What Does It TakeTo Make The Talented Player Pathway Work In The ACT Region?

Tonight’s program begins on a high note. The young ACT Football and Futsalroo, Tom Rogic has won a place in the prestigious Nike Football Academy in the UK. He was one only eight players, from a world wide baseline of 75,000 aspiring young football players, to win a scholarship to train at the Nike Academy. The process that saw him selected from many in Australia, then go to the UK to compete among a highly select group of finalists – is call “the Chance”

Well, it certainly is that for the young Tom Rogic – 18 years of age and looking at the world of football froma very lofty height.

The Nike Academy will provide an unrivalled opportunity for Rogic to make himself known to the prestigious football clubs in Europe. All things being equal, good timing and a good deal more hard work, Tom Rogic is on his way.
Tom Rogic picture and story made front page news for Football in the Canberra Times - now you don't see that every day of the week in ACT Football!

I do not know the detail of Rogic’s football story. I have seen him play a few games over recent years in both football and futsal. I wish he was playing for my club. In researching this story I have spoken to some who reckon they do know his story, but mostly I think they do not. One person who definitely does know is his immediate past PL Coach at ANU – John Mitchell.
So we begin tonight’s program with a short discussion with John Mitchell, Tom Rogic’s Pl Coach for the last two years. John brings us up to date with young Rogic’s success and makes the very important point, that Rogic’s success can be traced back to his football education from the age of 11 to 14 years, where he developed the good football habits pioneered here by Ron Smith.
Then we follow with a fascinating interview I did with John Mitchell about his work with ANU and the ANU Under 20 Elite program. The NPL has broadcast some part of this interview before, but given Rogic’s success, the finalisation of the Ron Smith Review and the very recent appointment of a new TD at Cf – this interview has a lot to recommend it. Mitchell’s ANU U20 Elite program was a bold initiative at the time, one that made other PL clubs stand up and take notice and change. Mitchell’s plan was to do something about what he refers to, in talented footballer development terms as a “tragic vacant space” for those of our ACT talented players between the ages of 17 to 20 years of age.
In so many ways, John Mitchell got it right and in doing so, provided Tom Rogic with exactly the football diet he needed to assist in his desire to break into professional football. The interview speaks for itself and merits careful consideration, particularly as we enter a period that fair bristles with the prospect and necessity for positive change concerning the development of all our young players. If we do what we have always done, we will get what we have always got.
We have a new TD about to take his post at CF and a comprehensive “football operational” style review by Ron Smith that points squarely in the direction of “are you serious”! Many in the Football community are waiting to see how it will all unfold in 2011.

As they say, we live in interesting football times. And Australia is in the semis of the Asian Cup.
The time for change couldn’t be better. The extravagantly talented young Rogic and energetic football ideas people like John Mitchell, show that we can change our player development environment here in the ACT for the better, for all our players. As they say, “Game On”!

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ACT Player Tom Rogic Wins a Professional Contract at the Nike Academy in England

Sourced from http://au.fourfourtwo.com/News/194387,aussie-wins-nike-chance.aspx
Aidan Ormond Jan 23 2011 11:01

Sometimes dreams come true. It has for Tom Rogic. Front page news in the Canberra Times today.

Others know the Rogic story in detail, I do not. I've certainly seen him play Football and Futsal in recent years. I do know that the path he walked to get the opportunity now before him was the hard way to do it. I also know that many coaches would have contributed in their way, along the way. But none more so in the last two years than his former PL League Coach at ANU - John Mitchell.
 
I wonder - would this have been possible if Mitchell had not got motivated and  raise the ANU Under 20 Elite program? I prefer to think that Rogic's talent would have got him there anyway. You hope so.

The simple truth is that in 2009 particularly (and 2010) the ANU Under 20 Elite program provided Rogic with an unmatched opportunity to engage in high quality periodised training, like no other Club at the time in the ACT. John Mitchell raised the bar in the Premier League here in the ACT (outside the AIS and ACTAS) and many of the rest of the Clubs took the hint and have followed in their fashion.
 
Then their is Rogic's talent at Futsal, which got him to the Futsalroos. Strewth, can he play! That must have helped a lot.
 
The point I make is this - someone, somehow had to construct an opportunity for a young player outside the AIS, with no local A League Youth team to go to, to get a shot at professional football. I think John Mitchell and his ANU Under 20 Elite program was the essential input at the right time. There is a lesson here for those that conduct our development programs, if they look carefully. It was pleasing to see Mitchell referred to in the Canberra Time today.
 
There are a lot of clues in the ANU Under 20 Elite program (now defunct) for the way ahead with our talented young players - the best of the best at age!
 
Go back and listen to our interviews with John Mitchell on the NPL. Its all there!

The FourFourTwo article reads as follows:
ACT starlet Tom Rogic said he was stunned and elated after winning one of eight professional contracts at the Nike Academy in England announced in London on Saturday night.

At a function attended by former Arsenal and Barcelona star Giovanni van Bronkhurst, Rogic was the final name to be read out for the eight full-time contracts on offer.

“Words can’t describe it,” Rogic told au.fourfourtwo.com just moments after the announcement.

Interview With John Mitchell Part 2 - "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" and the ANU U20 Elite Program

This program will be broadcast on 2xxfm (98.3mhz), Tuesday 12 october 2010 at 7:00PM, across the Australian Community Radio Network.

