Penalties and Penalty Shootouts - What Do You Really Know About It Anyway!

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm across the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 31 May 2011 at 7:00PM.

Picture of Terry's infamous effort in 2008 - its a little known fact that Terry is a proud graduate of the "Woden Valley FC Finishing School"! All enquiries to former WVFC President Alan Hinde or current PL Co-ordinator Mike Swan. Primary pre-requisite is an ability to demonstrate that you are able to consistently miss the goal at close range (shots which clear the cross bar by a considerable hieght are particularly well regarded by the school staff).

And it looks like this when the ball is in the back of the net from a penalty shot. All three WVFC players (Lachie, Alex- the goalscorer  and Simon) have been asked to attend the WV Finishing School Board of Studies before training today - Alex for failing to put the ball over the bar and the other two for looking like it was an acceptable outcome. Terry has gone ballistic on Twitter! They could loose their place, but Vice Chancellor Hind declared "so what we've got any number of suitable applicants" True!

This program is about "penalties" and "penalty shootouts". Seems to be a lot of them lately. Do they really influence the game as a whole? They sure influence individual matches.

It was Men's Premier League match last week, which ended in a score draw courtesy of two penalties, which started this subject rolling with some pretty interesting discussion about all aspects of penalties.

None more interesting than "did penalties really make a difference to the game"? It is hard to take the big picture view when its your team on the receiving end of the penalty award for a foul inside the penalty box. But there were other questions "are there patterns to how a player will take a penalty kick and a goalkeeper make a save, and does it change depending on who is in which position"?

But there he was - a member of the opposing team walking up to place the ball while our goalkeeper was moving around the goal line like a demented giraffe. There was no shortage of advice from the sideline, though how the referee would comply defied analysis and gravity. It didn't look good.

This discussion caused one wag, who by now was trying to show a renewed interest in the discussion that had come to a crashing stop with the award of the penalty, to remark "did we do any homework on this bloke that's taking the kick"? Much laughter followed as another stalwart declared - "we are flat out getting the water bottles filled and the nets up". Another said "he'll kick to the left" - we looked at him with some surprise and renewed respect, after all he sounded like he had given it some thought - "do you know him?", "no, but he's a lefty and they always go to the left", followed by another who pointed out that this player was "right footed you goose and they always kick to their left". So that cleared up, we watched and waited.

As it happens, our GK went to the right and got a foot to the ball, while the penalty taker had the cheek to kick straight down the centre, only to see it deflect into the back of the net. The penalty taker had the hide to claim victory. After all, our GK had nearly kept it out. But there is no near enough in penalty shots.

And that started the discussion off again - penalty shots and penalty shoot outs - can you prepare for them? The final whistle went, a draw the result and everyone tried to make everyone else feel good by saying that we had taken a point away from the game and not really lost. Didn't feel like that though! Who would be a goalkeeper?

As I drove home I recalled that excellent book "Why England Lose and Other Curious Phenomena Explained" by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski. There was a section in it on "penalties" and its a good one, so I would conclude the day with a pseudo academic wander through the mysteries of penalties. Better than thinking about those lost two points. The book did not disappoint - its all there! If only I had recalled all this information at the game. I'd have won the debate, but alas, not the game!

So that's what we are going to concentrate on this week - all things around penalties - with an extract from the book read by Colin Mace. Its just amazing. I think you will like this program. So sit back, cup of tea to hand or a restorative drink, close the door, put up the do not disturb sign up and listen carefully. There is always a chance you will miss the ball!


The full Manchester United v Chelsea Penalty Shootout for the 2008 Champions League trophy, referred to in this program can be viewed at  http://youtu.be/8Ab584AaQs8 
Looks a bit different when you know a little more about what went on behind the scenes.

A review of this book is as follows:

At last, football has its answer to Freakonomics, The Tipping Point and The Undercover Economist. "Why do England lose?" "Why do Newcastle United always buy the wrong players?" "How could Nottingham Forest go from winning the European Cup to the depths of League One?" "Penalties - what are they good for?" These are questions every football fan has asked. Why England Lose answers them. It brings the techniques of bestselling books such as Freakonomics and The Undercover Economist to bear on our national sport. Written with an economist's brain and a football writer's skill, it applies high-powered analytical tools to everyday football topics. Why England Lose isn't in the first place about money. It's about looking at data in new ways. It's about revealing counterintuitive truths about football. It explains all manner of things about the game which newspapers just can't see. It all adds up to a new way of looking at football, beyond cliches about "The Magic of the FA Cup", "England's Shock Defeat" and "Newcastle's New South American Star". No training in economics is needed to read Why England Lose. But the reader will come out of it with a better understanding not just of football, but of how economists think and what they know.

