Tonights program is about the women’s football pathway in
We speak to Tom Sermani, Coach of the Matilda's. Who better to know about this subject?
The Matilda's are blazing a bright trail for Australian Football, they have just completed a terrific World Cup campaign and are the current Asian Cup Champions. Women's Football is growing at the rapid rate across Australia, and in no small measure due to the success the W League and the Matilda's.
The growth rate of women's football in the ACT is substantial.
The Coach of the Matilda's is a very significant person in the development of Women's Football. The development pathways must work if we are to have the best of our female players making it through to the highest levels. Tom Sermani talks about the women's development pathway and in particular, where it must grow to if all our best young players have an opportunity to be as good as they can.
This is a very timely interview and from exactly the right person. Tom Sermani likes the way the women's game is being developed in the ACT. That's a good start.
The requirement for community based clubs to be involved in the development pathway is something he makes mention of, and in particular, he makes special mention of Woden Valley FC and Belconnen United FC. Of course there are a couple of other clubs hot on their heels – new PL arrival Gunghalin United FC , the solid Western Creek and Belwest clubs come to mind.
The interview is timely from another angle. We have just completed the FFA National Junior Championships for the Girls Under 14 and Under 15. The Under 13 Girls were conducted earlier in 2011. The importance of the NJC at these ages groups is made very clear by Sermani – its all about the development pathway. So be in no doubt - we in the ACT should be taking it very seriously. Listen to what he has to say.
The question that follows for us here in the ACT region is this – are we doing all that is required to identify and develop our players at age, in preparation for these girls age championships?
If we are not, and there is reason to think we are not at this point in time, we place our young players at a significant point of disadvantage. Why? Well, Tom Sermani makes a simple but obvious point, not often mentioned in discussions – the national selectors are looking at these age groups to identify potential Under 17 World Cup players. The identification and planning and development starts well below 17 years of age.
So, if we are doing less than we should or could for the 13 / 14 / 15 girls age groups, leading to the NJC each year, then we are under-preparing our young players and making them less identifiable as talented players going forward. Which is a bit troubling, since parents pay for the cost of development training and attendance at the NJC. Parents want to be assured that what they are spending their scarce disposable income on, is value for money - they want their children to be as well prepared as possible. Football development is a discretionary expenditure in families - is the program good enough, are the coaches good enough, will the program enable their child to improve, will the players get enough of the right sort of training and games to be competitive, will they be provided with a detailed periodised program before the commencement of the development program, are the facilties up to standard and so on.
To do better, requires more time with players and coaches and greater resources than are expended at this time. But you can't transfer all costs to parents.
Given the rapid expansion of the women's game in the ACT, the issue is now a critical one. The first critical section of the pathway is for Capital Football to ensure the Under13/14/15 age group talent is identified and developed for the NJC, playing for a Club at the appropriate level during the normal season, and continuing their training in the off season (perhaps including Futsal for the Boomernags FS?).
Every young player in these age groups (13/14/15) who has been to an NJC and selected to a National squad level (where / when they pick a national age team) or an All Star selection at age at the NJC, surely must warrant an ACTAS training agreement. My understanding is that this is not true at this time. It must happen. What is the point of being selected by the technical assessment team at the NJC, only to find that judgement is ignored at the NTC level? The process must work at Capital Football and then going forward , in our case, to ACTAS. Capital Football has considerable influence over both of these elements in the development process - and so it should! This is a Capital Football leadership issue.
Each member federation tackles all this develop in their fashion and in the context of the FFA national curriculum and development plans. Tom Sermani is experiecned enough to know that the community level development processes, which constitute those early techncial interventions in a player's development, together with strong State Premier League competitions, will accelerate development and help retain and sustain players. As they say - everything counts!
Sermani also makes good sense on the role and composition of the NTC (ie ACTAS here in the ACT). Parking senior Canberra United and National level players is a thing of the past. The NTC is for the development of young players.
Importantly, their will be an Women's NTC Challenge, just as there is for Men. Age limits will apply, so there is even greater incentive to tidy up the roster at the NTCs.
This raises an interesting point here in the ACT. The Coach of Canberra United is also the Coach of the ACTAS womens program. It is an arrangement that has its attractions. While ACTAS continues to be a football parking area for National players and more recently W league players for Canberra United, it seemed to make good sense. However, if, as Sermani indicates, the NTC really is for the development of young players (because there are now better options for W League and National players), then the NTC (ie ACTAS) and Canberra United must be seen as completely separate football activites - which they are! That is only to the good of Womens football in the ACT region.
Tom Sermani is pleasure to talk to and he sees the development of the women's game more clearly than anyone I have heard speak on it. Better than most – he illustrates the essential difference between a “coach” and a “trainer” of football players. Informed and pragmatic – a powerful combination in a coach. He gets results at the National / International level and is very conscious of the subtle differences in the use of that word "develop" as the players moves forward to the elite level.
I think you will enjoy what Tom Sermani has to say.
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U10 Skillaroo squad in ACT is ONLY for boys - where are the 12 girls who could be trained.
ReplyDeleteWe have a W-League team so prepare the girls from 10 first?
Or aren't the ACT Coaching Staff thinking about what they actually have to offer our kids?
Good point. I wondered about that myself. Its a question. I have that noted for the Technical Director Capital Football when he gives the NPL that promised second interview.
ReplyDeleteI like the new TD from what I see. I think he is a breath of fresh air after a few stale years before him. However what he has achieved to date is only the start, a good start nonetheless. Have a look at what NthnNSW have done with their high performance programs and you'll see the future for CF if we are brave enough to embrace what they are doing.
ReplyDeleteWhat they are doing for the U10 Boys squad is fantastic, ie. the quality training, the games, the publicity.
ReplyDeleteBut they need to give the same treatment to all the other boys and girls squads. That is, quality coaching, games, publicity etc.
This is not the only squad that matters. But it doesn't look like from the outside that the other squads are getting the same attention.
They also need to cater for the age groups that seem to have been left out (eg. why are there no U11 squads?)