Consolidation of Age Groups.

[johnydep]

Your thoughts and ideas...

To help improve the new Junior Premier League (JPL) and Junior State League (JSL), the leagues should be changed to allow consolidation of age groups. The format would allow for larger fixtures and stronger competition, bringing the number of age groups from 6 to 4 and combining the same number of players.

In some European leagues the U19’s are still part of the junior set up, mainly because the players are still teens, and have not completed their development.

U12 and U13 combined - U13

U14 and U15 combined - U15

U16 and U17 combined - U17

U18 and U19 combined - U19

This would allow the U19’s to play on a Sunday and giving players that are rotating in the Reserve leagues and did not get a game on Saturday a chance to play on the Sunday.

There are several benefits from this set up:
• Larger leagues, due to increased number of teams because of the combining of age groups.
• Stronger teams; having a mixed age group allows for players of different abilities to stay with a team instead of what is happening now – moving up an age group.
• Improved development comes from having a larger pool of players of different ages to train with.
• Closer ties between Junior and Senior football staff; due to the U19’s being part of the junior football leagues, senior staff will be required to interact with junior football staff, and vice-versa (happening now in some clubs).
• Streamlined administration from having fewer leagues with more teams involved, administration can focus on the job rather than juggling ideas around (as seen with the combination of JSL teams into the JPL).
• Curtain raisers; clubs can use the time allocated for U19 Saturday games to bring in other initiatives to entice larger crowds.

There are many more reasons that can be added to the list, however, those listed are some of the most important to the development of the game in our State. We need to find better ways to develop talent, our clubs need stronger teams to be competitive against other States, Senior and Junior football staff must interact and get direction form the head coach, the administration of clubs and federation needs to be improved so as to minimise on waste, and very importantly; we need bigger crowds at our senior games.

Coaching source that got me thinking; http://soccercoachinginternational.com/ ... aining.pdf

[Bomber]

More or less how it was in the days when I played junior colts in the 70's. SASF had U/10's, 12's, 14's 16's and 18's were playing on Saturdays much like the 19's do today. Never fully understood why it changed, but admittedly one of the negatives were some of the blowout scores. If there were too many players in an age group, teams simply submitted A's, B's and sometimes C's and divisions were worked out on numbers applied for.

[spooky1972]

most clubs have those age groups now, what would be the difference

[Jeda]

most clubs have those age groups now, what would be the difference

woa IQ alert

[AL K HOLIC]

most clubs have those age groups now, what would be the difference

woa IQ alert

I believe spooky possibly meant mixed combined age groups, I agree, the club my boy plays at there are no teams with one age and every team has two age groups combined. So again what's the difference?

[leo64]

on the right track, i like the idea of u7 to u14 as is then we should go back to u16, u18, reserves seniors, this elimanates one age group gives us more players for teams and allow younger developing players to develop before reserves and senior if need be.