Small Sided Football in 2009,2010

[swannsong]

I found this article today, very interesting and some good suggestions...however



This article is from 1981, let's not move too quick on this one ?

[Bomber]

We all probably laughed at it around that time. Things have changed for the better though.

[Rodney]

Its not rocket science but for some change is very hard - the same thing happened at my work when computers came in - the older people that had been working one way for 40 years just didnt want to embrace anything new.

But at least change is happening now

[swannsong]

Its not rocket science but for some change is very hard - the same thing happened at my work when computers came in - the older people that had been working one way for 40 years just didnt want to embrace anything new.

But at least change is happening now

So you're playing small sided games at work ?

[fossil]

seems the FFA in all its wisdom has moved along way in over 25 years, now if they can just take the lunatic attitude of parents, coaches, clubs win at all cost for young kids and just watch them and enjoy the game now that would be special.

imagine congrats to a kids performance good or bad for what they have achieved during the year & not the wins the team gets through the season

[prefly]

How far ahead we would be now if we would have brought it in then.
Ron Tindall is still very much involved in football in Western Australia he is (or was last year) coach of the state under18's womens team

[John Walker AFPP]

Change is a strange thing and we are not just dealing with change but culture. Most of our kids are taught to compete fo reverything too early but thats life too eh ?

I enjoy being a development coach as I do not have to face players and parents regarding winning and loosing. When players develop as individuals the team improves and results take care of themselves. Too many young players are told not to make mistakes rather than expess themselves. The advantage of SSF or SSG is that the players get many touches and can develop, however without guidance thay can pick up bad habits so there is still a need for coaches and corrections.

John Walker
AFPP

[johnydep]

I found this article today, very interesting and some good suggestions...however



This article is from 1981, let's not move too quick on this one ?

Not bad; 17 years to convince 75% (sarcasm)

[REDS]

Well said JW but I thought you werent going to post on here anymore?

[povman_2009]

JD sorry to burst your bubble but 1981 is 28 years ago...

We will get there one day...

[teddles]

JD sorry to burst your bubble but 1981 is 28 years ago...

We will get there one day...

No, that's about right, he's always a decade behind

[fossil]

Change is a strange thing and we are not just dealing with change but culture. Most of our kids are taught to compete fo reverything too early but thats life too eh ?

I enjoy being a development coach as I do not have to face players and parents regarding winning and loosing. When players develop as individuals the team improves and results take care of themselves. Too many young players are told not to make mistakes rather than expess themselves. The advantage of SSF or SSG is that the players get many touches and can develop, however without guidance thay can pick up bad habits so there is still a need for coaches and corrections.

John Walker
AFPP

too bloody true more and more parents and clubs think winning = development!

[hudsona]

Had our first SSG day today at the club with visitors...went just great! 4 games of 5 v 5 on ...20 mins each way...kids had great time based on the smiles on their faces.

Parents on the side lines enjoying their children playing...cheering and applauding...no coaching!..no keeping score! Just playing for fun

Lots of touches...lots of getting themselves into & out of trouble in the game...lots of goals!


v happy ...we're on the right track

[REDS]

Which clubs were involved?

[hudsona]

Comets & Metro Stars

[BIG RED]

good stuff - modbury & croydon had a go at it on Friday night and it went pretty well - a few issues need ironing out but for the first one it went pretty well I thought overall

[REDS]

Good work by all clubs going down this track, there does appear to be most clubs embracing SSF which is heartening - keep up the good work

[hudsona]

Nice to hear BR ...understand Modbury & Croydon been putting time into getting it up and running so nice to hear they've got a result on friday.

yes things to work on too....40 boys fine....feelin' little nervous and challenged by having a hub day with 80!

working on getting parents involved as game leaders....good feedback from them...seem v willing..esp when explained that they're not there to coach...just encourage and keep the game flowing... will help spread the load that's for sure.

[povman_2009]

I have just found out that the U/11 Sawsa comp is SSF this year too, I know of one little lass who is well pleased to finally get a fair run and some time to get used to being on the ball... Intra-club regularly with inter-club days once a month.

[BIG RED]

I saw some girls playing SSF at Modbury Jets yesterday and they appeared to be enjoying it

[goal!!!]

