Junior Soccer Down South

[Bomber]

Hmmm, I did not realise that when my son turns 8, he will have to try out for games?
Talk about pressure!
Even at 8, I would imagine that he is out there for the fun of the game, this is the reason I am so happy with the SSG concept...there is no pressure, he is simply out there having fun. He does not know if he wants to still be playing the game at age 20, (although at the moment, he apparently will have replaced Eugene at AU by then!) so I am not pushing him into it.
My daughter is interested in playing also, and she has chosen to play for a different team, which her friends play for, but I can see Swannsong's point - what if she wanted to play at her brother's team, and wasn't selected?
I think it's a bit harsh having try outs for kids who potentially are just out there to play the game and have a bit of fun.
With the age of your boys, Swannsong, I suggest you phone the contacts listed re SSG...Redson is the same age as your youngest...and loves it!!

The junior metro league may alleviate some of the issues raised - that is, if they dont make the "main team" (ie FFSA as per now), then will have the "metro" team to fall back on, thus staying in same club.

[TiTi Thierry Henry]

i got invited to play Club soccer when i was 14 i had been playing school and enjoying it when one of the boys parents from the school team decided to coach club next year and invited me to trial and i got in (wooot)
if they are that young, especially 6, then just get him invloved in develpoment programs or acdemys where he is with other kids his age and they are having fun but getting the coaching they need
as for your 9 yr old...well maybe you should start looking for a club
i was lucky at the opportunity i got given

[swannsong]

I have also witnessed many young players becoming disinterested because of the "trial" system.
My point is this, my youngest boy is 5 and appears to be more naturally gifted than my oldest boy who is 8.
I would like them both to play for the same club, chances are with the current system is that most likely, my younger child would be fine but the older child my not make the cut.

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?

[Big Mac]

I have also witnessed many young players becoming disinterested because of the "trial" system.
My point is this, my youngest boy is 5 and appears to be more naturally gifted than my oldest boy who is 8.
I would like them both to play for the same club, chances are with the current system is that most likely, my younger child would be fine but the older child my not make the cut.

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?

There is no logical reason that U12's would be $250 more than U11, maybe compared to U10's as U10's are SSF in 2010 which usually have cheaper fees. I suggest you ask about the fees again and ask why.
Strange that your Son can get a game in the U12's and not U11's? Any way, if I were you I would get your Son into the U12 team and if he cant cope you can always try and keep him in the same age group next year.

[Old Orange]

Swansong we would be happy to have them at Sturt Thunder. Come down next Sunday to Sargent Parade, Bellevue Heights. Starts 10am finishes 11am.

The U6 and U7 is just a have a look session and all are welcome back next year. For the U8 and U9 we are trying to form 7 a side teams to play in the FFSA so are looking for a commitment towards next season.

John vander Veeken
0411609880

[Hollygirl]

Hi Swannsong
You could always try Noarlunga United (pretty close to you). They seem to have a very inclusive policy

[johnydep]

I have also witnessed many young players becoming disinterested because of the "trial" system.
My point is this, my youngest boy is 5 and appears to be more naturally gifted than my oldest boy who is 8.
I would like them both to play for the same club, chances are with the current system is that most likely, my younger child would be fine but the older child my not make the cut.

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?

There is no logical reason that U12's would be $250 more than U11, maybe compared to U10's as U10's are SSF in 2010 which usually have cheaper fees. I suggest you ask about the fees again and ask why.
Strange that your Son can get a game in the U12's and not U11's? Any way, if I were you I would get your Son into the U12 team and if he cant cope you can always try and keep him in the same age group next year.

Could be that the U12 age group require an official referee, this is an added cost for clubs.

[swannsong]

Thanks for the suggestions but it has a lot to do with convenience for me.
I work quite a few Saturday/Sunday mornings and the club where they trialled is 300 metres from home.
I am also associated with an Amateur club at the same complex.
I'm not complaining, my older boy is not as keen as my younger boy. It was me that wanted them at the same club for convenience.
I was just a little surprised by the fees considering U/19s, Reserves and Seniors are $200 less than U/12s ?

[Black Hawk]

Fees are high to pay a washed up fat senior coach

[Cobweb]

G'Day Swannsong. E&DJSA have had it right since Adam was a boy. E&D started as a school based system but was taken out to the clubs once the senior sides formed. Its modified rules games have evolved over many many years and produced some great talents. Its unfortunate that FFSA tried the heavy handed approach to get E&D to conform to FFA's 'new way forward'. :?
I too played juniors for the Downs back in the seventies and I wish I had continued on with the game but tennis, high school and girls got in the way!
When my youngest son was old enough and had bundles of energy we drove him to Argana Park and signed him up as a 4 year old. As you do, you become 'involved', my wife initially and then myself joined the committee. I went on to become Junior Coordinator for 2 years and am still involved to a lesser extent as my son has moved on to Modbury Jets. He has just finished trialling and regained a spot for the second year.

