FA Buggering up junior football
Discussion
My sons team is U10s and they've gone up from Group E to C in the past 12 months.
As they progress we are seeing worse and worse behaviour from opposition parents.
Opposition coach this week complained that they were too competitive, yet his club promote A, B, C and D teams at each age group and also run a competitive tournament every summer for over 40 teams.
The week before one parent threatened physical violence when asked by one of the coaches to not yell 'You don't know what you're f***ing doing ref' - this was an U8s game !
Other examples I've heard from opposing parents since the start of October are -
'The ball rolls too fast on this pitch - he is not used to it and isn't performing'. So the pitch is too good for you ?
'He shouldn't be in the team' - this clown thought his son was a superstar and said this about another player.
One father kept yelling at his son who was visibly upset when substituted. Father asked him what was wrong and got both barrels from the grandfather telling him it was because he kept having a go at him.
After a 5-0 friendly loss, 'Don't worry, it will be different at our place in a couple of weeks'. It was, resulted in a 9-1 loss.
When parents have attitudes like this it is no wonder that the kids are suffering. They are young and need to have an example set.
The club my son plays for make a significant investment in involving parents and educating them on what is and isn't acceptable for parents and children to say or do.
It is paying off from what I can see.
Keeper passes it to the nearest defender, who gives it back to him to boot long out of his hand.
Every single time this was instructed by the coach and results in the striker being outnumbered by the opposition who've been told to retreat to halfway.
Worse, during the normal course of play the defenders panic when they do receive the ball because they are trained not to have the ball !
As they progress we are seeing worse and worse behaviour from opposition parents.
Opposition coach this week complained that they were too competitive, yet his club promote A, B, C and D teams at each age group and also run a competitive tournament every summer for over 40 teams.
The week before one parent threatened physical violence when asked by one of the coaches to not yell 'You don't know what you're f***ing doing ref' - this was an U8s game !
Other examples I've heard from opposing parents since the start of October are -
'The ball rolls too fast on this pitch - he is not used to it and isn't performing'. So the pitch is too good for you ?
'He shouldn't be in the team' - this clown thought his son was a superstar and said this about another player.
One father kept yelling at his son who was visibly upset when substituted. Father asked him what was wrong and got both barrels from the grandfather telling him it was because he kept having a go at him.
After a 5-0 friendly loss, 'Don't worry, it will be different at our place in a couple of weeks'. It was, resulted in a 9-1 loss.
When parents have attitudes like this it is no wonder that the kids are suffering. They are young and need to have an example set.
The club my son plays for make a significant investment in involving parents and educating them on what is and isn't acceptable for parents and children to say or do.
It is paying off from what I can see.
Bluequay said:
we want to produce players who are comfortable on the ball, not another generation on players hacking the ball into the other half because they are scared of making a mistake.
http://www.thefa.com/leagues/~/media/Files/PDF/Lea...
I agree with this completely. What 7 out of the 9 teams we've played this season have done at goal kicks will make you weep.http://www.thefa.com/leagues/~/media/Files/PDF/Lea...
Keeper passes it to the nearest defender, who gives it back to him to boot long out of his hand.
Every single time this was instructed by the coach and results in the striker being outnumbered by the opposition who've been told to retreat to halfway.
Worse, during the normal course of play the defenders panic when they do receive the ball because they are trained not to have the ball !
Edited by Vee on Tuesday 24th November 11:04
Vee
Interesting subjects you have raised.
As I may have mentioned earlier in the thread, I run a reasonable sized club, we have just over 200 kids, and I have coached for eight years now, from U5's - U13's
I live in a nice part of the world (South Surrey) so we don't get many full on confrontations, but every time you think you have heard it all, another gem comes our way.
Parents Screaming - "take him out" as our striker runs through on goal
Coaches yelling from the sides lines, "you do that again and I will F****** sub you" when a defender missed a tackle
Oppo coaches yelling at the refs etc
And yes we get the shouts of "AWAY" and "KICK IT OUT" when a defender controls the ball inside there own box, panic inducing in a 7 year old.