Do other countries play small-sided games?
SSG are played and endorsed throughout Brazil, Argentina, Japan, England, Ireland, The Netherlands, Scotland, Germany, France, Korea and USA, to name a few. The idea of SSG is not new.

what a loa dof rubbish SSG has been re badged rooball number 2 why was it roo ball ? australia version of crap training


Benefits of small-sided games for your child
A significant amount of research has been conducted in countries where SSG are prevalent, which overwhelmingly highlight the following benefits:

yeh ive been to most places and its not the way i saw it ? funny that


• more touches of the ball by all players throughout all areas of the pitch
huh, more touches thats what trainign is for a good coach devleoped his players , if naythin more shoul dbe into how coaches should be teaching and training kids FFSA run a great course - 2 days course eeryone passes .. what a joke


• more shots on goal

again - training games are for real life , my only beleif here is taking golaie outfor u6 to u8

• more efficient use of facilities, given there can be multiple games on one standard-size field
only because they can cram more teams more money

• repeated decision-making experience

without good ref 's and mentorship programs , the decisons will be all over the place as is now in the FFSA
• the ball is in play far more often
?? all the u6 to u8 games ive seen ball doesnt go out much

• the emphasis is on player development rather than winning or losing
NO MATTER WHAT AGE , if u have goals u have competition !! everyone , every kid has an internal natural desire to win ..

• better success rate leads to improved quality of play, self-esteem and player retention

• the game is easier to understand

BS you confuse the rules of the game chop and change as thry get older

• freedom of expression – no positions in early stages

great this will never develop playerswho can be the best at a position , wow! how do u think they do it in europe they start young ... australia will never go far if we fully adopt this crap ...

• less perceived stress on the players ?
• less perceived pressure from coaches and parents ? huh// u are asking them to do to more ?

• parents more likely to volunteer for SSG game leader roles BS - its hard enough to get them to do soemthing
• children enjoy the progressive and sequential game formats
well playing the same teams over and over wont be fun ... loose interest and go somewhere else or try another sport out , loosing kids to the sport ... look at afl .. junior football tried simialr and look , soccer has them coming over ...

every coach should be inclsuing in trianing SSG ,,, the need to exercise real games with real rules is a must , FFSA have a agenda of money not kids... i bet your fees will be high and increase as they try to increase numbers... edjsa fees have stayed low or years and years .. $50 a year is great .. mark my words what will kids gain .. we wont be geting any star players beinf devleoped in a hurry ..

sorry but im sick of the propaganda and crap .... SSG is dead ... there are better ways to devleop our kids ... until we can get FFSA to really look how they can improve things its a mpney exercise

[Rodney]

[povman_2009]

Goal!, may I make a suggestion, that if you are going to try and tear something to pieces you slow down and type at least some of the words correctly. That way we might be able to understand what you are trying to say.

This quote from the what you called propaganda says it all really ...

Australia has typically produced national teams that are physically strong but technically weak. This will take a generation to change, starting at the grass roots level via SSG.

Trevor Brooking had this to say recently

'We also need to change what is being coached. Let's have more small-sided games so that they have more ball time. Let's allow them to have fun, take away the importance of winning and stop the young players being afraid of making mistakes. Concentrate on first touch and technique, allow that a short pass can often be more of a killer ball than the big hoof up to the centre-forward. And any parents who are too enthusiastic should, as a last resort, be removed.

Sums it up quite nicely

[goal!!!]

sorry about spelling , i forgot to check it

basically i dont care what some old cronnie says about his style , look at our own , yes we ( australia is weak at skills ) yes we may be strong on the ball ( effectively branded bullies and rough on tackles etc...)

SSG does stuff all really , its not the issue. one serious problem is our style of play ? by this i mean we aussies have a mixed style we have some euro, some english , some asian , some south american we need to find our own style i believe OR adopt one and stick to it !!! i beleive the european style is much better suited for two reasons .. tactical defence and attack etc.. and skills on the ball - how do they achieve this ? not thru what FFSA are trying to push into our gobs ... i admit some bits are useful as is all training setups but we need much more than this .. having a fed coach who runs his players at u12 or u14 10 laps etc.. is not skills .. having an EDJSA zone coach who cant even look unbiasly at other players form other clubs so that he has a balanced team , hed rather pick kids he coaches or friends .. : ) this is one problem ... we need a national effort to teach all coaches skills - not some 1 day trumped up course. how many coaches can teach true defence techniques or midfield intergration OR strikers space and manuverability ? not many at all. kids cant learn extra skills if they are not taught early . SSG may give them what ? the same drills they should be doing in training , thats the point im trying to say SSG is merely a means for FFSA to comepete with EDJSA etc.. and try to cash in on the juniors . why else are charging larger fees and making up admin fees etc.. out of thin air hmmmmmmmm.

in reference to the kids standing still and not being included in a mod game , well who fault ( coaches ) and league move down a div or up .. too many clubs manipulate to WIN ! the league jsut for bragging rights not for achieving a challenge or pushing the kids ..

[povman_2009]

goal, do you understand how kids learn ? the concept of teaching an 8 year old about midfield positioning makes no sense, especically if he/she is not comfortable with a ball at their feet...

First and foremost a child needs to be able to control the ball and be comfortable having possession, then you can teach them advanced concepts later...