At all times our ethos at the Downs was "come one, come all". We do not trial kids because we know our position in the soccer pecking order. We are an entry level club for kids of all ages and abilities. There is no pressure borne by the club to win flags and cups. This creates a fun family environment. The cream of the kids will naturally rise to the top and most will be encouraged by U12's to further themselves by taking that next step and joining one of the FFSA clubs around the area. Those that are left will continue to enjoy themselves at our club playing with their mates. By planting the 'fun' seed in the kids that go on to further themselves, eventually germinates with either them returning as a senior player, or bringing their kids to the club to start the self propogation process again.

Whilst SSG has its place, many junior soccer associations could do worse than adopt the E&D model. You know its been interesting reading lots of discussion on this topic but E&D's record at the SAJSA State Championships prior to this year spoke for itself.

Sorry for getting off track a bit Swanny but suggest you sell up and move back up to God's country for the sake of your kids.

[swannsong]

G'Day Swannsong. E&DJSA have had it right since Adam was a boy. E&D started as a school based system but was taken out to the clubs once the senior sides formed. Its modified rules games have evolved over many many years and produced some great talents. Its unfortunate that FFSA tried the heavy handed approach to get E&D to conform to FFA's 'new way forward'. :?
I too played juniors for the Downs back in the seventies and I wish I had continued on with the game but tennis, high school and girls got in the way!
When my youngest son was old enough and had bundles of energy we drove him to Argana Park and signed him up as a 4 year old. As you do, you become 'involved', my wife initially and then myself joined the committee. I went on to become Junior Coordinator for 2 years and am still involved to a lesser extent as my son has moved on to Modbury Jets. He has just finished trialling and regained a spot for the second year.

At all times our ethos at the Downs was "come one, come all". We do not trial kids because we know our position in the soccer pecking order. We are an entry level club for kids of all ages and abilities. There is no pressure borne by the club to win flags and cups. This creates a fun family environment. The cream of the kids will naturally rise to the top and most will be encouraged by U12's to further themselves by taking that next step and joining one of the FFSA clubs around the area. Those that are left will continue to enjoy themselves at our club playing with their mates. By planting the 'fun' seed in the kids that go on to further themselves, eventually germinates with either them returning as a senior player, or bringing their kids to the club to start the self propogation process again.

Whilst SSG has its place, many junior soccer associations could do worse than adopt the E&D model. You know its been interesting reading lots of discussion on this topic but E&D's record at the SAJSA State Championships prior to this year spoke for itself.

Sorry for getting off track a bit Swanny but suggest you sell up and move back up to God's country for the sake of your kids.

They keep asking me when they can go back there, sometimes wish I could

[Big Mac]

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?[/quote]

There is no logical reason that U12's would be $250 more than U11, maybe compared to U10's as U10's are SSF in 2010 which usually have cheaper fees. I suggest you ask about the fees again and ask why.
Strange that your Son can get a game in the U12's and not U11's? Any way, if I were you I would get your Son into the U12 team and if he cant cope you can always try and keep him in the same age group next year.[/quote]

Could be that the U12 age group require an official referee, this is an added cost for clubs.[/quote]

I know of no other Club that charges $250 extra from U11 to U12's?
$250 per player for a squad = around $3500 in extra fees.
Are they flying Graham Poll over to referee games?

[goal!!!]

mmhh i gaurentee trials will come in , fed's clubs tend to be competitive with each other how many players swap from one club to another each year ..alot

i know playford, gawler and many others change every year. SSG will bring in a form of trials.

BTW edjsa clubs do have trials too in some clubs : ) officially edjsa frowns on it lol

[Željko Jurin]

mmhh i gaurentee trials will come in , fed's clubs tend to be competitive with each other how many players swap from one club to another each year ..alot

i know playford, gawler and many others change every year. SSG will bring in a form of trials.

BTW edjsa clubs do have trials too in some clubs : ) officially edjsa frowns on it lol

How will it be any different to before SSF days ??

The only difference is that ALOT more kids are taking up the sport, and ALOT more will after the 2010 WC

And when this happens, E&D clubs will also get an influx, how will they do it then ??? Keep taking every kid ??

[Big Mac]

mmhh i gaurentee trials will come in , fed's clubs tend to be competitive with each other how many players swap from one club to another each year ..alot

i know playford, gawler and many others change every year. SSG will bring in a form of trials.

BTW edjsa clubs do have trials too in some clubs : ) officially edjsa frowns on it lol

How will it be any different to before SSF days ??

The only difference is that ALOT more kids are taking up the sport, and ALOT more will after the 2010 WC

And when this happens, E&D clubs will also get an influx, how will they do it then ??? Keep taking every kid ??[/quote]

Most E&D clubs probably can take more players apart from the bigger Clubs which are close to max.
Certainly have noticed at Fed. trials the number of kids going out are much bigger, dont know if that means more players or kids giving themselves more options.

[swannsong]

This issue may not pertain to just football down South...
My son is now in his 4th year with a FFSA junior set up (at South Adelaide) and one thing I have noticed is that out of about 22 Under 11s (2 teams) how few of his original team mates are still at the same Club. Hopefully from 11 upward there might be a little more stability within his playing group to help him establish friendships and loyalty.
I have seen some opposition players that have been with 4 different teams in these 4 years
PS - From the original post my oldest boy ( then 8 now 13 ) now has very little interest in football after enjoying 2 years with Christies-St Johns, He seemed to become disinterested when there became enough players for 2 teams and due to his School (O'Sullivan Beach) he became seperated from his original team mates and coaches.

