School Sport Australia Under 12 Football Championship

This report is provided by NPL roving reporter, Simon Kravis. It's a bit late but don't blame Simon, I got it some time ago and seem to have lost the original somewhere on the Blogsite. Simon came to the rescue with another copy. So better later than never - it is a very comprehensive report and contains some terrific information.


School Sport Australia Under 12 Football Championship

Nelson Bay, NSW 29 Aug -3 Sep 2010

The legendary Eric Cantona once said that what he liked about English football was the passion that surrounded it and the way that it was played from end to end at a hundred miles per hour. All of these qualities were very much in evidence at this year’s School Sport Australia Under 12 Football championship, held at the Toomaree Sports Complex near Nelson Bay, just north of Newcastle in NSW between Mon 29 August and Friday 2 September. Boys and girls teams from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory took part. Boys and girls matches between the same regions followed each other in the initial stage of the competition, and a round-robin between the top and bottom three teams followed.

The qualities that so enthused Eric Cantona were most evident in the Boys competition and resulted in some enthralling games. There was no stroking the ball between defenders waiting for the other team to over-commit or make an error, no leisurely strolls of substitutes onto the field to wind down the clock, and minimal simulation or any other vices found at the higher levels of the game. Movements forward were always at top speed. Mistakes were common but as soon as they occurred the players would try to rectify them, seldom pausing for regret or frustration.

The benchmark for Under 12 boys football in Australia was set by the team from Singok Primary School in Korea in the 2008 Kanga Cup, where they would probably have won the Under 13 competition with their exceptional individual and team skills. They would have prevailed against any of the teams in the SSA competition this year, but would have had to have worked much harder – playing standards seem to be improving across the board.

Refereeing was of a high standard, with rough play quickly penalized and seldom occurring. As well as a canteen, there were coffee and fresh fruit stalls, both of which seemed to do excellent business, and smoking was banned around the pitches. Accommodation was organised individually for the ACT team but was easily available at Nelson Bay or other towns in the Port Stephens area close to the venue.

The tournament unfolded for the ACT teams as follows.

Monday 29 August

The ACT teams faced a tough start to the competition, facing NSW and Queensland, who have almost monopolised top place for both boys and girls competitions for the past 20 years. The ACT boys had the better of the play against NSW in the morning. NSW started nervously opening but ACT were 1-0 down at half time after a defensive error left an open goal for NSW’s Nick Sullivan. ACT pressed strongly in the second half but were unable to find an equalizer. In the afternoon, the ACT again had the better of the play against Queensland with many more chances, but were unable to finish against a strong Queensland defence. Tomas Ross almost snatched the game for Queensland in the last minute with a shot that was inches over the bar but final scoreline was 0-0. Skill levels from both teams were outstanding, and the excitement of the game was not indicated by the scoreline. George Timotheu dominated the midfield for the ACT, and attackers Mark Tokich and Vuk Vucic showed great close ball skills.

The ACT girls fared less well, conceding 3 goals to NSW in the first 8 minutes of their morning game through defensive errors that were pounced on by a powerful NSW attack. The ACT rallied in the second half, with Georgia Fogarty testing the NSW defence with her speed, but NSW scored again in the second half from a well-taken corner to win 4-0. Queensland dominated the ACT throughout the afternoon game, scoring twice in the first half and once in the second from a diagonal cross tapped in at the far post to win 3-0. Julia de Angelis defended strongly for the ACT in both the NSW and Queensland games and kept the scoreline down.

Tuesday 30 August

This was a much better day for the ACT. The boy’s morning game against South Australia followed the pattern of the previous day, with ACT dominating the play but unable to land the ball in the net, finishing with another 0-0 draw. For South Australia, Liam Miller was always threatening but was contained by diligent defence from Daniel Hearle, whose consistency and concentration underpinned the ACT team’s performance.

The Northern Territory turned in a spirited performance in the afternoon against the ACT. NT striker Sean Kidd showed excellent skills and the NT team as a whole never stopped running, but they conceded a goal in the first half to Sam Whitear. There were a number of chances for ACT in the second half, but the score remained at 1-0 to the ACT at the close.