Publisher: HarperSport (6 Aug 2009)
ISBN-10: 0007301111
ISBN-13: 978-0007301119

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Soccer Talent Requires Three Key Ingredients – Ignition, Meaningful Practice and Excellent Coaching.

Sourced from http://www.footy4kids.co.uk/

I'm sure you've often heard expressions like: "She's a natural striker" or "he's a great defender, just like his dad. It must be in his genes".

I'm not going to delve too deeply into the old and rather tired "nature v nurture" debate here, (if you want to check it out, a Google search will reveal hundreds of articles on the subject), I'm just going to say that children are NOT born with the ability to play soccer, any more than they are born with the ability to play the violin or run 100m in less than 10 seconds.

Genes can give a child red hair or blue eyes but to suggest children can be born with a "triple stepover" gene is a little silly, to say the least.

But while genetics are not the deciding factor in whether a child excels at soccer (or anything else) it is a fact that some boys and girls are born with certain advantages.

Children who are genetically predisposed to have a strong body, powerful lungs, etc., and have parents prepared to make the sacrifices necessary to regularly take their children to soccer practice have a head start in the race to be a soccer star. And you will see plenty of them at coaching sessions for pre-schoolers and kindergarten kids.

But genetic advantages and parenting style is not the end of the story. Far from it.

While good genes can help two and three year olds keep a step ahead of their peers, genetics plays a very minor role in producing talented young soccer players.

Instead, soccer talent requires three key ingredients – ignition, meaningful practice and excellent coaching. [1]

Ignition

Ignition is the spark that makes a child want to excel at soccer. It could be a film (such as Bend It Like Beckham), the desire to please a parent, an internal drive to be the best or the realisation that becoming good at soccer might lead to a desirable lifestyle. It could also be the influence of a role model. Someone like you, perhaps.


Meaningful practice

Understanding the importance of practice for young players requires an understanding of how children learn motor skills.

All motor skills – from walking to heading the ball into the back of the net – are generated by electrical impulses that originate in the neural pathways in the brain.

Over time, and with lots of meaningful practice, a substance called myelin insulates these pathways, stopping the electrical impulses from leaking and thereby allowing a young soccer player to perform the relevant skill or technique more quickly and accurately.[2]

Put simply, a child with myelin-wrapped soccer pathways plays the game "instinctively" and well. She's got broadband. On the other hand, a child without myelin-wrapped soccer pathways is still struggling to get by on dial up.


Myelin can be produced at any age but the prime age for myelin formation is between four and 12, an age range that can be properly be called The Golden Age for children who are learning to play soccer.

Technical skills learned during this period can be quickly and firmly embedded, i.e. wrapped with myelin.
The relevance of this to youth soccer coaching is clear: time spent teaching tactics to young players is not being spent wisely. At the youngest ages, all a coach's energy should be focused on proper technical training, or myelin building. [3]


Coaches should also note that it's much easier to wrap a soccer-specific pathway in myelin than unwrap it. That's why bad habits are so difficult to break and why you should teach correct technique from day one.


But it is not sufficient to simply put in lots of hours practising skills and techniques. Even 10,000 hours of practice is not enough.[4]
Rapid myelin growth occurs when children practise their soccer skills in a challenging – even uncomfortable – environment.


This is best achieved by playing a variety of small-sided games (SSGs) instead of using drills. Soccer-like games hone technique, expose faults and force children to find solutions to problems.
Futsal, 4v4 and five-a-side move young players outside their comfort zone, encourage risk taking, experimentation and are thus much better for skill acquisition than traditional drills or playing eleven-a-side on vast, uninspiring pitches.

Excellent coaching


The final – and most important prerequisite for producing talented young soccer players – is excellent coaching.

The good news is that excellent coaches are not necessarily the most qualified.
They don't even have to be particularly knowledgeable. Most talented players didn't have coaches with outstanding win/loss ratios or coaching degrees when they were five, six or even 12 years old.

But their coaches did possess a set of recognisable characteristics:

Excellent coaches are a source of ignition. They inspire their players, not just because they are kind and patient but also because they have high standards. One of the best youth coaches I ever met insisted his players turn up 10 minutes early for practice, always wore spotless boots [cleats] and they maintained eye contact with him when he was speaking. His players loved him.

Excellent coaches facilitate meaningful practice. They don't routinely give their players the answers, their players play a lot of SSGs and they know how to think for themselves.


