Age group in 2 year gaps JPL/JSL

[SS Goal Keeper]

I've seen a few posts about 2 year age group gaps. I agree with this especially for JPL/JSL ages. Many clubs have one team in an age group which then automatically becomes a JPL team. That team may have 6 very good players, a couple of good ones and the rest ok making up the numbers so to speak. If the age groups were in 2 year increments the coach's would have 30 kids to pick a true JPL team from. Then the ramaining kids make up JSL team. No kids need to miss out and the same amount of spots exist and clubs can have as many JSL teams as they want.
I could be off the mark but interested in what others think.

[geoff9559]

SS - there was a thread last year by "Through the Laces" on 30 man squads........they have to be very well run. No nepotism, cronyism or club politics which makes it all but impossible to manage.

[Pie and Bovril]

I've seen a few posts about 2 year age group gaps. I agree with this especially for JPL/JSL ages. Many clubs have one team in an age group which then automatically becomes a JPL team. That team may have 6 very good players, a couple of good ones and the rest ok making up the numbers so to speak. If the age groups were in 2 year increments the coach's would have 30 kids to pick a true JPL team from. Then the ramaining kids make up JSL team. No kids need to miss out and the same amount of spots exist and clubs can have as many JSL teams as they want.
I could be off the mark but interested in what others think.

Would then result in some clubs having 5 JSL teams and an even bigger gap in quality

[fball12]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

[God is an Englishman]

I fear what would happen there though is some clubs would load their side with the older bigger players as that's what would get results. Player development for the younger players would go out of the window.

[fball12]

SS - there was a thread last year by "Through the Laces" on 30 man squads........they have to be very well run. No nepotism, cronyism or club politics which makes it all but impossible to manage.

"No nepotism, cronyism or club politics " - that describes all of the FFSA clubs in one sentence!

[Pie and Bovril]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

Who's saying there are only 6 good kids in a team?

My point is that if you have teams at U12, U14, U16 you will end up with one JPL and five JSL teams. Take the U14's for example. You will have a JPL team made up of the best U14 players and JSL teams that will be selected on ability. The JSL A team will be much stronger than the JSL 5 team. This will lead to a team of U13 kids who are new to the sport playing in effect a U14 reserve team in the JSL league.

[geoff9559]

With Hockey in SA they have u9s, u11s, u14s and u18s.....it doesnt work as you might have a team of 12 year olds who have progressed out of u11s up against teams made up of 14 year olds.....very inequitable and makes for potentially one sided competitions. .....which then leads to demoralized and demotivated kids who leave the sport. Sorry I just believe that there are enough kids to have jpl in each club in each age group....competing with similar ages can only imo increase competition and depth of skills.

[fball12]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

Who's saying there are only 6 good kids in a team?

My point is that if you have teams at U12, U14, U16 you will end up with one JPL and five JSL teams. Take the U14's for example. You will have a JPL team made up of the best U14 players and JSL teams that will be selected on ability. The JSL A team will be much stronger than the JSL 5 team. This will lead to a team of U13 kids who are new to the sport playing in effect a U14 reserve team in the JSL league.

Refer to 1st post above, not yours.

[God is an Englishman]

With Hockey in SA they have u9s, u11s, u14s and u18s.....it doesnt work as you might have a team of 12 year olds who have progressed out of u11s up against teams made up of 14 year olds.....very inequitable and makes for potentially one sided competitions. .....which then leads to demoralized and demotivated kids who leave the sport. Sorry I just believe that there are enough kids to have jpl in each club in each age group....competing with similar ages can only imo increase competition and depth of skills.

Hockey is also a "non contact" sport with a lot less playing numbers

[geoff9559]

Yep but supports your argument of disparity in age / size etc

[SS Goal Keeper]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

Thanks for feedback, saying only 6 really good players was a generalised statement. A lot of teams have a few real guns and then it drops off quickly (that I've seen).
Cheers SS

[God is an Englishman]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

Thanks for feedback, saying only 6 really good players was a generalised statement. A lot of teams have a few real guns and then it drops off quickly (that I've seen).
Cheers SS

What is defined as a "gun" though. So many people these days look for the flash show pony who has all the flicks and turns and forget about the bloke who puts in a good tackle and then plays a simple ball.