It is like they want to put the kids off.....
However there are things every Chartered Standard club should be doing (again at the FA's insistence)
We have
1. A parents meeting where we talk through the respect agenda and players sign a code of conduct (and we show the Ray Winston videos)
2. A respect barrier, behind which the parents should stand (on the opposite side of the pitch to the coaches)
3. A match steward, effectively a parent, to be a visible presence amongst the parents.
4. A pre match handshake between the players.
Additionally this year will will have one game / Saturday which will be a "silent touchline" where only clapping and cries of Well played etc will be allowed - (no coaching either) we will see how that works out.
I tend to be quite a vocal coach, but as I am currently running a U7's team they need a bit of help with positioning for corners, kick offs and the like
One thing I don't understand is that even in Mini Soccer if the player passes back to the goalie and the goalie picks it up it is a direct free kick, for a back pass.
Does your league not play that rule ?
Gargamel said:
Additionally this year will will have one game / Saturday which will be a "silent touchline" where only clapping and cries of Well played etc will be allowed - (no coaching either) we will see how that works out.
Friend of mine did one of these last year as a Coach at a girls tournament. Local girls footy tend to have West Ham, Tottenham etc teams so have a decent ethos. Apparently it was really weird at first a but after two or three games the players realised they had to sort their own problems out on the pitch and began to use their voices to communicate and organise. I believe that many pro clubs except silence from the parents for their youth teams.
Quite right. I try and get my parents to shut up but it's pretty impossible so you just try and get them to say positive things for both teams and to never criticise the ref.
We play one club who have 4 coaches on the side line all yelling instructions. Problem is they are a pretty good team, but I wonder if the players are really developing as well as they can be.
I tend not to get excited anymore just depressed!
The only things I say to him are keep looking over your shoulder to see where they are,
help and encourage the others, and the last thing is enjoy yourself mate,
oh and away from football, watch what you eat, because hes at that stage where boys go tubby before a growth spurt.
i tell him off if he gets lippy with his or the other manager,
but that's because i want him a decent adult.
Anyone who plays footy will tell you most of the time you tune out the crap that you hear in any case
I have shouted from time to time to alert one of ours if you see whats coming, but broadly don't tend to bother and don't stand with the others as hopefully he will be off to another seem very soon.
ive heard parents say hold your head when fouled, stay down,
we were getting beat 8-1 and got a penalty, skyed it, and had opposing parents laugh,but overly laugh really loud.
its all designed to get in their heads i suppose, and although we dont bath ourselves in glory
id like to think they are well behaved.
i suppose it mirrors life doesn't it?, takes allsorts
we've got some parents that don't get out of the car and drop their kids off and go,some that sink four pints in the clubhouse and don't watch them.
i get there half an hour early have a kick about and more often than not its in the pitch black because the lights are on for the 3g
Right the way down to parents like myself that put the barrier up and nets and help in training.
anyway, hes got training at his new place so hopefully he will get on there and we wll be off like a shot.
The only things I say to him are keep looking over your shoulder to see where they are,
help and encourage the others, and the last thing is enjoy yourself mate,
oh and away from football, watch what you eat, because hes at that stage where boys go tubby before a growth spurt.
i tell him off if he gets lippy with his or the other manager,
but that's because i want him a decent adult.
Anyone who plays footy will tell you most of the time you tune out the crap that you hear in any case
I have shouted from time to time to alert one of ours if you see whats coming, but broadly don't tend to bother and don't stand with the others as hopefully he will be off to another seem very soon.
ive heard parents say hold your head when fouled, stay down,
we were getting beat 8-1 and got a penalty, skyed it, and had opposing parents laugh,but overly laugh really loud.
its all designed to get in their heads i suppose, and although we dont bath ourselves in glory
id like to think they are well behaved.
i suppose it mirrors life doesn't it?, takes allsorts
we've got some parents that don't get out of the car and drop their kids off and go,some that sink four pints in the clubhouse and don't watch them.
i get there half an hour early have a kick about and more often than not its in the pitch black because the lights are on for the 3g
Right the way down to parents like myself that put the barrier up and nets and help in training.
anyway, hes got training at his new place so hopefully he will get on there and we wll be off like a shot.
