The drop off of youngsters playing Gaelic Football

Started by From the Bunker, July 18, 2021, 12:23:20 AM

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johnnycool

Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..






bigarsedkeeper

Quote from: Fear Bun Na Sceilpe on July 19, 2021, 03:19:23 PM
Quote from: Rudi on July 19, 2021, 01:33:49 PM
Quote from: Fear Bun Na Sceilpe on July 19, 2021, 01:21:10 PM
Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

No it doesn't some kids are clean useless. No athletic ability, no balance etc. Then then chose when & when not to come to training. Coach can do nothing with those kids.

I cant agree. Im talking about hurling here, grip, short stick, jab lift, hook, block. Every child can do it, yes you will have some better than others, but if a whole team cant its the coach usually.

Of course the skills will then need repeatedly improved at home. Not sure about football, but its much much more basic and easier than hurling anyhow so i imagine the same applies

I agree to a certain extent, the basics in hurling can be seen even in games that don't go their way. On the other hand if you're competing against other sports for time and the hurl goes in the boot after the training session and isn't lifted to the next week there's only so much you can do with them.

Fear Bun Na Sceilpe

Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 03:56:33 PM
Quote from: Fear Bun Na Sceilpe on July 19, 2021, 03:19:23 PM
Quote from: Rudi on July 19, 2021, 01:33:49 PM
Quote from: Fear Bun Na Sceilpe on July 19, 2021, 01:21:10 PM
Never worried about results but would be worried if fundamentals were not there-that comes down to the coach

No it doesn't some kids are clean useless. No athletic ability, no balance etc. Then then chose when & when not to come to training. Coach can do nothing with those kids.

I cant agree. Im talking about hurling here, grip, short stick, jab lift, hook, block. Every child can do it, yes you will have some better than others, but if a whole team cant its the coach usually.

Of course the skills will then need repeatedly improved at home. Not sure about football, but its much much more basic and easier than hurling anyhow so i imagine the same applies

I agree to a certain extent, the basics in hurling can be seen even in games that don't go their way. On the other hand if you're competing against other sports for time and the hurl goes in the boot after the training session and isn't lifted to the next week there's only so much you can do with them.

Agreed

bigarsedkeeper

Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

johnnycool

Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

AnGaelGearmanach

Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

johnnycool

Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

AnGaelGearmanach

Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

There is no "then" about it. It's a a fact that 99.9% will fail. There is no other way about it. What point are you trying to make johnny?

Milltown Row2

Every parent wants to be father/mother of the next David Clifford? Christ the night....

A proper parent wants their kids to be happy, healthy and enjoy life. If you're aspirations are to have a once in a generation type player then there will be a lot of unhappy parents.
None of us are getting out of here alive, so please stop treating yourself like an after thought. Ea

johnnycool

Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:48:15 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

There is no "then" about it. It's a a fact that 99.9% will fail. There is no other way about it. What point are you trying to make johnny?

The point I'm making is that each kid should be afforded the opportunity to be the best that they can be and I don't necessarily think that noncompetitive games up to 12/13 year olds is hindering the high performers. They will still develop their skills along the way. When we enter the competitive games at 14 or 15 years old it's probably more important to develop the correct attitudes in terms of training, preparation and mental resilience to drive on when things don't go their way.

A kid not turning out to be a Tony Kelly or Kyle Hayes isn't a failure and if they've a positive experience of the club and association during those formative years then they're more inclined to help out at various different levels at a later date.




AnGaelGearmanach

Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:57:38 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:48:15 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

There is no "then" about it. It's a a fact that 99.9% will fail. There is no other way about it. What point are you trying to make johnny?

The point I'm making is that each kid should be afforded the opportunity to be the best that they can be and I don't necessarily think that noncompetitive games up to 12/13 year olds is hindering the high performers. They will still develop their skills along the way. When we enter the competitive games at 14 or 15 years old it's probably more important to develop the correct attitudes in terms of training, preparation and mental resilience to drive on when things don't go their way.

A kid not turning out to be a Tony Kelly or Kyle Hayes isn't a failure and if they've a positive experience of the club and association during those formative years then they're more inclined to help out at various different levels at a later date.

Breed for profit?

johnnycool

Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 05:01:59 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:57:38 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:48:15 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

There is no "then" about it. It's a a fact that 99.9% will fail. There is no other way about it. What point are you trying to make johnny?