[themagnet]

With Hockey in SA they have u9s, u11s, u14s and u18s.....it doesnt work as you might have a team of 12 year olds who have progressed out of u11s up against teams made up of 14 year olds.....very inequitable and makes for potentially one sided competitions. .....which then leads to demoralized and demotivated kids who leave the sport. Sorry I just believe that there are enough kids to have jpl in each club in each age group....competing with similar ages can only imo increase competition and depth of skills.

Hockey is also a "non contact" sport with a lot less playing numbers

Basketball has U8s, U10s, U12s, U14s, U16s, U18s and make it work pretty well. Between the U14s and U16s age groups the more developed older kids usually make up the majority of the div 1 teams but a few talented younger kids usually still make the squads and become the more experienced older group during their second year at that age level.

[SS Goal Keeper]

The more teams the better, more opportunities for all kids.

Trying to say there are only 6 good kids in a team is just rubbish. The differences between many kids is minor and only some parents attitudes that think there are only 6 good kids in a team perpetuates this thinking. Preferential treatment then follows from this thinking.

JPL in every age group is the best option to give more kids opportunity.

Thanks for feedback, saying only 6 really good players was a generalised statement. A lot of teams have a few real guns and then it drops off quickly (that I've seen).
Cheers SS

What is defined as a "gun" though. So many people these days look for the flash show pony who has all the flicks and turns and forget about the bloke who puts in a good tackle and then plays a simple ball.

By gun player I don't mean the flashy show ponies. You're quite correct being flashy with nice tricks doesn't necessarily make a great player. Firstly forget JPL A, they are going to be pretty well rounded sides I would think. When you look at JPL B and C teams most teams have a small number of very talented players that can dominate their position. Then there are a number of pretty good players for example, then the last say 4 players (for example) make up the team of 14 or 15, some don't have that many kids either. To be clear I'm talking about groups with a JPL team only no JSL team in that age group. My kids have played JPL B and C at clubs that don't have the second team group in JSL. In the 1 team per age group club there is a very large gap between the best and worst players is all I'm saying. Not saying even age groups is the answer but asking the question. Again that would give most clubs 2 teams to choose from. Playing up 1 year between the ages of 12 & 13 or 14 & 15 isn't that bigger gap and many kids already do. someone else mentioned clubs would have an a,b,c,d,e,JSL set up but none have the room for that and I doubt that could happen. FFSA could cap it at 2 JLS teams per age group I guess. Anyway it won't grow legs I don't think just wanted to hear others thoughts.

[ikon]

very good topic, Ive seen JSL teams being used in a variety of ways- At my club a couple of years back we used it a development team in a u/14JSL league but the whole team was eligible for u/13's- It allowed us to develop 13's in a JPLB league and 13's in a u/14JSL league and seemed to work ok. Ive seen clubs do the same thing in 12's to give kids 2 years to transition to a bigger pitch from 11's. Ive seen this work well as well......this is when you have a talent age group and you need to be flexible.

The big clubs have very good JSL sides but I would say at my club which is a middle range club the issue is you have a squad of 30 for 2 teams- around 20 are pretty equal in ability but from players 20-30 you are dealing with kids/parents that don't take as serious , miss games, don't respond to SMS's, go missing on holidays at a drop of a hat and miss training often for other commitments they generally see it as a social thing....this starts to become an issue for players 14-20 that fall in-between .

I reckon Im one of the only coaches that tries to coach the age group and not just a JPL squad....Its the most challenging thing keeping everyone happy. Overall I find its the Stigma of JSL thats the hardest to overcome as kids/parents feel they are being dropped when game time is what you are trying to achieve. If you have a good JSL coach it helps....I can say my JPLC side last year most weeks would've benefited from playing in the JSL league some weeks which we did at times....it wasn't about winning games in JSL.