Just reading some of the things parents get up to with amusement.
I run fitness classes for kids and we play various competitive games as part of the activities. The kids who cheat the most and try to argue something wasn't fair when a ref calls them out on it? Yep, the kids wearing the football shirts. You'd think they lived in a spaceport on Tatooine.
I run fitness classes for kids and we play various competitive games as part of the activities. The kids who cheat the most and try to argue something wasn't fair when a ref calls them out on it? Yep, the kids wearing the football shirts. You'd think they lived in a spaceport on Tatooine.
Interesting to note the back pass thinking Gargamel.
We're in the Harrow Youth League - the 'right side' of the river from you !
Back passes seem to be allowed. As I say 7 out of 9 teams U10 have done this every single goal kick.
I will check with our coach regarding the rules.
Like both our clubs seem to be doing, I think that parents need educating more than the kids as it is them who are the cause of some of the attitudes in the game today.
Some parents are happy to keep letting other parents know that their their kids are in the 'A' team or the 'First' team. The kids see this and then think it is OK rather than being humble about it.
If my son EVER boasted to someone in a lesser team about his position I would pull him out of training and the match that week, and I'm certain our coach would support it.
For me, the worst of the comments I heard is the one where a parent openly said that another child shouldn't be in the team.
One more thing, I was talking to one of the U7 parents who thought that the coach was not being harsh enough on the boys. I explained what I see as they get older as my son in U10s is experiencing. If they don't love playing from an early age they will not be able to handle the physical and mental abuse from the opposition they will encounter. It might not be nice but it does go on. The young kids need to be allowed to enjoy themselves rather than be ordered around all the time so that they love playing and feel included.
Our home games are on a 3G surface and only the coaches are allowed within the fence surrounding the pitch.
Only about half the clubs we've played have a 'Respect' banner to stand behind.
We do handshakes and '3 cheers' each game.
The chap who threatened violence wanted to take one of the coaches and the matchday designate into the car park for a fight. At some stage someone pointed out the CCTV cameras. If I'd have been there I'd have called and reported the idiot to the police.
We're in the Harrow Youth League - the 'right side' of the river from you !
Back passes seem to be allowed. As I say 7 out of 9 teams U10 have done this every single goal kick.
I will check with our coach regarding the rules.
Like both our clubs seem to be doing, I think that parents need educating more than the kids as it is them who are the cause of some of the attitudes in the game today.
Some parents are happy to keep letting other parents know that their their kids are in the 'A' team or the 'First' team. The kids see this and then think it is OK rather than being humble about it.
If my son EVER boasted to someone in a lesser team about his position I would pull him out of training and the match that week, and I'm certain our coach would support it.
For me, the worst of the comments I heard is the one where a parent openly said that another child shouldn't be in the team.
One more thing, I was talking to one of the U7 parents who thought that the coach was not being harsh enough on the boys. I explained what I see as they get older as my son in U10s is experiencing. If they don't love playing from an early age they will not be able to handle the physical and mental abuse from the opposition they will encounter. It might not be nice but it does go on. The young kids need to be allowed to enjoy themselves rather than be ordered around all the time so that they love playing and feel included.
Our home games are on a 3G surface and only the coaches are allowed within the fence surrounding the pitch.
Only about half the clubs we've played have a 'Respect' banner to stand behind.
We do handshakes and '3 cheers' each game.
The chap who threatened violence wanted to take one of the coaches and the matchday designate into the car park for a fight. At some stage someone pointed out the CCTV cameras. If I'd have been there I'd have called and reported the idiot to the police.
Edited by Vee on Tuesday 24th November 13:33
Gargamel said:
Vee
Interesting subjects you have raised.
As I may have mentioned earlier in the thread, I run a reasonable sized club, we have just over 200 kids, and I have coached for eight years now, from U5's - U13's
I live in a nice part of the world (South Surrey) so we don't get many full on confrontations, but every time you think you have heard it all, another gem comes our way.