The girls team managed to put Monday’s defeats behind them, and exploited the space frequently given to them by South Australia, answering an early South Australia goal with a penalty slotted home by Ruth Kravis after a handball, and further goal from Maddie Shevlin to take a 2-1 lead at half-time. South Australia responded in the second half and leveled the score from another handball penalty, but Georgia Fogarty sent the ball into the net via a South Australian player from a goalmouth melee in the last minutes, giving the match to ACT 3-2.

The ACT girls dominated throughout against the Northern Territory, with Maddie Shevlin scoring twice and Mykala van Deyk and Eddie Nelson once to give the game to the ACT 4-0. For the NT, midfielder Poppy Waterford showed great tenacity and striker Jasmine Puratetameri had a couple of chances but did not manage to put them away.

Thursday 2 September

After a day’s layoff where all 200 players, coaches and manager went on a whale and dolphin watching excursion, the competition resumed with Victoria on the ACT teams’ mind. The boys faced off first and Victoria were ahead after 4 minutes from a powerful strike by Reno Piscopo after a defence clearance went astray. The ACT rallied and created a number of chances in the first half but failed to finish them. Victoria started strongly in the second half and Emmanuel Brima had only the ACT goalkeeper to beat after an impressive run, but shot just wide. After another near miss from the ACT’s Mark Tokich, Victoria scored again from an indirect free kick with Reno Piscopo driving under the wall and sealed the match at 3-0 with a goal from Brima from a position that many people thought was offside, but not the referee. This result put the ACT boys into 5th place for playoffs against South Australia and Northern Territory.

The ACT girls started with a lot of confidence after their wins on Tuesday and had the better of the play for the first half, with Julia de Angelis dominating the midfield and the attackers having many opportunities. The reward came after 9 minutes when Samantha Roff scuffled the ball into the net, and again after 15 minutes when Maddie Shevlin picked up a loose ball in front of goal and slotted it home. Victoria had a better second half, with midfielder Snezana Petreski showing an excellent first touch, and Emma Robers pulled a goal back in the last 5 minutes. Victoria piled on the pressure after this, but ACT held firm to win the match 2-1.

This win put the ACT Girls into 3rd place, with victory in sight if they could beat New South Wales and Queensland in the playoffs, so the game against the New South Wales in the afternoon was crucial. Buoyed by their 4-0 victory on Monday, NSW started strongly, and a set piece from a diagonal free kick across goal by Brooke Miller nearly paid off after a few minutes. However, the ACT defence was much more confident in this game and Julia de Angelis succeeded in closing down key players Stevie Donougher and Jaqueline Anyon-Smith who had been so successful previously. The ACT contested all loose balls amd Mykala van Deyk had a great opportunity in the second half, but defender Samara Wehmeyer was very difficult to get past. NSW dominated the first part of the second half, but neither team had a consistent advantage after that and the match finished as a 0-0 draw, which pleased the ACT much more than it disappointed NSW. So much had the ACT improved that the two teams were almost unrecognizable, except when NSW played set pieces, which were very often threatening.

Friday 3 September

After a night of complicated calculation of possible results from the final day of play, the ACT girls met Queensland again in the morning with high hopes, but Queensland kept a tight grip on the match from kick-off, scoring after 4 minutes when a long ball found Gemma Hauck, who was able to outrun the defence. ACT never settled in the first half and were unable to move the ball up to their attackers. In the first 10 minutes second half, ACT played better and had one good chance, but Queensland regained control after that and were rewarded by a goal from Courtnee Vine to give them the game 2-0.

The rematch between the ACT boys and the Northern Territory was again very spirited, with little sign that both teams had played 6 matches over the past 5 days, or were not playing for the top spot. The ACT went ahead after 6 minutes when Riley Gibbs-Paterson was left free in front of goal, and moved further ahead after 11 minutes, when a strike from Sam Whitear went into and out of the goal, but was judged to have crossed the line. The Northern Territory team never gave up in the second half. The ACTs Mark Tokich frequently tested the centre defence but excellent goalkeeping from Andrew Hind kept him from adding to the scoreline and the game went to the ACT 2-0.