I have also seen a good group of kids stay together in a JSL team for 4-5 years and have really bonded. With positions opening usually in 15'/16's with players being pushed up they become the JPL players in 16's and 17's and could be late developers....if they stay in the game from ages 13-16 and enjoy their environment.

Don't get me wrong , JSL is a vital league just needs to be used wisely by clubs and not be a slapped together team for fees.

[roundandround]

Ikon

I agree with your first 2 paragraphs. The issue is for the 4 good players that could plausibly play in the jpl but for whatever reasons don’t get to or aren’t quite there yet. Those 4 kids try to carry the jsl team but lose faith when they are playing with a bunch of kids who are of a lower standard and don’t come to training as much as they should. The standards in the jsl team between best to worst player is wide while the jpl team is much narrower.

The better jsl players see the jpl team have mostly full attendance at training and are a competitive team. The jpl team run all training session while the jsl training is of a lower standard because of the lowest common denominators. The 4 good kids get bored and get dragged down. JSL will always be the first team to lose players and have to play with no or little subs as well. Not a lot of running at training, the kids don’t do their own fitness training outside of soccer so a half decent jsl team can be competitive for 2 thirds of a game before they fall apart and the opposition bangs on 4 goals and its game over. JSl team gets a rep for being a bad team and jpl players aren’t interested in coming to help out. Don’t want to be seen playing in the jsl team. Heaven forbid might get stuck there.

Do the 4 good jsl kids get a chance to jump into the jpl team next year? From what I have seen successful jpl teams don’t change more than one or 2 players every year, so unlikely and club won’t make any guarantees to any player about following year. They are also up against any new players who come along at trials.

So do you expect better jsl players to hang around for 3 or 4 years hoping that they might get a chance to play in the jpl team in u15 or 16 with the best coach and players of a closer standard? that’s if the gap between the players hasn’t increased throughout the years rather than narrow? And the club still might take players from outside the club when the time comes to step up. What are the better more dedicated jsl players to do? Give up soccer because they are re-living the same year over and over? Plenty of options to leave and find a jpl team of a lower quality than the club they are at but which has players of a similar standard and are more dedicated because playing in JPL means something.

JSl players wise up sooner or later that despite what the club says to them at the start of the year that players will be rotated between the teams that it rarely happens. Also I wouldn’t presume that jsl players just leave because they are chasing jpl. If the jsl coach isn’t great and they know of another capable coach around town then being in another team might make it more enjoyable. Won’t solve all the players problems but hopefully can go a long way to making soccer enjoyable again. New coach, new team mates, new environment. Worth a shot.

Want an example of a coaching decision that makes the game not enjoyable ? Watch one of the good players in the team get put in the forward line because he is one of the few people who have an attacking instinct in the team, then not touch the ball more than 4 times a half because there isn’t much midfield or the ball wont come out of defence. Ask to be put in the defence so he can get involved in the game and told no your too important to the team to move positions. Quality minutes? You can play 3 games straight and rack up minutes because you aren’t doing much. Be one of the diligent players who comes to training, can’t get involved in the game because coach won’t let you, give up or move club. Coach won’t let you move out of the forward line because not many other teams mates can score goals but its not about winning apparently. Watch players who don’t come to training but somehow get preference come game day. Seen it first hand. End of the year what ya gonna do. Stay and hope next year is better or roll the dice and move on. You cant always say next year will be better.

BTW how many jsl player have returned from u13 to u14? From what I can see 9 of the 15 did not return. I don’t know what the average ins and outs per year is in a jsl team but 60% loss sounds like a lot to me.

[ikon]

Ikon

I agree with your first 2 paragraphs. The issue is for the 4 good players that could plausibly play in the jpl but for whatever reasons don’t get to or aren’t quite there yet. Those 4 kids try to carry the jsl team but lose faith when they are playing with a bunch of kids who are of a lower standard and don’t come to training as much as they should. The standards in the jsl team between best to worst player is wide while the jpl team is much narrower.