Excellent coaches show their players how to perform a skill but they will leave it up to them to find out how to actually use it. And you will never, ever hear an excellent coach shouting "SHOOT!" or "PASS!" or anything like that during a match. They are more likely to be reading a newspaper.

Excellent coaches don't over-praise success. They know that doing that discourages young players from taking risks – in case they fail – and children who don't take risks learn very slowly, if at all.

Finally, excellent coaches understand why William Butler Yeats – an Irish poet and Nobel prize winner – said:

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."




References


[1] [3] D Coyle, The Talent Code, Random House, 2009
[2] Z Jonker, Cracking the Code, q.v. CMYSA, April 15, 2011
[4] Malcolm Gladwell devotes a section of his book Outliers to the notion that to become world class at anything requires 10,000 hours of practice.

Poor Behaviour Around Junior Football by Parents is a World Wide Problem For the World Game

This program will be broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network, Tuesday, 24 May 2011 at 7:00pm.

In this program we continue with the problem of unacceptable behaviour by parents and coaches toward junior players and referees.

We have previously listend to the English FA's "Respect" campaign media on this subject. They take it very seriously and so they should.

In Australia, the FFA has made no real effort to confront these issues on a National and federation member level. That is not to say each State / Territory is not concerned for these matters, they are, but we have no unified national approach. It is a serious ommission on the part of the FFA.

In this program, we listen to media produced by that innovative US State football orgainsation Georgia Soccer, titled "Attitudes". Its first rate.

Here is the Georgia Soccer Mission:

“Georgia Soccer provides ethical leadership and fair standards to support development and growth of soccer as a life-long sport for all who love the Game.”


Georgia Soccer describes itself this way:

Georgia Soccer is the authorized state youth and adult association for Georgia within the United States Adult Soccer Association, United States Youth Soccer Association, and through them is part of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). Also, Georgia Soccer serves as the official National State Association of USSF making it responsible to act on behalf of USSF and provide licensing courses for coaches and certification courses for referees.



In turn, the United States Soccer Federation is the recognized national soccer association within the Federation International de Football Association (FIFA), the worldwide governing body for soccer. Essentially, we serve affiliated member organizations throughout Georgia in both program and administrative support activities.

All of our affiliates organize and operate their own programs. Our assistance primarily helps strengthen their ability to provide good, well-rounded soccer experience for their membership. Most importantly, our youth & adult soccer affiliates benefit most by sharing their experiences and knowledge with each other.


If want to know more about Georgia Soccer go to http://www.georgiasoccer.org/default.aspx

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Why They Stop

Sourced from http://www.usyouthsoccer.org/news/story.asp?story_id=3912
By Vince Ganzberg, Director of Education for Indiana Youth Soccer, proud member of US Youth Soccer

"Mom and Dad, I don't want to play anymore!"

After investing the time and money into any sport, this is the last thing a parent wants to hear, but it happens.
Frequently.

Children quitting organized sports occurs more often than one might think. Research has shown that approximately 70-75% of children will quit playing a sport by the age of 14. Why do they want to stop?

To answer that question let's look at why they start or why parents put their children into a sport in the first place.
1. Competence (learning and improving)
2. Affiliation (Being a part of something like a team or a club)
3. Fitness (agility, balance, coordination, and physical health)
4. Fun (This is the overwhelming reason why children play sports)

Notice that "winning" is not one of the reasons.

When children leave a game, they want to know two things: 1) When do we play again? 2) Where is the snack? Children are not as concerned about winning as adults may think. Children all want to compete, but they each have their own interpretation of competitiveness. For most, if one team is red and the other is blue then "game on." Children strive to do their best when they step into "competition." They also want competitive matches. Remember when you were a child playing in the backyard and the game was too lopsided? What did you do? I remember stopping those games to start a new one with different teams or balance the game out. I think many of us forget what emotions we went through growing up as a child and how we viewed competition.

Let's get into why they stop. Research says children stop playing sports for a variety of reasons. Six of the seven primary reasons are "ADULT CONTROLLED" behaviors. Can you guess which one isn't?

• Lack of Playing Time
• Overemphasis on Winning
• Other Activities are more interesting
• Lack of Fun
• Coaching/Adult Behaviors
• Dissatisfaction with Performance
• Lack of Social Support

If you guessed "Other activities are more interesting" then you are correct! Give yourself a pat on the back. There are times when a child just finds something new that they really like. The rest of the reasons are adult controlled behaviors. When adult controlled behaviors are forcing children out of a sport, adults are putting themselves before the needs and development of children.

