Trust in Youth (WPL Times Article)

An interesting article featured in the Welsh Premier Times July 11:

Mike Smith, webmaster if the unofficial Bangor City website www.citizens-choice.co.uk, has come up with a novel idea to give youth players a chance in Welsh Premier League matches.

A few years ago the English Rugby Union, alarmed by the growing number of foreign players and stymied by EC Employment Law, introduced a ground breaking system. Designed to encourage Premier clubs to pick English qualified players it offered cash rewards for those who did just that, to the tune of £1 million in 2009, twice that amount a year later, with power to add over a further six years. The dozen or so clubs gain a share of this pot of gold if they average 14 English players out of 23 each match day across the season. Simple enough.

So how does this relate to Welsh domestic football?

There has to be a real concern of the paucity of young talent on show in Welsh football.  There are academies at WP clubs and youth structures up and down the pyramid, but what happens then? Especially to those Welsh Premier youngsters who have been identified from a young age, coached and developed?

Yes clubs might name two youth subs (amongst the seven permitted from August 2011) but few if any actually run on the field during the game. By and large the young lads get splinters - if they are there at all. They get fed up and drift away to lower league sides and can be lost to the game. They are unlikely to receive the same training and coaching but the cash - plus the lure of actually playing - can be very tempting.

So how can the RFU approach help?

The issues may be different, but the approach can be used to boost the number of youngsters playing in the Welsh Premier. In effect offer a reward to clubs who play youth team players, as starters or as substitutes.

As with other well intended schemes the devil can be in the detail, but it cannot be beyond the means of man to find a simple system to distribute say £6k in the first season amongst clubs who meet a certain level of minutes of match time. Over the 32 games how about a total of twenty four hours? That would average roughly seventy mins per game. So if a team plays one youth player for a whole game they get ninety minutes, two and its 180 and so on.

The end of season awards could recognise this change, a new category for youth team player of the year. There could also be an cash bonus worth an extra thousand pounds to the club who topped the chart of minutes played by the youngsters. It has to be worth a try. The RFU have been delighted with the success of their scheme in England.

Hopefully all this would encourage managers to pick youngsters, without that chance they can never progress.

Welsh Premier League Times:

www.welshpremier.co.uk 

The Welsh Community Football Awards

Since 2004, The Welsh Football Trust and our community partner, McDonald’s have been recognising the heroes of grassroots football through a national awards programme to celebrate the commitment and support of those hundreds - even thousands - of volunteers that keep our children playing football come rain or shine.

At clubs across the country, people go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the very best standards of football are achieved in Wales. And we want to recognise them. This year, the awards will reward the achievements of local heroes from every corner of Wales through the ‘Welsh Community Football Awards, presented by McDonald’s’.

The winners of the regional awards will then automatically become the shortlisted candidates for the annual Welsh Football Trust National Awards, presented by McDonald’s, at a star-studded event at Cardiff Castle on Thursday, 23rd June.

Our search for your grassroots football heroes has now started so, if you know of a young player, coach, volunteer, school or club that you think deserves recognition:

Nominate Now!

Nominate online: http://www.welshcommunityfootballawards.co.uk/index.php

Nomination Deadline 18th April 2011

Further Support for FCC

FCC have added more partnership clubs who have shown their support:

Rhyl FC, Porthmadog FC, Bangor City FC, TNS FC, Connah's Quay FC and Newtown AFC all join as Partnerships and FCC will be looking at working with the clubs in the near future.

For coaching sessions from professional clubs visit:

http://www.footballcoachingcymru.com/#/coaching-session-practices/4539962877

More Welsh Premier Clubs support FCC

Llanelli AFC and Prestatyn Town FC join Neath Athletic
in becoming a partnership club with Football Coaching
Cymru

To view their website click on the club logo right

Neath Athletic FC Becomes Partner Club

Neath Athletic have become the latest club to support

Football Coaching Cymru by being a partnership club.

Neath currently play in the Welsh Premier League and

their website can be found via the link below.

WEBSITE

Bunching Up?

If you ask any junior football coach what is the most common question asked and frustrations felt in coaching young players there is a very good chance it will be: “Why are they all bunched up and chase the ball?” This article exlores reasons as to why players “bunch up” and provides some explanation to improve the issue for all ages in football.

Why do Players Bunch?

Bunching of players is more common at younger age groups and can be difficult for coaches to stop this from occurring during games.

There are many reasons to why players bunch up and we will investigate why players “bunch up” and provide some advice to what a coach can do including practical session examples so players will begin to learn to get “wide” and “long” essentially providing “width” and “depth” when in possession of the ball.

The sessions for this are included in the session section.

At younger age’s players are more introvert and see the game as “my ball” I want it, each player wants a part of the action and often players are reluctant to pass to a team mate.

Therefore is it impossible to ask players to be in a area of space 15 yards away from the ball?

Young players find it difficult to understand the tactical reasons as why a team should position themselves with players high and wide thus creating more space to play in. The first thing FCC suggests is that bunching up of players has its advantages technically that will benefit them later in their playing career.
Having opportunities to win a tackle and gain position and dribble through tight congested areas is fantastic for players to develop the ability to retain possession under intense pressure.

Often the complaints of players bunching up comes from coaches and parents watching as it can seem like chaos from the touchline, rarely do you see players complaining and games mimic those played at school in the play ground without any organisation from adults.

How Can a Coach Use this Problem to their advantage when coaching?

When a team is out of possession essentially it is a good thing for players to be close together and protect the central areas of the pitch, therefore the concept for young players of bunching can help defensively, the problem comes when a coach wants to get a team to pass the ball and be comfortable in keeping possession. As noted asking a player to go away from the ball and stand in a area of space for young players will be confusing, but by explaining to them that by being in space they will have more time to pass or shoot and be able to dribble better will hopefully start to work in your favour as they get themselves in these pockets of space on the field.

To show players the advantages of space you can stop a game in training at any point and move the players in possession equally around the pitch so they can see the picture of what space looks like and hopefully will see how much easier it is to pass, dribble and shoot.

For more articles visit www.footballcoachingcymru.com