Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 12 of 13

Thread: Under 19s

  1. #1

    Under 19s

    We keep hearing about how great the Academy is for junior football in Sydney and it is hard to argue about that.

    However, when you look at the evidence at Under 19 level the game is still struggling big time. A grand total of 14 teams in a city of over five million people. And forfeits in both competitions.

    I mean FFS 30 years ago the days old days all SFL and SFA clubs had juniors so effectively we have gone backwards.

    This isn't meant to be a rant, I'm genuinely interested as to why we aren't getting the kids coming through.

    Some random comments/rants

    * Are to many kids just bypassing U19 to seniors?
    * Are the academy commitments denying the local comp?
    * Is it just the kids of today? Why don't they want to play U19s?
    * Should we think outside the box - should the senior clubs not field at all at under age level and have the Under age competitions extended to Under 18s with the potential for dual registration with senior clubs? String junior clubs would field their own sides with JVs for the weaker ones until they grow.

    Barracuda?

  2. #2
    I think all sports are seeing a drop in numbers in that age group.

  3. #3
    Hi Mug,

    The Academy kids do try to by-pass the under 19s. They are told by the swans that at 16 or 17 you should be playing Prems. When it comes to selection for Neafl top up spots the Academy picks kids playing prems and bypasses the ones playing under 19s.

    The swans commitments do take the kids away from the under 19s. The new div 2 under 18 championship structure takes the kids out of the comp for the first part of the year, and away from training with the clubs for the whole year.

    Having said that at Manly Wolves the under 19s now mainly comprises promising juniors aged around 16 coming up from the under 17s. These kids are playing as regular under 19s but from time to time they can't play and so the team folds for that week. The true age under 19 year olds will play anything from under 19s to div 2 to prems. However these true under 19s do not want to play under 19s. They want to play with the older guys in the club and enjoy the social life.

    I agree with the comment that the number of kids who keep playing under 19s is dropping across other codes. Apparently rugby is suffering everywhere.

    Personally I like the idea of an under 18s comp, effectively merging under 17s and under 19s. The under 17s are all playing under 19s anyway.

  4. #4
    There is no easy answer or quick fix to this. A strong 19s comp/team requires many elements including:
    - good experience at juniors,
    - positive relationship between junior and senior clubs,
    - good interaction by players with senior clubs whilst still in juniors,
    - great U19s coaches, preferably younger coaches in their 20s or 30s that can act as role models, but don't have a win at all costs mind set,
    - good interaction with junior parents
    - flexibility with player study and work commitments
    - a friendly and inclusive culture
    - reasonable playing success
    Plus of course it is also impacted by how good soccer and league clubs in the area are.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by andreww1 View Post
    There is no easy answer or quick fix to this. A strong 19s comp/team requires many elements including:
    - good experience at juniors,
    - positive relationship between junior and senior clubs,
    - good interaction by players with senior clubs whilst still in juniors,
    - great U19s coaches, preferably younger coaches in their 20s or 30s that can act as role models, but don't have a win at all costs mind set,
    - good interaction with junior parents
    - flexibility with player study and work commitments
    - a friendly and inclusive culture
    - reasonable playing success
    Plus of course it is also impacted by how good soccer and league clubs in the area are.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    It will never happen because there is too much vested interest in the senior clubs having an underage team but I think taking the U18s away from them completely would work.

    Concentrate on keeping the kids playing until they finish school away after which they can work their way through the grades, I think that the ethos of participation is lost when you get to the senior clubs and I'm not sure they are great environments for many 17 year olds to be in. You'd need some way of funnelling the elite talent through but I'd cap it to academy kids only.

    Let the senior clubs help the junior clubs as their kids enter under 18s but let them stay at their junior club, I think you'll get a much higher retention rate

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by andreww1 View Post
    There is no easy answer or quick fix to this. A strong 19s comp/team requires many elements including:
    - good experience at juniors,
    - positive relationship between junior and senior clubs,
    - good interaction by players with senior clubs whilst still in juniors,
    - great U19s coaches, preferably younger coaches in their 20s or 30s that can act as role models, but don't have a win at all costs mind set,
    - good interaction with junior parents
    - flexibility with player study and work commitments
    - a friendly and inclusive culture
    - reasonable playing success
    Plus of course it is also impacted by how good soccer and league clubs in the area are.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    You also have kids doing HSC, some doing apprenticeships or other jobs and so on. Variable start times mean that those who work will miss some games. It's hard to get 18-24 young men for one team. You only need half that for a soccer team. There are a lot of challenges.
    Today's a draft of your epitaph

  7. #7
    Strong rumour is that the league will be pushing for 16 a side in in the 19's from next year, a lot of clubs arent in agreement with this, so will be interesting what direction this takes

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by 5yearplan View Post
    Strong rumour is that the league will be pushing for 16 a side in in the 19's from next year, a lot of clubs arent in agreement with this, so will be interesting what direction this takes
    If a club is struggling to field a team of 18 or 22 this might help. Plus the thinking might be it will help reduce the 19s plundering the u17s teams for players.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by andreww1 View Post
    If a club is struggling to field a team of 18 or 22 this might help. Plus the thinking might be it will help reduce the 19s plundering the u17s teams for players.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Could work as long as they have 6 on the bench, so clubs who can fill 22 regularly are not penalised (2 kids a week cant get a game)

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Pmcc2911 View Post
    Could work as long as they have 6 on the bench, so clubs who can fill 22 regularly are not penalised (2 kids a week cant get a game)
    Yes makes sense. Goal should be to ensure as many players as possible are getting a game.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  11. #11
    St George - Can we be filled in on how W Mudge gets a game in U/19s finals with only playing 2 home and away games.

  12. #12
    Played 7 u19s games. Goes well in reserves, gets picked in firsts. Isnt that how it usually works?

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Single Sign On provided by vBSSO