Parents Screaming - "take him out" as our striker runs through on goal
Coaches yelling from the sides lines, "you do that again and I will F****** sub you" when a defender missed a tackle
Oppo coaches yelling at the refs etc
And yes we get the shouts of "AWAY" and "KICK IT OUT" when a defender controls the ball inside there own box, panic inducing in a 7 year old.
It is like they want to put the kids off.....
However there are things every Chartered Standard club should be doing (again at the FA's insistence)
We have
1. A parents meeting where we talk through the respect agenda and players sign a code of conduct (and we show the Ray Winston videos)
2. A respect barrier, behind which the parents should stand (on the opposite side of the pitch to the coaches)
3. A match steward, effectively a parent, to be a visible presence amongst the parents.
4. A pre match handshake between the players.
Additionally this year will will have one game / Saturday which will be a "silent touchline" where only clapping and cries of Well played etc will be allowed - (no coaching either) we will see how that works out.
I tend to be quite a vocal coach, but as I am currently running a U7's team they need a bit of help with positioning for corners, kick offs and the like
One thing I don't understand is that even in Mini Soccer if the player passes back to the goalie and the goalie picks it up it is a direct free kick, for a back pass.
Does your league not play that rule ?
The leagues generally do but the clubs all have different opinions.Interesting subjects you have raised.
As I may have mentioned earlier in the thread, I run a reasonable sized club, we have just over 200 kids, and I have coached for eight years now, from U5's - U13's
I live in a nice part of the world (South Surrey) so we don't get many full on confrontations, but every time you think you have heard it all, another gem comes our way.
Parents Screaming - "take him out" as our striker runs through on goal
Coaches yelling from the sides lines, "you do that again and I will F****** sub you" when a defender missed a tackle
Oppo coaches yelling at the refs etc
And yes we get the shouts of "AWAY" and "KICK IT OUT" when a defender controls the ball inside there own box, panic inducing in a 7 year old.
It is like they want to put the kids off.....
However there are things every Chartered Standard club should be doing (again at the FA's insistence)
We have
1. A parents meeting where we talk through the respect agenda and players sign a code of conduct (and we show the Ray Winston videos)
2. A respect barrier, behind which the parents should stand (on the opposite side of the pitch to the coaches)
3. A match steward, effectively a parent, to be a visible presence amongst the parents.
4. A pre match handshake between the players.
Additionally this year will will have one game / Saturday which will be a "silent touchline" where only clapping and cries of Well played etc will be allowed - (no coaching either) we will see how that works out.
I tend to be quite a vocal coach, but as I am currently running a U7's team they need a bit of help with positioning for corners, kick offs and the like
One thing I don't understand is that even in Mini Soccer if the player passes back to the goalie and the goalie picks it up it is a direct free kick, for a back pass.
Does your league not play that rule ?
The league is not strong enough to take action. Our club is win at all costs and the best players play most of the game. The league say this is not acceptable. One of the top guys at our club however shares this opinion and at our only ever parents meeting in 4 years backed the manager on this.
This top guy is also a top guy at the league ! The league respect guy though says each kid should get equal game time. These are grown men over 60.
Downward said:
The leagues generally do but the clubs all have different opinions.
The league is not strong enough to take action. Our club is win at all costs and the best players play most of the game. The league say this is not acceptable. One of the top guys at our club however shares this opinion and at our only ever parents meeting in 4 years backed the manager on this.
This top guy is also a top guy at the league ! The league respect guy though says each kid should get equal game time. These are grown men over 60.
Wow, that is really tricky. The league is not strong enough to take action. Our club is win at all costs and the best players play most of the game. The league say this is not acceptable. One of the top guys at our club however shares this opinion and at our only ever parents meeting in 4 years backed the manager on this.
This top guy is also a top guy at the league ! The league respect guy though says each kid should get equal game time. These are grown men over 60.
So the league we play in essentially say, you must be chartered standard FA club to play in the League, either fit in with the FA rules or get fined and expelled. (last season two clubs were kicked out)
All players must get half the available game time. Something I am delighted to rigorously enforce at the club I volunteer for.
