further (or more correctly, give more 'skill per buck') at 'lower levels' of the pyramid? Say, get rid of the states and have regions...? In any case at this point in time we concentrate too much on a small group of players at the top. Instead we need a wider pool of players, giving a greater critical mass of talent to draw from. Are we growing the numbers in the elite of the elite pool? I fear we are not, even if the pathway to that pool is becoming clearer. This implies improvement further down the levels to raise the baseline technique of players in tandem with growing those numbers. Question is: is there enough time to impart technique at the U6 and U7 levels, so that we are getting the right cream of players rising to the top to be chosen for SAP at the U8 level? Should we concentrate more on technique development and chose at U10 or even U12 level for intensive development when kids have enough time to develop (and not lose those that are late bloomers)? More questions to lead from there about the right time for 11v11, year-round football, schools, etc. - but all comes down to getting the right people down at the very bottom of the pyramid to raise the level...massive numbers required, and resources. If the problem is too big on its own, do you split it into more manageable chunks? I think I can see a time in the near future where there will be 'community' clubs at the bottom of the pyramid, for players to just have fun and enjoy the game at any level, and 'elite community' clubs that are recognised (rated) by FFA, with the 'right' people in place with training behind them, part funded by FFA, whose purpose is to impart a baseline of technique to the players in their care ready for the next phase in the pathway. These elite community clubs are the next rung up in the pyramid; they may also be schools with intensive football programs. If these clubs don't produce the goods, they lose ratings...and FFA funding...

Brendo Its about training and education the base of the “pyramid”...

JB Arnold without saying or maybe saying within his comments... Duke was missed by every level of Football selectors and was essentially like Matthew Simons a raw but very rough talent ... Arnold said he received almost no football education... he has been in the academy and first team I think for 3 and a half years... We spoke some time ago about at a local park club what do you do if you find a talent and can most people actually see what they are looking at... I repeat a story for the want of my best example... I was coach of a under 6 team and this boy was in my team... could naturally kick with both feet , could turn on both feet, had speed to burn , and natural balance the like of I have never seen before or since ... I went to the club president, I contacted the local association... he came because the girl that lived next door played in the same team and the girls mother brought them both... I had this young boy for 4 years we won grand finals ... he was the most natural player I have ever ever ever ever seen .... at ten the girl left the side and his mum would not bring him...to this day I still feel like screaming their was no-one and nothing I could do or place I could sent him... Back to Duke and Matty S its lucky the Mariners were on the Coast as both would have gone RL I am sure... However I share your pain and frustration ... its not only coaches at high technical levels its at park level where we need in every park team a few people who have reasonable football knowledge..

RIP Calvin Daunt

It's great to see but I still think the focus is wrong. Its all about the 12 and above age group but we just don't have enough kids coming through with skills. We have this mentality in this countries that skills education should start at 12. below that it should be about fun. I would like to see a lot more emphasis on primary school level. 1/4 or 1/2 sized pitches being introduced across the country that encourage out under 12 kids to play more often. Australia went through a basketball transformation about 20 years ago where lots and lots of schools and parks were given courts. We need that for football. A futsal court for every primary school, could you imagine that?

I have always believed that the current approach is too top heavy. I would like to see a lot more of the money directed to improving the coaching at the U7,8,9 level. More qualified coaches directly mentoring the parent coaches who make up the majority of the coaches at this level. I think the other important thing is to encourage the unstructured play by targeting more primary school play. 1/2 sized pitches into primary school with 1/2 sized goals. get Kids playing at primary school more and you will see a immediate uplift in skill levels. More SAP programs then nuturing the best of these U9s coming out of these early years and then elite competitions from U12. Now the NPL has this setup but it seems to ignore the U7,8,9 More emphasis on primary school football, better education of early year coaches and more infrastructure should be the proirities

Mid - It is not for you or I to prioritise where money should be spent ,it is the job of the men who control the expenditure. We can offer opinions of course,that is our right here in OZ,but I am not convinced that at this time the FFA are getting the best return for the dollar spent. Like you I have been impressed with what some club coaches have achieved in their handling of young players & there are a few starting to show the talents required for promotion. Duke is a good example & I have to agree with Arnold's opinion, but even in that opinion there are questions left unanswered,why is it Duke has to be taken "on board" by a senior club coach who is being left to "fast track" what has been lacking in the lad's education????. There are a few more of course,mostly in the 19/20 bracket but to date I have only seen one16 year old who I would deem to be at a level that most kids should be at if we are to keep improving. That is the root of my worry for the future. You mention schools. I have attended schools football where the level of coaching can only be described as "first level" & to see 4 players stretched across the back in a straight line,never venturing forth for any reason whatsover, is to "bracket" their "advice" as basic. I ask,why is it so after 7 years of planning & one would assume execution?. We have had 2 Directors of Coaching, 2 Socceroo Coaches, & 1 Underage coach, 3 of whom have all left our shores.Each one of these gentlemen have had or have full resources backing them up, assistant coaches,medicos,etc etc etc plus new young Australian coaches filling in the spaces as they occurred,& in the last 3 or 4 years our youngsters have had repeated trips to overseas destinations to participate in various competitions with what one could only term average success. Would you care to put a figure on the cost of what I have just described .??????? Yet here we have a respected HAL coach coming out & saying one of the latest additions to the Socceroos has had a poor education & is in his opinion is 4 or 5 years behind where he should be in his development. Again I ask WHY?????? jb

Stevo The same in Sydney with the private schools and they will in time train many football players quite well... Fozzie wrote an article along similar lines about Sydney private schools.... Beautiful game comes top of the class in school system http://m.smh.com.au/sport/football/beautiful-game-comes-top-of-the-class-in-school-system-20130817-2s3cw.html

Just on the private schools system, HeartFC have run a cup for schools this year and if you look at the final teams in the draw they represent some of the cream of private schools in Melbourne. Many of these schools are AFL/Rugby 'heartland.' J http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/melbourneheart/news-display/Inaugural%20Schools%20Cup%20hailed%20success/65693 So the point is that all HAL teams can contribute to development of football in the school systems in each state and it isn't left up to FFA only. Get the kids early and you can have eyeballs and members for life - and a contribution to the expansion and wealth of football in Australia.

JB A bit more on your where to spend the money tis the old economic problem ... limited resources for unlimited wants... What is important .. let me offer four possible key areas ... * Technical development ... for me this has to be at district association level.. * Promotion of the A-League .. very hard to grow a product especially with an eye on our next media deals without promoting the game. * Australia Cup .... we all know how important this is, however it will require funding. * Structural Development of our “pyramid” .... the connections between park, district, region, national, NSL clubs all very important.. What is the most pressing and given the player base it hard... RU has at best 80K players and has the private school system to develop its best players.... like 250K, AFL maybe 400 K but a totally over the top number as many included in this figure are not regular winter players are in Aus Kick programs... But managing success and growth on limited budgets is a huge challenge for FFA .... Any idea where you would prioritise the spending...

Thanks, jb - your football life stories make terrific reading. I hope you've got your notes all ready for "the book deal"!

JB Growth is always difficult ... far more difficult than many give credit... MY identification of major issues is how to get basic football knowledge to the park teams... and then at district level the rep teams have good coaching programs. The French identify the very elite and consternate on these players... Last Wednesday I attended a Mariner fan forum.... someone from the floor asked Arnold about Duke.... Arnold said Duke will be a late developer further he had received little training as a boy.. He believes Duke will go on and become a great player but in his technical development Arnold said he is still 17 ... Another year in the A-League and intensive training should help him... The questions screams how many more Dukes are there out their..