In terms of participation at grass-roots, we probably are one of the greatest countries in the world.
It's just the talent development that's lacking. Academies need to pick up gifted players earlier and scout better in local leagues, instead of having the kid taught by a dad that won't have the knowledge of getting the best out of the player.
I diasgree with the academies bit of this – we need more kids at a higher standard because they will make jumps at different stages – the more fish in the pool, the more good ones you will catch. Academies are not the answer in isolation. What is needed is better coaching across the board – focussing up to 13 on skills and the basics and not competitive games.
The problem with competitive games is that everybody wants to win them. And as has been said, a kid that has matured faster is often used to his and everybody else’s detriment solely to win. Then you have tactics that don’t develop the kids but improve the chances of winning. I was speaking to a father of a very talented boy on Sunday and he was saying that he had stopped trying his tricks and flicks during games. Kids need to feel comfortable trying things – being willing to try and fail sometimes is extremely important. But coaches encourage them to play safe!
The FA have a policy on youth pitches – which is often ignored. They don’t have a policy on kids that have matured faster. The problem with this is, how do you decide a kid should play at this level or that? Well, it can only really be down to the assessment of the coaches- but youth coaches are thinking how they can win games – not develop the kids. You need coaches who are thinking, how do I improve these players but many of the current crop think in the short term and don’t have the knowledge anyway to improve technique. It is pretty obvious when the size of a player is giving them the advantage, so a good coach would push them up to a more challenging level when they identify it.
My son’s Sunday club has been in existence since 1969. It is quite a big set up but has only produced one player of any note (David James) in all that time! It is true that the pitches they play on are often not conducive to skilful football and they would be better off on 3G or 4G. People may ask why I let him play – it is simply because he is a keeper and he does gain benefit from matches. If he played any other position, he would not be doing it!
This post was an experiment - I wanted a discussion, but also to see how many people were bothered about things to make the effort to post. In my opinion, the only way the changes that are needed to make us a world force again, will come from us football fans demanding it. Thank you to those that contributed.
Comments
F**king ridiculous. They should still be cleaning the seniors boots.
The problem with competitive games is that everybody wants to win them. And as has been said, a kid that has matured faster is often used to his and everybody else’s detriment solely to win. Then you have tactics that don’t develop the kids but improve the chances of winning. I was speaking to a father of a very talented boy on Sunday and he was saying that he had stopped trying his tricks and flicks during games. Kids need to feel comfortable trying things – being willing to try and fail sometimes is extremely important. But coaches encourage them to play safe!
The FA have a policy on youth pitches – which is often ignored. They don’t have a policy on kids that have matured faster. The problem with this is, how do you decide a kid should play at this level or that? Well, it can only really be down to the assessment of the coaches- but youth coaches are thinking how they can win games – not develop the kids. You need coaches who are thinking, how do I improve these players but many of the current crop think in the short term and don’t have the knowledge anyway to improve technique. It is pretty obvious when the size of a player is giving them the advantage, so a good coach would push them up to a more challenging level when they identify it.
My son’s Sunday club has been in existence since 1969. It is quite a big set up but has only produced one player of any note (David James) in all that time! It is true that the pitches they play on are often not conducive to skilful football and they would be better off on 3G or 4G. People may ask why I let him play – it is simply because he is a keeper and he does gain benefit from matches. If he played any other position, he would not be doing it!