Nothing worse than being a sub at an away match and getting five minutes at the end when you are already losing heavily, again guaranteed to put kids off football.
By the way, I don't subscribe to the football kids being gobby necessarily. I hardly see that in the leagues at any of the age groups ( though at U13's it is more prevalent)
You really do meet all sorts on a sunday morning
my take is that im not bothered about winning the league just a couple of games a season.
not to be bottom
But the better teams batter us we can be 12-0 down and they still come at us because they are going for goal diff.
Not a single team in 3 seasons have said, right lads lets knock it around or try and score, or play with nine, or only defenders can score,
our manager rants and raves and balls and shouts,
i look at our parents and they are chatting about the night out before they all had.
ive noticed as well at pretty much all the teams weve played against, there is one big cart horse that leathers the ball over the tops of the midfield and defenders and the opponents try to run on to it.
our keeper is indecisive and the defence unfit, so its a sprint to bang it past him
best thing to do is what im doing (id like to think)
support, yours and other kids, try and help,keep smiling and look for spaces within another team,
my take is that im not bothered about winning the league just a couple of games a season.
not to be bottom
But the better teams batter us we can be 12-0 down and they still come at us because they are going for goal diff.
Not a single team in 3 seasons have said, right lads lets knock it around or try and score, or play with nine, or only defenders can score,
our manager rants and raves and balls and shouts,
i look at our parents and they are chatting about the night out before they all had.
ive noticed as well at pretty much all the teams weve played against, there is one big cart horse that leathers the ball over the tops of the midfield and defenders and the opponents try to run on to it.
our keeper is indecisive and the defence unfit, so its a sprint to bang it past him
best thing to do is what im doing (id like to think)
support, yours and other kids, try and help,keep smiling and look for spaces within another team,
j4ckos mate said:
But the better teams batter us we can be 12-0 down and they still come at us because they are going for goal diff.
Not a single team in 3 seasons have said, right lads lets knock it around or try and score, or play with nine, or only defenders can score
One of our previous managers had a policy whereby if we were the team that were going to (quite clearly) win 10-0 or somesuch, he'd pull the plug once it got to 6. He'd sub my lad (goalkeeper) and put him up front (little to no chance of scoring), and shift things around to make it more balanced and fairer on the pitch.Not a single team in 3 seasons have said, right lads lets knock it around or try and score, or play with nine, or only defenders can score
Complete agree. I really do hate it; although we've never been on the receiving end of it.
But following on from some of the comments above, we deliberately moved clubs from the top division to the very bottom division.
In division 1, although we won the league most years and/or the cup, it was basically 'win at all costs'. Way to aggressive and negative for me and K Junior. In fact someone posted above about their club management also being involved with the league, and how it's all run, their opinions, attitudes, etc. I wonder if we're talking about the same club
Kinky Junior just wants to play football; and was a top quality keeper and certainly destined to be a league 1 or 2 level keeper in about 10 years time. But he has no aspiration to be a pro. He just wants to play football. The academy he was in went to Barcelona 2 years ago and played 2 competitive games against their youth teams. They won both games and he kept 2 clean sheets
But he hated the negativity of the game. So we've moved to a team in the lowest division, because most of his mates played for them. And he absolutely loves it. It's just kids playing football, and if we win, great. And if we lose, so what.
Ironically, just to show the difference he's made .... we joined half-way through last season. His first game was against a local team who we had played a few weeks earlier and lost 12-0. We drew 0-0. The 2 years previous the team finished in the bottom 3 of the division (of 12 teams). We finished 3rd last season - all down to the string of wins we had since we joined
This season, we've played 5 league games, won 3 and drawn 2.
It's a mixed ability squad - some out of their depth and some who could easily play in the top divisions. But you know what, best of all, he just loves it. Everyone gets equal playing time, no matter what their skill level is (except for K junior, who plays every minute of every game). But he's playing his favourite sport, with his best mates. Could not be better. The manager is good, professional and relaxed about things; although he does not appear to like Kinky Junior. But that's OK, as it does not bother us at all. We just enjoy it.