Lack of Playing Time

This is an adult controlled behavior due to the coaches and parents wanting to "win" the game. Do players want to win? Absolutely! They all strive to do their very best to win. Research has also shown that children today would rather play than sit the bench for a winning team. Allow your players to play in the game for their own sake. As a coach you need to see their "soul" on the field and allow them to get into the game so they can get better. Not putting children into a game is like not allowing them to take a test in school. There is nothing wrong with having some players earning more time, but all players should be given a minimum time to play.

Overemphasis on Winning

"Winning isn't everything, it is the only thing". That is the famous Vince Lombardi quote which was also misquoted. He actually stated "The will to win isn't anything, it is the only thing". So many coaches feel as though their whole self-worth is out there on the field, and if they don't win as coaches, then "they" not the children are a failure.
The same goes for adults on the sidelines. A recently statistic showed that 25% of coaches quit due to adult expectations with regard to outcome. The late Bill Walsh stated that "Twenty percent of every game is by chance." In the 1980 winter Olympics, the Russian hockey team would have probably beaten us 9 out of 10 times but that day, it was America's day to win.

As a coach or parent, you can't control the outcome. If it is the other team's day, it's simply their day! Only two teams need to win in our country, and those are our Men's and Women's national teams. Soccer is a team sport that is "player" driven - once the ball starts rolling, there is nothing people outside the lines can do. Give them the game, and let them determine the outcome!

Lack of Fun

Children view sports differently than adults. Most children, if not all, start playing a sport because it looks fun. There is a saying "Get them playing-keep them playing." Get their interest and then maintain it.

There is also a saying that "Drills destroy skills." No lines, laps or lectures. Soccer is a free flowing game where the players make decisions and decide the outcome. Instead, use training sessions that put players in an environment where they can make decisions and maximize touches on the ball.

As Director of Education traveling around the state, I am always surprised at how many coaches use the age-old practice plan starting with "laps." Coaches and adults need to know that endurance training is only effective at 12 to 18 months after PHV (Peak Height Velocity), which is about 13 years, 6 months for boys and 11 years, 6 months for girls. For the younger ages (6-10 years of age), you can work on their fitness (not just endurance) with the ball, rather than running laps.
"Teach don't talk." Our children live in a very busy world today. As a result, the ability for them to listen to coach talk has declined. Teach them in training, but make your points short and sweet. Also, include them in the process of learning by asking them questions on the topic you have for that training session.

Finally, let them play! "Over the past two decades, children have lost twelve hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play outdoor activities. The amount of time children spend in organized sports has doubled, and the number of minutes children devote to passive spectator leisure, not counting television but including sports viewing has increased fivefold from thirty minutes to over three hours," (Elkind, 1).

It is a different world we live in now. As a coach, you can give them some of that "free time" back by allowing them to play as soon as they arrive. I observed a club who does this, and their players are begging their parents to get them to training early because they know they get to play the game at the beginning. The game is the best teacher; so as a coach, allow them to play and express themselves and to have FUN!

Coaching/Adult Behaviors

For some reason, some adults and coaches transform from Winnie the Pooh to a grizzly bear when a game rolls around. Everything from yelling at officials' bad calls to conversing with parents from the other team is widely seen throughout youth sports. Remember this - without referees, there is no game!

Put yourself in someone else's shoes. Imagine that your child (who is a new referee) is getting verbally abused by adults because a hand ball was not called during a U6 match? As a parent, you have taught your children to be respectful of their elders and to give their very best on the field. Verbal abuse of the officials on the field leads to referee loss. Did you know that nearly 75% of the referees in Indiana are under the age of 16? We must provide a tolerant, respectful, safe environment for these referees to use as a training ground, and it starts with each and every one of us. It takes a village to raise a child, whether they are players or referees.

Be a role model for your child. Try to view a game like a "grandparent." They just want to go and see their grandchild be happy. Let's take a lesson from this. They have been there, done that. Experience is a great teacher. As a parent you want to see a child's "soul" when they are out on the field and not just their face. Kids can only play freely when we, as adults, allow them to control their own destiny.

The numbers don't lie, only a small percentage of players will go on to play in college, and even fewer than that will play at the professional level. Refer back to the reason why you enrolled your child in a sport in the first place. I am sure for the majority of you; it was for one the four reasons at the beginning of this article – competence, affiliation, fitness or fun. Please remember that your child is not you! Your childhood is over - give your kids the game.