In Part 2 of our latest series of interviews with John Mitchell, we continue to examine the "vacant space" in football development terms (and in fact in the ACT), which gave rise to the ANU Under 20 Elite Program in our Premier League. John speaks of his "Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse" which finished off the program in 2010. John is very candid, some of what he has to say will resonate with other clubs, some might become uncomfortable for a second or two, some will provoke debate or disagreement and just as often, give pause for reflection. This is a very local football story, a very personal story, but it says a lot about football beyond our regional boundaries.

John's idea about how to use the A League for Canberra funds, develop players in the 17-20 age group, compete at the A League Youth level and perhaps establish a solid case for an A league team in Canberra, is the best I have heard in the last year - in fact its the only coherent plan I have heard this year, that didn't sound like everything that had been said before and been rejected by the FFA. You make up your mind.


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John Mitchell Speaks on the ANU Under 20 Elite Program and the Way Ahead

John Mitchell decided he would do something about the lack of developmental opportunities of young Football players Under 20 years in the ACT: post ACTAS and those who had not been selected for the AIS, or not made the jump into professional football after the AIS, or had not gained selection in and A League Youth Team.

This cohort of young players roughly covers the ages from 17 to 20 years of age. It was (and still is for that matter) as John has described it, "a tragic vacant space" (in terms of talented player development).

Capital football has introduced some modest initiatives to fill this space - an Under 17 HPP Summer squad and the Mens Summer 20's competition. The latter has been woefully under-subscribed by Premier League Clubs in 2010 (only five teams in 2010 and two from one Club - WVFC), which seems to reinforce John's observations on the current developmental environment in the ACT in this age bracket. The SUmmer 20s was (in 2009 and is (2010) a first rate initiative by CAPital Football, but what do you do if the PL clubs just don;t support it. What does it say about PL CLub attitudes to youth player development. In my view, quite a lot and little of it praiseworthy!

It is this second echelon of players, the ones who did not make it through first time around, that so often conceals a rich vien of talent - if only they could continue to be developed. Without it, not much happens. Such a waste! John Mitchell attempted to redress this situation through the ANU PL club. For that he gets full marks! But it was as he says "slim pickings" and as it turned out, a very hard road to travel. But then, it wasn;t really "club football" as the rest of the PL Clubs would see it to be.

John makes it very clear what it really means to coach to develop, as opposed to coach to win in the Club Premier League environment. Nevertheless, he has had his wins and positively influenced others in Football.

The ANUFC have withdrawn from the Premier League and with it has gone the ANU Under 20 Elite Program (and John Mitchell - for now). A really good idea that lasted two years. Its not been an easy two years, beset with difficulties, that started in late 2009 and continued into 2010, perhaps a few too many than was reasonable to expect, given the nature of the program.

John talks candidly of his experiences, with his customary sense of innovation and far sightedness, illustrating a remarkably good solution for the development of players between 17 to 20 in the ACT and linking the desire for an A league team in Canberra. You see he hasn't really given up on youth development. Just a bit battered and bruised. If that gives his detractors comfort, it is an unworthy thought.

John Mitchell challenges you to think, but it is hard not to miss the frustration and weariness of a passionate Football Coach, who for now, has reached his limit of endurance.

So sit back, cup of tea to hand and listen to Part 1 of this fascinating interview.

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ANU FC Will Not Be Part of the Capital Football Premier League Next Season

Its never good news to hear that a Club has decided not to go on in Football. Much less to report or write about it.

In this case, ANU FC has advised players (and Capital Football) that it will not participate in the Capital Football Premier League at the conclusion of the 2010 season. ANU FC will of course continue in Football, just not in the Premier League competition.

Its very likely that ANU FC would have withdrawn two years ago, had it not been for an inspirational proposal from the John Mitchell (a former Technical Director of Capital Football), titled the "ANU Under 20 Elite Program", which set a new standard for Football participation by Clubs, introducing as he did, a twelve month periodised program for the players. It was a very positive contribution to the conduct of Premier League football in the ACT. John attempted to address the ever present gap for our talented players post ACTAS and without an A League Youth Team. A small number of players did well out of it and others got their chance and that's a lot more than would have happened if he had not made the effort at ANU FC.

The first season (2009) was a good one. Alas, it seems to have been a hard year in 2010 for the ANU FC Premier League PPL and PL teams.

The PL16 and PL18 teams are provided by Radford College, who are now left without a Premier League Club. Whether they continue with a PL club is in the first instance, a matter for the school to decide. But one thing is certain, they have put together good teams every year, a pleasure to watch and a credit to their school.

If you go back on the Nearpost Local Blog to the interviews we conducted with John Mitchell, which covered the "talented player" and the "ANU U20 Elite concept", you quickly realise just how much thought was behind this endeavour. He was right! But being right isn't enough. John and his colleagues worked hard for the players and it must be hard for them to call it a day. No one can doubt John Mitchell's committment to football. He'll be back!


The email that was sent to me (authored by an ANU FC official) summed it this way:
"...The Committee has made this decision following John Mitchell’s decision to stand down from the position of PL Coach and Technical Director. The PL Program in its current form was very much reliant upon John’s skill, experience and enthusiasm. John’s leadership of the program also allowed the club to access sponsorship which had previously been unavailable. In John’s absence the Committee does not believe it can provide the level of resources required to field a competitive PL team..."

There may be some who think that ANU FC can be quickly replaced by a couple of other teams in Canberra. I doubt it. These would be likely to be teams that did not pass muster when the PL review took place in order to award PL licences for 2010 and beyond. Why would you take them on? What's changed in their backyard since the commencement of this season? Not much is the most likely answer. No rush here is my view and perhaps we can get the PL competition up to three rounds!