But now, as I posted earlier, he's half way through his refereeing course, and he just loves it. I can see him going down this route more than actually playing - although the money (£25 a game) hold massive appeal to him
The best thing about our team is that the manager does not have a son in the team, so has no vested or personal interest. He just wants us to play good football, listen and practice at training. Our previous clubs have had the managers son in the team, who they believe were the best, and built the team around them. Sadly their opinions differed from everyone elses!
But even in this bottom division, there are teams who are appalling. This weekend we played a team, who were a renowned aggressive and physical team - something we're certainly not. We won, and the opposition walked off - no shaking hands, no '3 cheers', nothing; except for 1 player who did. So these kind of teams are all around and not exclusive to the top divisions.
Not sure what the point is now, as I'm just rambling on .......
But following on from some of the comments above, we deliberately moved clubs from the top division to the very bottom division.
In division 1, although we won the league most years and/or the cup, it was basically 'win at all costs'. Way to aggressive and negative for me and K Junior. In fact someone posted above about their club management also being involved with the league, and how it's all run, their opinions, attitudes, etc. I wonder if we're talking about the same club
Kinky Junior just wants to play football; and was a top quality keeper and certainly destined to be a league 1 or 2 level keeper in about 10 years time. But he has no aspiration to be a pro. He just wants to play football. The academy he was in went to Barcelona 2 years ago and played 2 competitive games against their youth teams. They won both games and he kept 2 clean sheets
But he hated the negativity of the game. So we've moved to a team in the lowest division, because most of his mates played for them. And he absolutely loves it. It's just kids playing football, and if we win, great. And if we lose, so what.
Ironically, just to show the difference he's made .... we joined half-way through last season. His first game was against a local team who we had played a few weeks earlier and lost 12-0. We drew 0-0. The 2 years previous the team finished in the bottom 3 of the division (of 12 teams). We finished 3rd last season - all down to the string of wins we had since we joined
This season, we've played 5 league games, won 3 and drawn 2.
It's a mixed ability squad - some out of their depth and some who could easily play in the top divisions. But you know what, best of all, he just loves it. Everyone gets equal playing time, no matter what their skill level is (except for K junior, who plays every minute of every game). But he's playing his favourite sport, with his best mates. Could not be better. The manager is good, professional and relaxed about things; although he does not appear to like Kinky Junior. But that's OK, as it does not bother us at all. We just enjoy it.
But now, as I posted earlier, he's half way through his refereeing course, and he just loves it. I can see him going down this route more than actually playing - although the money (£25 a game) hold massive appeal to him
The best thing about our team is that the manager does not have a son in the team, so has no vested or personal interest. He just wants us to play good football, listen and practice at training. Our previous clubs have had the managers son in the team, who they believe were the best, and built the team around them. Sadly their opinions differed from everyone elses!
But even in this bottom division, there are teams who are appalling. This weekend we played a team, who were a renowned aggressive and physical team - something we're certainly not. We won, and the opposition walked off - no shaking hands, no '3 cheers', nothing; except for 1 player who did. So these kind of teams are all around and not exclusive to the top divisions.
Not sure what the point is now, as I'm just rambling on .......
I see youth football as a way for my currently 9 year old son to build some character, make friends as football is a common denominator for most boys, learn to win graciously, learn to deal with the disappointment of losing, learn that effort leads to reward (whether that is the team being promoted or him moving within the club hierarchy, learn to be appreciative and see his parents and sister support him every Sunday.
Unfortunately a lot of parents see it as an excuse to let their child behave and have an attitude like a
- 'because he's a footballer'.
Unfortunately a lot of parents see it as an excuse to let their child behave and have an attitude like a
- 'because he's a footballer'.Edited by Vee on Tuesday 24th November 23:14
Kinky said:
One of our previous managers had a policy whereby if we were the team that were going to (quite clearly) win 10-0 or somesuch, he'd pull the plug once it got to 6. He'd sub my lad (goalkeeper) and put him up front (little to no chance of scoring), and shift things around to make it more balanced and fairer on the pitch.