Dissatisfaction with Performance

Stay away from "PGA" or Post Game Analysis in the minivan/SUV after the match. Coaches, stay away from the "PGA" closing statements after a tough loss. Children remember this, and feedback isn't always what they want to hear. Children know when they make a mistake in a match. Repeating it again verbally isn't the answer. Try to shift gears and turn a negative into a positive. Let it go, and make sure that they know you still love them no matter how many mistakes they make. There is a reason why the X Games are popular with children. The most prevalent is that they can determine their own outcome, be creative, and make mistakes, without anyone analyzing their performance.

Lack of Social Support

There is "tough" love and there is "TOUGH" love. Most athletes that make it to the next level mention their parents gave them "tough" love but were supportive of them every step of the way.

This actually ties in with dissatisfaction of performance. Be there for your kids through the tough times and the good. It is easy to be supportive of them after a victory, a game winning goal or an important save. Remind your children that tough times don't usually last, but tough people do. When children feel abandoned by their parents/coaches that is when they often go to something else. Sometimes, that something else isn't a positive activity.

We all can help create a better environment to make sure that children begin playing and keep playing, staying active, keeping healthy, and making them lifelong participants in athletics.

Have Fun!

Reference:

Elkind, David, Ph.D. 2007. ""The Power Of Play: how spontaneous, imaginative activities lead to happier, healthier children"". Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.

The Equal Playing Time Issue - When Words and Deeds Don't Match - Young Players Suffer and for What?

 Sourced from  www.footyforkids.co.uk

The equal playing time debate


According to Colleen Hacker, NSCAA National Academy staff coach and professor of sports psychology at Pacific Lutheran University, children play soccer:

 

• To have fun.
• To be with friends.
• To experience the excitement of competition.
• To enhance their physical fitness.
• To demonstrate their competence

 Sadly, however, about 75% of children who play soccer stop playing the game before they get to the age of 13.

 

A recent study found the top five reasons for this high drop out rate were:

 

1. Lack of playing time.

2. Overemphasis on winning.

3. Other activities are more interesting.

4. Lack of fun.

5. Coaching/adult behaviors [1].

 

There's nothing we can do about reason 3 but we can do something about all the rest, especially the number 1 reason why children stop playing: lack of playing time. In fact, if we make sure all our players get a fair amount of playing time, we will go a long way to removing reasons 2, 4 and 5 too.

 

Logically, there is no good reason to keep a child on the bench for longer than absolutely necessary. Children learn new skills and practise what they've learned in training sessions on the pitch. They won't learn anything sitting on the bench, except that their coach obviously thinks they aren't good enough to play for the team.
 

As Jim Thompson, executive director for the Positive Coaching Alliance says:

 
"Kids love to play. They don't like to sit on the bench. Moreover, most of the benefits of playing a sport are tied to competing in games. Kids who sit benefit less from sports than kids who play. I don't see how anyone can argue with this."

 
So why do some coaches persist in playing their "best" players all the time and ignoring the needs of their new or not-so-skilled players?

 
There is only one answer: they want to win matches so much that they dare not take a risk with a player who might make a mistake and cost the team a goal.

 
When I put this to "coach A" – an U10s coach who unashamedly picks teams to win matches – he defended his policy by saying that if he gave more playing time to his weaker players his team would lose matches they could have won. And if that happened he would be in danger of losing his best players – they would move to a team that did play to win every week.

But even if that is true (and I'm not sure it is) what does it matter? A team that puts player development ahead of results will certainly attract more children and, if the coach is good at his job, he will develop them into proficient players.

Coach A also said that part of his job was to help his players understand that the team is "bigger" than the individual and the interests of the team should always take precedence.

He followed that by saying his players had to earn the right to make the starting line-up, it wasn't going to be given to them, but if his team was winning easily he would give his subs a few minutes at the end of the game "to prove themselves".

 

At this point I took a deep breath. For a start, nine year olds need "meaningful minutes" on the pitch, not five minutes at the end of a game that is already won. And children earn the right to play by coming to training sessions and trying their best, not by being the most talented.
 

Effort, for a young child, equals success and to deny a hard-working child the chance to play in a match with their friends seems to me to be heartless in the extreme.

It is also counter productive. Eventually the bench warmers will quit and only the "stars" will be left. What if one or two of them decide to leave with their benched friends or a couple of players pick up injuries?

 

Where will the team be then?

 

And rather than teach his players that the team is more important than the individual, this coach would be better making sure his players know that he values effort over achievement and every player, no matter what their level of expertise, are important to him and the team.

 

As players get older or move up to a higher level of competition, it may be acceptable to give skilled players more playing time than the less skilled. But even if 12 or 13 year olds don't get equal playing time any more, the allocation of playing time still has to be fair.