The point I'm making is that each kid should be afforded the opportunity to be the best that they can be and I don't necessarily think that noncompetitive games up to 12/13 year olds is hindering the high performers. They will still develop their skills along the way. When we enter the competitive games at 14 or 15 years old it's probably more important to develop the correct attitudes in terms of training, preparation and mental resilience to drive on when things don't go their way.

A kid not turning out to be a Tony Kelly or Kyle Hayes isn't a failure and if they've a positive experience of the club and association during those formative years then they're more inclined to help out at various different levels at a later date.

Breed for profit?

eh?

Are you inclined to sell off your offspring?

AnGaelGearmanach

Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 05:03:32 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 05:01:59 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:57:38 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:48:15 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:46:08 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 04:40:55 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 04:37:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 04:05:27 PM
Quote from: johnnycool on July 19, 2021, 03:37:45 PM
Quote from: trailer on July 19, 2021, 12:44:50 PM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 12:20:40 PM
Quote from: AnGaelGearmanach on July 19, 2021, 11:27:34 AM
Quote from: bigarsedkeeper on July 19, 2021, 11:22:20 AM
Quote from: guy crouchback on July 19, 2021, 09:37:10 AM
its happening in the  team my lad plays with U11. players drifting away. in our club its by and large the coaches fault. its a pity, in a good few cases its lads that have loads of potential just not there yet, now they might never be ''there'' but they have potential.
but as others have said its easy to criticize from the sidelines the reality is any of the coaches would  probably gladly hand me the whistle if i thought i could do better. in my defense i do coach with another team in the club, with my younger lad and at this stage the best i can hope to do is learn from the mistakes of this bunch.

firstly they each have a kid on the team and each seem to believe that their lad is the next cillian o connor. this is bad enough but the real problem is they are bizarrely obsessed with winning U11 games. this results in team selection that leaves loads of player out and piles huge  pressure on those who play.
at one game the ''A'' team had 3 subs whilst the ''B'' team had 11 subs
now the result of this Cody like desire to win is that so far they have lost every game they have played ( GO games, so no one keeping score only themselves). and worse the other result is good lads/girls walking away (luckily the girls walk around the corner to the girls club).
now my lad would not be the greatest but not the worst either, incredibly enthusiastic absolutely LOVES football and  has a super attitude, never gives up, never complains. but after one recent match he was down in the dumps and upset for a week. i was so mad i was going to talk to them but he begged me not to.  instead he killed himself training for a week at home and when he went back things were  a bit better (only because 3/4 other players were away on holiday) but it will happen again next week, nothing surer and to be honest i will not  have him like that again,  ill sooner  pull him out, he plays soccer and rugby as well and while football is his first love they will have to do.

its a huge pity but the reality is the coaches have no interest in lads they dont think will be good enough  and they dont care if they go in fact i think they are happier. nothing is going to change this attitude and the longer my lads sticks it out the more knocks he going to have to take before he eventually gets the message and gives up.

Could the club not have 3 teams in that case?

Our club had too many for 1 team for the first time this year so entered a B team. A team carried 11 players and no subs, B team took whatever was left and maybe had a couple of very young U9s on the line in some games. It's worked well - not perfect by any means but better than we expected.

Football is very competitive in Down at U11s, in contrast the hurling is seen as a bit of a run out and lads enjoy it more. There's nowhere near the same yapping from the sidelines etc.

Made  my morning ;D ;D ;D

Probably should have explained that better :o - the way games are set up leaves things very competitive for the age of the players involved. If coaches are getting sent off for slabbering at refs at U11s or starting rows with other coaches etc you're not doing it right.

Anyone taking U11 football seriously needs to see a Doctor. They're a danger to society unless they get medical help.

One of my first experiences of helping out with coaching structures within my club was trying to use young lads to referee the U12 games which up to that point was an official referee and £30 a game IIRC. I thought it was madness as it was Go Games so no score was kept and there was a middle third where the weaker lads got a run out, so in my simplistic view it was a no brainer. So our secretary was dispatched to a CB meeting to bring this up and he was met with a wall of incredulity at suggesting such a thing as the young lads would be killed by the parents and coaches if this was brought in. Mostly Down football clubs I might add. Nuts I tell you  ;D

We don't have official referee's which is now U11.5 or P7 in old money, so kind of a win but just checking there an U11.5 football still appoints official referee's but as before they're nuts over there..