Sensible.Although not football, I try to make a balanced game. When I've done my job well, the final score is a draw.
Kinky said:
Complete agree. I really do hate it; although we've never been on the receiving end of it.
But following on from some of the comments above, we deliberately moved clubs from the top division to the very bottom division.
In division 1, although we won the league most years and/or the cup, it was basically 'win at all costs'. Way to aggressive and negative for me and K Junior. In fact someone posted above about their club management also being involved with the league, and how it's all run, their opinions, attitudes, etc. I wonder
Kinky Junior just wants to play football; and was a top quality keeper and certainly destined to be a league 1 or 2 level keeper in about 10 years time. But he has no aspiration to be a pro. He just wants to play football. The academy he was in went to Barcelona 2 years ago and played 2 competitive games against their youth teams. They won both games and he kept 2 clean sheets
Not sure what the point is now, as I'm just rambling on .......
Kinky, I'm intrigued by some of your comments above .But following on from some of the comments above, we deliberately moved clubs from the top division to the very bottom division.
In division 1, although we won the league most years and/or the cup, it was basically 'win at all costs'. Way to aggressive and negative for me and K Junior. In fact someone posted above about their club management also being involved with the league, and how it's all run, their opinions, attitudes, etc. I wonder
Kinky Junior just wants to play football; and was a top quality keeper and certainly destined to be a league 1 or 2 level keeper in about 10 years time. But he has no aspiration to be a pro. He just wants to play football. The academy he was in went to Barcelona 2 years ago and played 2 competitive games against their youth teams. They won both games and he kept 2 clean sheets
Not sure what the point is now, as I'm just rambling on .......
What academy was it? Going by the fact that your lad was playing Sunday soccer then I'm assuming it wasn't a Cat 1/2/3 professional Academy? And if it wasn't a pro Academy , I'd be extremely surprised if he played against the genuine Barca Academy, quite likely a community/ satellite one( still a decent level and no disrespect to your son of course).
These Barca kids are still at junior school ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bE4WsalWDQc
And two more damning insights into the Cat 1 Academy system ....one of which is very close to my (sons) heart .
http://jordanjohnperrin.org/2015/11/22/too-many-co...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bE4WsalWDQc
And two more damning insights into the Cat 1 Academy system ....one of which is very close to my (sons) heart .
http://jordanjohnperrin.org/2015/11/22/too-many-co...
In junior football a good keeper and a couple of good reliable strikers is paramount
we have neither, but us getting tonked 15-0 isn't good for us or the winners,
would does that teach them? just to stick the knife in,
sometimes i think its me,
our parents just don't see whats happening every week,
one or two agree but in the main, they drop them off go shopping and come back when the game is over
im beginning to think they are simple or just dont care.
any decent opponent should be thinking of giving the lesser ability kids a run out against us,
or even a couple of friendlies where the two teams are mixed up
instead they are taught just to keep pummeling us, keep leathering the ball over the top for their quick strikers to grab and score against our keeper.
we have neither, but us getting tonked 15-0 isn't good for us or the winners,
would does that teach them? just to stick the knife in,
sometimes i think its me,
our parents just don't see whats happening every week,
one or two agree but in the main, they drop them off go shopping and come back when the game is over
im beginning to think they are simple or just dont care.
any decent opponent should be thinking of giving the lesser ability kids a run out against us,
or even a couple of friendlies where the two teams are mixed up
instead they are taught just to keep pummeling us, keep leathering the ball over the top for their quick strikers to grab and score against our keeper.
I'm the team secretary for an under-15's side here in Bristol and assistant manager of the team too. Can only echo a lot of what has already been posted on here.
My twins (15 today) have been at my club since the age of five and love it. At eleven, their coach at the time told them and two other lads, that they might struggle athletically with Division One football and it would be best if they maybe found another team. I agreed on the proviso that they remained with the team till the end of the season giving me time to organise an alternative. So for one season, my lads played Saturday football with four of their mates because the Saturday league, you only needed 1 7-a-side team, not two so you could manager with 7-8 players.