 

Giving the same players five or six minutes at the end of a match is not sufficient. Playing time needs to be meaningful. When the subs go on, the game needs to be in the balance, the result still uncertain.

 

Whatever your policy is on playing time, it needs to be communicated effectively and in a timely manner. So before the season begins make sure your players and parents know how you will decide who is in the starting line-up and how you will manage your substitutions.

 

Whether you coach kindergarten soccer, rec, travel, college, high school, academy, mini soccer or eleven-a-side on Saturday mornings please remember one thing: your players want to play, not sit on the bench.
 

So give them – all of them – fair, meaningful playing time.

 

 

 

 

 

Parent and Coach Behaviour In Junior Football - Always a Problem

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday, 17 May 2011 at 7:00PM.

The season has bearly commenced and a full compliment of "Football fools" are out of hibernation and prowling the sidelines of junior / youth Football.

Young referees are the easy target for these cowardly, ignorant and obnoxious "bullies". They proclaim their stupidity without restraint or consideration for the damage and hurt they do to these young referees. Its no wonder that we loose so many of these referees and then see many games at all levels of the game without a referee.

These same people do more to ruin a good morning or afternoon's Football than a cyclone. Clubs seldom to grips with them, its not easy, but if you asked officials, they could probably draw up a pretty good list of names. But these bullies need to be stopped in their tracks and given the opportunity to moderate their behaviour or be banned from Football.

The really troubling aspect of acceptable behaviour on the sidelines in junior football is that it comes from either the Coach or a Parent. Rarely do you see a casual football spectator turn up at a junior game, for the express purpose of venting their misreable unfulfiled football ambitions on an unsuspecting group of young players. This is usually the preserve of a team coach or a parent.

Their is nothing more disgusting in Football than the spectacle of a parent ranting at the Referee, or assuming the role of coach and bellowing inane and often, devestatingly offensive and hurtful remarks to their child or other young players. And these fools don;t stop after the game has ended - you can bet that their is a forensic game debreif in the car going home. Who would want a parent like that?

In this program, we take a look at this nost distasteful aspect of junior football. Anything you can do at your Club to encourage parents and coaches who get out of control on match day, is something worth doing for the children. No one should have to endure some of the rubbish that passes for adult support of Football from the sideline at the game. And make sure you go upt o the young referee and say well done.

 

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NPL and CEO Capital Football Discuss Some Football Issues - Part 2

This program is broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), across the Australian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday at 7:00PM.

The Mens and Womens Premier League competitions are underway.

In the Womens PL its Belconnen United, Woden Valley FC  and Western Creek that have jumped out to an early lead. Woden Valley has made a particularly impressive start with wins across all grades in the last two rounds, including undefeated records after five rounds for the PL Reserves and PL18s. They are very closely followed by Belconnen United. The two powerhouses in Womens PL football at this time.

The Mens Premier League has completed two rounds and already there are alarm bells ringing. CFC are dominant, although Canberra City came as close as anyone has in 2011 with a 4-2 scoreline against them. Woden Valley FC has been triumphant in all four grades in the first two rounds, a remarkable achievement so early in the season. Cooma has had a very disappointing start by their high standards. Olympic's very impressive young roster is playing fine football and are a serious problme for every club.

But the alarm bells that are ringing loud and long, signal trouble for two PL clubs. Goulburn Strikers are doing it tough and we covered that story last week. Nevertheless, they are contesting every grade, just as they said they would and got their first win in PL18 over Monaro.

Monaro Panthers are in real trouble and it's difficult to know how they got themselves into this position – their PL18 side is simply not to PL standard – by a considerable margin. What preparation did the club do in the off season to construct their team? I understand that they had to start the game against the Strikers with less than a full team. Advertisements now appear on the Capital Football website for players. This is in sharp contrast to the Monaro PL16 team which is very competitive.

It seems to me that the Panthers are more strife than the Strikers. Will Monaro be able to continue to field a PL18 team for the season, because if it unable to do so, will this bring the Clubs involvement in the PL to a premature end? I sincerely hope not – but it is a requirement of the licence to field teams in all grades.

The Strikers and the Panthers have serious deficiencies in their playing strengths. It is most unlikely that either club will be able to resolve these deficiencies for the remainder of 2011 season. The worst case scenario is that one or both find it impossible to continue to field a team in one of the required PL grades. The next worst case is that the losses become more pronounced, which in turn brings other in-season problems for a struggling club.