Each club should have a policy of sorts defining who gets what in terms of meaningful gametime.

We up to go games try to ensure that every kid at whatever agegroup gets a minimum of 50% of gametime available to them. Go games allows for that as you can have as many subs as you like, so roll them on and off. Every kid of a certain age gets an invite without exception as in the past we found that some coaches were "inclined" not to invite the weaker kids in an attempt to win a blitz of some sort or other.

The "competitive" age groups we deploy the 4 A's. Age, Attendance, Attitude and Ability (to compete, defend themselves) plus being a small rural club where we've overlaps between teams the amount of opportunity a kid gets at another level should be taken into consideration.

For instance if we've two 15yo's, one plays a lot for the U17's and one doesn't. The one who plays for the U17's should be taken off first and if we bring on an U13 then we need to be sure they are relatively comfortable to compete and look after themselves at that level and have the wherewithal to protect themselves.

Reflective glory by some of the coaches is still an issue..
It's mad the difference in dealing with the same clubs at different codes over here. There is refs sometimes at U11 football, sometimes not. But they get a load of shit whether its an official ref or not. Saw it only yesterday but it's the boards fault for setting up competitive leagues at that age. The blitzes going away has helped up at U9 to make it less competitive.

Boards by and large only put in place what the respective clubs want.

Clubs and respective boards need to step back and take the heat out of the environment we're expecting kids to develop, thrive and ultimately enjoy themselves if there's shouting and balling at referees at a Go Games match..

At the end of the day a good competitive mentally needs to be instilled into the youth. Of course some of the stories you hear are ridiculous but you have to put yourself in the parents shoes, every parent wants to be the father/mother of the next CON, David Clifford or Michael Conroy

Then 99.9% are bound to fail.

There is no "then" about it. It's a a fact that 99.9% will fail. There is no other way about it. What point are you trying to make johnny?

The point I'm making is that each kid should be afforded the opportunity to be the best that they can be and I don't necessarily think that noncompetitive games up to 12/13 year olds is hindering the high performers. They will still develop their skills along the way. When we enter the competitive games at 14 or 15 years old it's probably more important to develop the correct attitudes in terms of training, preparation and mental resilience to drive on when things don't go their way.

A kid not turning out to be a Tony Kelly or Kyle Hayes isn't a failure and if they've a positive experience of the club and association during those formative years then they're more inclined to help out at various different levels at a later date.

Breed for profit?

eh?

Are you inclined to sell off your offspring?

I'm not myself i was gonna ask you the same thing. I'd say you have a price

Fear Bun Na Sceilpe

Quote from: Milltown Row2 on July 19, 2021, 04:53:33 PM
Every parent wants to be father/mother of the next David Clifford? Christ the night....

A proper parent wants their kids to be happy, healthy and enjoy life. If you're aspirations are to have a once in a generation type player then there will be a lot of unhappy parents.

100percent

thewobbler

This thread really epitomises the conundrum for players, coaches and parents.

The core of that conundrum being that we could lose less developed players forever, if they're not exposed to the game at a suitable pace in their formative years, but at the same time we could lose the interest of more developed players if they're simultaneously held back in terms of competitive football against suitable peers.

Having worked with u9s for the past couple of summers, I'm of the belief that if a youngster doesn't have the interest/initiative to watch football and practice their skills, outside of their direct club activities, then even if they get one-to-one coaching for a couple of hours a week, and ample game time in every position, they still won't improve. The ones who improve every month are the ones who every time you meet them, have a ball in their hands; the ones who look at being able to kick a point from 20 yards as a challenge they are destined to succeed in.

It's no different in this way to any other sport, to playing an instrument, or to arts and crafts. And my observations are that an awful lot of parents and well-meaning Gaels are unwilling to recognise this. There is a world of difference between coaching a weaker player who enjoys the game, and a weaker player who doesn't. Even the strongest and most competitive 9 year old will embrace playing with the former: they tend do so outside of GAA activity too.

I do think every child should be encouraged into a team sport, for it's a great pedestal for life in general.  But I would also think a desire to capture and indoctrinate kids who look at football the way I would look at an art museum (startled, bored, uncomfortable), is a genuinely misplaced level of effort.

A light might come on those kids' heads a few years down the line. My underlying feeling though is that until it comes on, coaching won't make a difference - and as coaches, we should have a right to stream them accordingly. Not turn them away. Just stream them.