The ACT boys rematch against South Australia was very close, with good play from both sets of forwards. Vuk Vukic had a fine strike tipped over the bar by SA keeper Joseph Demaria, and the ACT’s Mark Tokich worked tirelessly. ACT keeper Lawrence Atkin had a great match, keeping out a powerful strike from Tommy Stokes and dealing confidently with numerous high balls, but the match closed as a 0-0 draw to give South Australia 4th place and ACT 5th in the boys competition

The Girls contest between NSW and Queensland for top spot was evenly matched, with play moving quickly between the ends of the field. Rochelle Borromeo, the smallest and probably the youngest player in the tournament, showed great presence of mind to put away a loose ball in front of the Queensland goal through a forest of legs after 12 minutes to put NSW into the lead. NSW almost went further ahead 6 minutes later when Queensland goalkeeper Megan Byriel was penalized in the aftermath of a collision with a NSW player, but Shania Pourrashidi lofted her penalty over the bar. In the second half, NSW had good chances through Samara Wehmeyer and Stevie Donougher but the score remained at 1-0, giving the Girls gold medal to NSW, the silver to Queensland and the bronze to the ACT.

In the boys playoffs, Queensland defeated Victoria 2-1 to give Queensland the gold medal, New South Wales the silver and Victoria the bronze.

Geography

An inspection of the trophies indicates that the Under 12 football tournament has been a two-horse race for top spot between New South Wales and Queensland since the Boys competition started in 1985 and the Girls in 1990, with South Australia and Victoria only edging them out on a handful of occasions. The strength of NSW is understandable given its population of 6.6 million, the long history of football in the state and the relative concentration of its population in metropolitan areas. At the Under 13 National football championships it fielded 4 teams. The success of Queensland, with a much smaller population of 3.6 million, spread over a larger number of centres indicates that other factors are contributing to its success in this area. The rigour of the selection process used in Queensland to form its state teams is probably an important factor. This year, there were 900 triallists for the Girls team, and aspiring players had to pass through three levels of selection to gain a place in the state team. The geographical spread of players (only 3 came from metropolitan Brisbane) means the selection process is less likely to be biased as triallists will generally be unfamiliar to selectors.

Victoria, with a population of 4.8 million, with 3.5 million concentrated in Melbourne would be expected to perform much better, but participation rates in football are lower than in other areas, possibly due to the dominance of AFL. This effect seems to spill over to girls, despite the lack of direct competition from AFL. This code competition probably affects South Australia as well. With a population of 1.5 million highly concentrated in Adelaide, it should be well placed to succeed in football, but isolation probably reduces the amount of high-level competition available to junior players.

The isolation of Tasmania and Western Australia and the high travel costs mean that they are not regular participants in the PSSA football competitions, but WA has a well developed junior football program with a focus on development rather than results, and their teams have provided more than the expected number of members of National junior squad members, as well as Australia’s most outstanding female player, Lisa de Vanna.

Both the Northern Territory and the ACT are regular participants and both perform much the better than would be expected from their populations. The ACT has a small population of 320,000 but has a very high participation rate in football: it is the most popular recreation activity for adults after walking and there are over 12,000 registered junior players, with a high proportion of girls. With all the population contained in a small region, teams have the opportunity to train together for long periods of time and the presence of the Australian Institute of Sport in the ACT improves the quality of coaching. A wealthy population is able to meet the substantial costs of participation in elite sport, and its central location with respect to Australia’s population distribution means that travel costs are minimized.

By contrast, the Northern Territory faces considerable obstacles. The population of 200,000 is spread over thousands of kilometers with 120,000 in Darwin, which is closer to Singapore than Sydney and 30,000 in Alice Springs. The selected teams in 2010 met for the first time at the airport and for their first game had had to get up at 4am. A substantial Defence presence in the Northern Territory brings a regular influx of new families and skills, but participation by the substantial Aboriginal population, in which football is growing in popularity, is limited by the high travel costs. In spite of these factors, the performance of Northern Territory teams improved considerably in 2010 and all the participants would have gained in confidence through participation.

Teams from Tasmania and the Territories are allowed to field players 6 months older than in the larger states, but the enormous variation in physical development of boys and girls at this age means that this does not often confer much advantage. An increased level of financial support would be more effective in allowing the smaller States and Territories to field more competitive teams.