Each club poses different problems for Capital Football. If Capital Football intends to do something – best its done now and not later. The question is – how flexible will CF be in these matters – because we certainly don’t want to loose either club to the PL, but the weekly destruction of a team is of no value to the PL at any level.

Just how well informed is the Mens League Advisory Committee, what did they glean from any club debriefs they held at the end of the 2010 season, how much homework did they do in the off season and is this committee sufficiently able to manage the Premier League on a continuing basis?

The CF committee appointed to review and recommend PL licences, concluded its work in 2009, so there is not much point in looking back to their work for answers. Things have moved on, and things have changed as they do, which brings us back to the usefulness of the Mens League Advisory committee. And to whom is this advisory committee really accountable? All the other PL clubs? These early but serious stumbles by two of the new Clubs to the PL, together with other important football related club matters, that demonstrate just how important it now is to have the Mens and Womens Premier Leagues managed as a separate entity.

For now, the Strikers and Monaro seem to require some flexible and practical assistance. Looking for new players of the appropriate standard in the ACT is the least likely solution.

All this fits nicely into the continuing discussion the NPL had with the CEO CF.

We continue with Part 2 of this discussion. Remember it’s a discussion, not question and answer. We continue with what seems to be the Womens PL, ACTAS players availability and so on. But its more than that. This discussion goes in its way to the heart of football problems between clubs and CF – consultation or lack of it, competition rules that may or may not be helpful going forward, the rights of players to determine which PL club they wish to play for, how much should CF involve itself in the regulation of players participation in club football, the differing philosophies of the PL clubs, does the CF structure for communication (Club Pres / Regional reps / Standing Committees and so) really work and what is a reasonable level of consultation, how effective and acocuntable are the advisory committees and to whom, how often do these committees meet and with whom do they confer and report, why are Junior clubs limited to one Div 1 team ar age if they have more than one team at the appropriate standard at a time when we are trying to build capacity among talented players not restrict it, what is CF prepared to do to prevent the wholesale poaching of young teams by clubs, if clubs have responsibilities to ACTAS what responsibility does ACTAS have to Clubs (and in particular PL coaches), what happens to players post ACTAS, the impact of the national curriculum and development plan and the increasing roles that junior and PL clubs must play in this process and so on and so on.

You make up your own mind on these matters.

For myself, I think CF has a lot of hard work to do around the issues of communication and consultation with clubs. They seem to be too reactive and not proactive - the Strikers and Panthers Pl predicaments are cases in point. Then their are the Womens Pl issues and Junior clubs issues. I very much doubt the league standing committees have been as consultative and inclusive, as might have been best for the development of the game, and that’s heavy lead to carry in the saddlebags. It seems to me that the CF organisational structure is now not best placed to handle the increasing needs of a PL competition.

Its against all this that the CEO and the NPL speak. As ever, the NPL is pleased the CEO Heather Reid is prepared to talk of these and other matters.

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Goulburn Strikers FC Are Here To Stay!

This program was broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz) across the Australian Community Radio Network, on Tuesday, 3 May 2011 at 7:00PM.

This program is given to the Goulburn Strikers participation in the Capital Football Premier League.

It’s no secret that the Strikers have had a hard start to the 2011 season, with some big losses in the pre-season Federation Cup and the extra-ordinary misfortune of meeting CFC in the opening round of the 2011 competition, loosing all grades and amassing a total of 70 goals against themselves. It must have been a long drive back to Goulburn.

In fact, the Goulburn Strikers have been experiencing difficulties since the middle of the 2010 season, their first season in the Premier League, following a stellar start to the entry to the CF Premier League at the commencement of the 2010 Federation Cup. Who can forget their game against CFC in the Fed Cup final, the very team that handed out a such a hiding last weekend. But my guess is that CFC will hand out double digit defeats to a few PL teams this season and the Strikers are likely to find themselves in good company before the season is over. But that’s another story and doesn’t help the Strikers become more competitive in 2011.

Perhaps the troubling aspect of the Strikers First round in 2011 is that scope / magnitude of the defeats across all four PL grades. That got everyone’s attention among the other Premier League Clubs last Sunday. It wasn’t pretty. The trouble that beset the Strikers in the latter half of 2010, was more than any Club should endure and ravaged their playing rosters.

What will Capital Football do about this situation was the most frequent comment last Sunday on the sidelines and subsequently among many the Premier League Football community. This thought ran in close company with another – this is not good for the other Premier League clubs and surely the Strikers will not be able to sustain repeated severe losses across the grades. Premier League Club officials, supporters and players who had gone through tough times themselves at their Club in past seasons, had no doubt how hard the road would be in front of the Strikers.