At the end of our first season, we reached the cup final where we were mullahed by the best side in the division. While we were waiting for our medals, I noticed a coach stood with 5 or 6 other kids. I half recognised him and wandered over; he said they were just telling the kids that their team was folding due to lack of numbers. I asked him for a quick word, the kids kicked a ball around for 20 minutes while we had a chat, and we agreed to set up a team; my six or seven lads, his five or six.
That first season in Div 2 on Sundays was bloody hard. Four points from 22 games, those four from the same team. Lost 17-8 one week, many times by double figures but we'd given a dozen kids the chance of football. We were bottom by a mile so took a double relegation from Div 2 to Div 4. The rebirth continued..
The kids started to enjoy themselves at the lower level and enjoyment brought confidence, brought results and we won Div 4 in our first season. In Div 3, we finished third then last season, won promotion again as runners-up. Happy kids, we now have 17-18 kids fighting for places every week in a positive, energetic environment. We are now back in Div 2 and it's hard but we've picked up seven points from ten games so far. Took the league leaders on last week and lost 6-4, missing a penalty and our keeper throwing three goals in....
Sometimes, it pays to take a step or two back in order to brush yourself down and move on. The best thing we ever did was to take a double relegation and regroup. Obviously doesn't work if you're in the bottom division but there you go.
My twins (15 today) have been at my club since the age of five and love it. At eleven, their coach at the time told them and two other lads, that they might struggle athletically with Division One football and it would be best if they maybe found another team. I agreed on the proviso that they remained with the team till the end of the season giving me time to organise an alternative. So for one season, my lads played Saturday football with four of their mates because the Saturday league, you only needed 1 7-a-side team, not two so you could manager with 7-8 players.
At the end of our first season, we reached the cup final where we were mullahed by the best side in the division. While we were waiting for our medals, I noticed a coach stood with 5 or 6 other kids. I half recognised him and wandered over; he said they were just telling the kids that their team was folding due to lack of numbers. I asked him for a quick word, the kids kicked a ball around for 20 minutes while we had a chat, and we agreed to set up a team; my six or seven lads, his five or six.
That first season in Div 2 on Sundays was bloody hard. Four points from 22 games, those four from the same team. Lost 17-8 one week, many times by double figures but we'd given a dozen kids the chance of football. We were bottom by a mile so took a double relegation from Div 2 to Div 4. The rebirth continued..
The kids started to enjoy themselves at the lower level and enjoyment brought confidence, brought results and we won Div 4 in our first season. In Div 3, we finished third then last season, won promotion again as runners-up. Happy kids, we now have 17-18 kids fighting for places every week in a positive, energetic environment. We are now back in Div 2 and it's hard but we've picked up seven points from ten games so far. Took the league leaders on last week and lost 6-4, missing a penalty and our keeper throwing three goals in....
Sometimes, it pays to take a step or two back in order to brush yourself down and move on. The best thing we ever did was to take a double relegation and regroup. Obviously doesn't work if you're in the bottom division but there you go.
sjc said:
These Barca kids are still at junior school ...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bE4WsalWDQc
And two more damning insights into the Cat 1 Academy system ....one of which is very close to my (sons) heart .
http://jordanjohnperrin.org/2015/11/22/too-many-co...
Honestly, I've seen talent like that in the UK amongst some of our local teams but given the experience we've had of the Academy system they don't stand a chance of being picked up and above all, nurtured. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=bE4WsalWDQc
And two more damning insights into the Cat 1 Academy system ....one of which is very close to my (sons) heart .
http://jordanjohnperrin.org/2015/11/22/too-many-co...
David Weir has some interesting things to say here.
http://www.unitedsportsusa.com/blog/glasgow-ranger...
I know he kept his kids out of the academy system until they were well in their teens.
From what I have seen, there seems to be a real lack of intelligence around the whole of professional football when it comes to developing kids (and younger adult players quite frankly).
I'd love to see how Klopp would go about running an academy.
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