I agree with you that coaching needs to improve overall, and parents also need to learn that winning not the only thing , but society teaches people that you have to be a winner in everything, so it is hard to expect people to react differently.

The investment of peoples time is always the biggest challenge and whilst everyone wants better coaches, with more training etc not many people put there hand up to get involved in the first place let alone dedicate themselves to the cause.

We have an army of retired people who have a vast amount of experience in the game and I think this untapped resource should be looked into more.

Personally I would love to go to more training courses and become a better coach but with a job that takes me interstate 100 nights a year I am flat out getting to training sessions as it is... no-one else put their hand up to look after the team after I resigned to try and let them have a full time coach , so I took the role on again.

The whole debate of SSG vs Modified Rules etc is a side issue that has distracted the focus away from the concept of better coaching = better players and there I agree with you.

[Rodney]

Goal said - thats the point im trying to say SSG is merely a means for FFSA to comepete with EDJSA etc

FFA is rolling out SSF nationally - and I dont think FFA had this (goals view above) in there minds when they set out on the SSF path - FFSA role in the SSF roll out is basically to help with its implementation here in SA as requested by the FFA

oh and what Povman said above I agree with also

[REDS]

Goal - From what you have written you obviously have no idea what you are talking about!!

The FFSA is merely implementing Small Sided Football because that is what they have been told to do by the FFA. It is not a money making exercise for the FFSA. The FFSA does not determine what clubs charge as a whole for the their fees. They do have costs associated with player reg. and insurance which are minimal for SSF (approx $35), just like the E&D do. Anything above this are costs determined by the clubs.

You say we should follow Europe? Do you know actually what is happening in Europe with young children in Football? I would suggest not from your ramblings. In some countries Under 8's train for 90 minutes every single day. Did you know this? How can we compete with that? Every country in Europe will do its own thing and Australia has done some research to find out what the many are doing and voila they are playing some form of Small Sided football at the younger years. Take England for Example. They call it mini football over there!

Small Sided football is NOT dead but merely in its infancy here in Australia! Anyone who is anyone in this game will tell you it is the way forward for Australia to develop our youth who can compete at the highest level.

I am not really sure why you are so against it - because here in SA we have the E&D who have not embraced it and their is a choice for you. You can go down the path of SSF or stay in the E&D structure if you wish. If you belong to the E&D then you would be happy, if you think its the better way then you have nothing to be jealous or worried about. You are going down the right path, are you not?

I for one am happy that my child is involved in SSF and come time when he has to trial for clubs, I know that all those kids will have less competition becuause most of the E&D kids will not stand a chance in years to come.

My son has been involved in SSf now for 12 weeks and the improvement in some of the kids is amazing, improvement that I have not seen in those same kids in several years at an E&D club.

It is harder to play SSF, you have to make decisions quicker (not referees) - who is the best player to kick the ball to? should I shoot or should I pass. The decisions of the player need to be made quickly or you will have an oponent on you. (Did you not watch the first leg of the Gamba Osaka game agaisnt AU? - and you will know what I mean). Kids need to learn to pass the ball to their team mates with accuracy and with the correct weight on the ball. SSF teaches them this. The goals are not much wider than 1 metre. Shots for goal need to be accurate and if kids can kick goals that are only 1 metre wide imagine how many more they can score when the goals finally get to be 5 metres wide and beyond!!!!

Why have all the A-league players who have had children playing in E&D now removed their children and are now playing SSF. Go Figure it!!! Because its the way forward!! Not just for FFSA clubs but for clubs all over Australia!

[JED]

sorry about spelling , i forgot to check it

basically i dont care what some old cronnie says about his style , look at our own , yes we ( australia is weak at skills ) yes we may be strong on the ball ( effectively branded bullies and rough on tackles etc...) ..... ..

That's a fallacy brandished by people that haven't explored outside their back yard. Watch half a dozen European games & see how hard the players go for a tackle Bruce said so himself not long ago "in Adelaide we could train wih no shin pads, over here they're mandatory" The Coppa Italia was a perfect example of the physical strength players used when going in for a tackle. Time to take the blinkers off

[goal!!!]

crap ... wake up australians have been rough as .. dont justify poor play , guss has been the 1st coach to teach touch and fair play... arnold cant coach for quids , hes got to be the most trained coach yet still has no idea ,,, lol

[harrycripps]

It is an interesting topic which is always going to be controversial. All parents have a duty to do what is best for their kids and we all have differing views.

My youngest son played against Travis Dodds son (u/8's) last week and I heard that Travis pulled his son out of a Fed team because of SSG. If that is true someone at FFA should ask him why. He is not an ignorant ranting father who needs to fulfill his own lost hopes through his child, so if true, why?