There is a lot of goodwill for the Strikers among the Football community. And that brings the discussion and spotlight back on Capital Football.

This is a very sensitive matter and a substantial test for Capital Football going forward. How accommodating and flexible can Capital Football or will Capital Football be in this matter. How much wiggle room do the Strikers feel they have going forward with a season just begun? Its important to understand the Football environment in which the Goulburn Strikers exist and it’s not like any other I have encountered.

Easy to conclude that the Strikers should not be in the PL. And if that is your conclusion, I think you are wrong.

We must persevere with the strikers and by that I don’t mean go easy on them.

As the scores came in from Deakin on Sunday, some wise Club Football people began to think and communicate on the subject of how CF could help the Strikers remain in Premier League. One thought from a former Club President showed just how smart and pragmatic some of our Club people are: perhaps Capital Football could make the necessary adjustments to competition rules and licence provisions, and excuse them from the Premier League level and allow them to reorganise to play PL Pathways, PL18 and PL16 in 2011 and until they are ready to be competitive in the top level in Premier League. So simple and so pragmatic. But of course, this discussion was without the benefit of knowing how the Strikers might feel about things. Those speaking seem to all agreed that Capital Football should take the initiative and create circumstances that can keep the Strikers in the Premier League, without regard to competition rules – rules can be changed.

This discussion gave rise to an interesting point, one that is a sore point among the personnel of the two clubs in this football discussion – has Capital Football asked the other Premier League Clubs how they feel about the Strikers predicament? Consultation! Not likely was the view. Pity, I thought, because I don’t know of one club that wouldn’t want to help if they could. But how do they get into a discussion that also affects their Football future this season and into the future?

Consider the strategic implications for Capital Football implicit in the Goulburn Strikers continuation in the Capital Football Premier League. As the President, Tim McGrath, says – “Goulburn is the Campbelltown of Canberra.” I wonder why the STFA just doesn’t simply leave NSW and join Capital Football. Perhaps that’s something the CF Board could turn its mind too.

There are numerous strengths to the Strikers organisation and their regional representation (southern tablelands) is something that must be maintained through these early years. They sit across a wide player attachment area and give absolute priority to the development and promotion of the home grown player in a region that is poorly serviced by Football NSW. The Strikers are financially sound, have a robust and experienced committee, strong community support and sponsorship, and teams well coached. Their constitution specifically precludes payments to players, over the ordinary reimbursement of costs. All this and more does nothing to immediately make the 2011 playing roster more robust, but it does provide a precious base for future success. They are exactly the sort of community based club we want in the Premier League.

The Goulburn Strikers have endured the off season from hell. The drama around the departure of their coach and the subsequent departure of a number of senior players, seems to sit at the heart of the problems. It also included the closure of the club website. Very unpleasant stuff.

And then - only today I was told that the Goulburn (STFA) U15 Boys (it has been referred to as a “rep team of players from the region that would have played in the local competition) had moved to what I have been told is a Canberra based Premier League club for 2011. The President of Strikers confirmed that this is so, but thought it might be Queanbeyan, who also play in the CF competitions – but are no longer a PL club). As if it wasn’t hard enough for the Strikers! I hope these young players haven’t been poached and return to Strikers next year. No doubt they would have been an important influence on the Club’s PL16 playing roster for 2011 had they remained. Surely Capital Football (and the relevant Standing committees) understood the implications of this undertaking and if so, why did they agree to it? This is not the first time this sort of thing has happened to CF PL clubs and it’s a real shame that CF does nothing to discourage it from happening. Capital Football seem to be quick enough to make rules and pursue other far less important matters.

If you think you know what happened to the GS in the off season, I’ll bet you don’t, I don’t think the CEO CF did until CF met with the GS last week. If Capital Football (including the League Standing Committee) did comprehend the difficulties that the Goulburn Strikers were encountering in late 2010, why did they not intervene, consult with and provide guidance and/or assistance? Probably because they just didn’t join the dots.

Fortunately, the Goulburn Strikers have moved on, they are not looking for handouts, they are concentrating on retaining their Premier League licence at the end 2012. They are a PL Club that is sticking with the principles which underpin their Clubs foundation. But this is far from over for this Club and there must be something that can be done to assist that gives hope for this season and importantly, 2012.

We begin with an extract from a discussion I had with the CEO CF – just prior to a meeting CF had with the GS. Then it’s on to the Pres of GS, Tim McGrath. You’ll be impressed by this fellow. Take him at his word.

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