[Sacred Noodle]

Swansong ...Pretty sure no FFSA clubs run trials for SSF teams especially for the ages of your boys ..could be wrong but think its the case now days

[swannsong]

Swansong ...Pretty sure no FFSA clubs run trials for SSF teams especially for the ages of your boys ..could be wrong but think its the case now days

That was 2007-2008 !
But there are limited spaces still at most FFSA clubs.

[themessenger]

[/quote]

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?[/quote]

There is no logical reason that U12's would be $250 more than U11, maybe compared to U10's as U10's are SSF in 2010 which usually have cheaper fees. I suggest you ask about the fees again and ask why.
Strange that your Son can get a game in the U12's and not U11's? Any way, if I were you I would get your Son into the U12 team and if he cant cope you can always try and keep him in the same age group next year.[/quote]

Could be that the U12 age group require an official referee, this is an added cost for clubs.[/quote]


Also from under 12s upwards the FFSA actually charge a registration fee for each player PLUS a registration fee for the entire team. This was $275 per team for every junior team last year, could be even more this year. So paying for match referees and $275 per team on top of other FFSA charges does add up.

At our club from Under 12s to First team all players pay the same playing fee of $550.00. Makes no difference whether a junior or senior player they all make the same contribution to the club. From U6 to Under 11 it is a sliding scale starting from around $200 and increasing each year to Under 11s, then jumps again to Under 12s. We do this to try and keep football affordable for the very young players.

Some other clubs operate the same as ours in applying that sliding scale throughout the SSF age groups, while other clubs charge more than $600 for SSF even at the under 6 age group, which IMO is excessive.

[themessenger]

[/quote]

This year my boys played school football with Christies-St Johns and seemed to enjoy it.
Over the last few weeks they went through trials at an FFSA club and as I thought, my youngest (now 7) made the cut but my oldest (now 10)didn't (although he is 1st on the standby list).
The older teams do however have an established core group of good players.
Fortunately he is not to fussed at the moment. He could play under 12 at the same club, but for some reason that is an extra $250 per season :?[/quote]

There is no logical reason that U12's would be $250 more than U11, maybe compared to U10's as U10's are SSF in 2010 which usually have cheaper fees. I suggest you ask about the fees again and ask why.
Strange that your Son can get a game in the U12's and not U11's? Any way, if I were you I would get your Son into the U12 team and if he cant cope you can always try and keep him in the same age group next year.[/quote]

Could be that the U12 age group require an official referee, this is an added cost for clubs.[/quote]


Also from under 12s upwards the FFSA actually charge a registration fee for each player PLUS a registration fee for the entire team. This was $275 per team for every junior team last year, could be even more this year. So paying for match referees and $275 per team on top of other FFSA charges does add up.

At our club from Under 12s to First team all players pay the same playing fee of $550.00. Makes no difference whether a junior or senior player they all make the same contribution to the club. From U6 to Under 11 it is a sliding scale starting from around $200 and increasing each year to Under 11s, then jumps again to Under 12s. We do this to try and keep football affordable for the very young players.

Some other clubs operate the same as ours in applying that sliding scale throughout the SSF age groups, while other clubs such as Raiders charge more than $600 for SSF even at the under 6 age group, which IMO is excessive.

[Željko Jurin]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

[rossonero]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

$600 for SSF??? the amount of crap people post on this forum is getting worse by the day!!!

[Con M]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

$600 for SSF??? the amount of crap people post on this forum is getting worse by the day!!!

Not $600, but definitely $500 for our 6 year-old grandson for SSF. My daughter & son-in-law have the email from a Premier League Club north of the river Torrens to prove it.

For that you get 1-hour's training on Fridays & 40-minutes playing on Sunday mornings.

That's why they opted for $260 instead with an E & D club - no seniors' pay to support!

[Ciudad Juarez]

.... Raiders charge more than $600 for SSF even at the under 6 age group..

you funny. You make me laughing.

ps raiders charge $7.50 for a can of coke. If you have 2 kids at the club, they do a 2 for $10 special

[James]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

$600 for SSF??? the amount of crap people post on this forum is getting worse by the day!!!

Not $600, but definitely $500 for our 6 year-old grandson for SSF. My daughter & son-in-law have the email from a Premier League Club north of the river Torrens to prove it.

For that you get 1-hour's training on Fridays & 40-minutes playing on Sunday mornings.

That's why they opted for $260 instead with an E & D club - no seniors' pay to support!

$230 to play ssf and phsc knights for the u6's. Just need to shop around

[themessenger]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

more than happy to do so as it appears I got that wrong.

[Željko Jurin]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

more than happy to do so as it appears I got that wrong.

Thank you .... But you didn't edit your post

[themessenger]

I think you better check your facts, and retract your statement ....

more than happy to do so as it appears I got that wrong.

Thank you .... But you didn't edit your post

Done