The better jsl players see the jpl team have mostly full attendance at training and are a competitive team. The jpl team run all training session while the jsl training is of a lower standard because of the lowest common denominators. The 4 good kids get bored and get dragged down. JSL will always be the first team to lose players and have to play with no or little subs as well. Not a lot of running at training, the kids don’t do their own fitness training outside of soccer so a half decent jsl team can be competitive for 2 thirds of a game before they fall apart and the opposition bangs on 4 goals and its game over. JSl team gets a rep for being a bad team and jpl players aren’t interested in coming to help out. Don’t want to be seen playing in the jsl team. Heaven forbid might get stuck there.

Do the 4 good jsl kids get a chance to jump into the jpl team next year? From what I have seen successful jpl teams don’t change more than one or 2 players every year, so unlikely and club won’t make any guarantees to any player about following year. They are also up against any new players who come along at trials.

So do you expect better jsl players to hang around for 3 or 4 years hoping that they might get a chance to play in the jpl team in u15 or 16 with the best coach and players of a closer standard? that’s if the gap between the players hasn’t increased throughout the years rather than narrow? And the club still might take players from outside the club when the time comes to step up. What are the better more dedicated jsl players to do? Give up soccer because they are re-living the same year over and over? Plenty of options to leave and find a jpl team of a lower quality than the club they are at but which has players of a similar standard and are more dedicated because playing in JPL means something.

JSl players wise up sooner or later that despite what the club says to them at the start of the year that players will be rotated between the teams that it rarely happens. Also I wouldn’t presume that jsl players just leave because they are chasing jpl. If the jsl coach isn’t great and they know of another capable coach around town then being in another team might make it more enjoyable. Won’t solve all the players problems but hopefully can go a long way to making soccer enjoyable again. New coach, new team mates, new environment. Worth a shot.

Want an example of a coaching decision that makes the game not enjoyable ? Watch one of the good players in the team get put in the forward line because he is one of the few people who have an attacking instinct in the team, then not touch the ball more than 4 times a half because there isn’t much midfield or the ball wont come out of defence. Ask to be put in the defence so he can get involved in the game and told no your too important to the team to move positions. Quality minutes? You can play 3 games straight and rack up minutes because you aren’t doing much. Be one of the diligent players who comes to training, can’t get involved in the game because coach won’t let you, give up or move club. Coach won’t let you move out of the forward line because not many other teams mates can score goals but its not about winning apparently. Watch players who don’t come to training but somehow get preference come game day. Seen it first hand. End of the year what ya gonna do. Stay and hope next year is better or roll the dice and move on. You cant always say next year will be better.

BTW how many jsl player have returned from u13 to u14? From what I can see 9 of the 15 did not return. I don’t know what the average ins and outs per year is in a jsl team but 60% loss sounds like a lot to me.

some really good points and exactly what I was referring to , if your son falls in that in between JPl /JSL level it can be very difficult to manage as a player, coach and parent , but good on you for trying something and really hope he's happy and improving his game. ( its not hard to work who you are ).

No doubt last year was a difficult year with the coaching issues and lack of commitment from some JSL players and we addressed things as all good clubs do. 9 not returning is a combination of things long term injuries, commitment to other sports when soccer was not a real priority and yes some hoping for an opportunity in JPL B OR C somewhere else or simply not enjoying it .

Lets not forget that 6 players that played u/12JSL and moved up to u/13JPL last year so JSL did help them , and this year another 2 moved across from JSL and another 2 moved up to U/15JSL to help with their development. I understand you are looking at it from a personal view but we have 30 kids, 60 parents + grand parents and club dynamics to deal with as well....so we are never going to get it right ...best I can do as a coach is make it fun and be honest with kids and parents.

enjoy the year and hope to see your son performing well and enjoying his football.

[roundandround]

Good hope you figured it out.  Left enough breadcrumbs for ya.  Would be worried if you didn't. 

Hope I wasn't disrespectful but there are a couple of other classic stories I witnessed that lessons can be learnt from.

The biggest eye opener for me was that a young coach might know something about training or game day strategies but be oblivious to what's is going on with respecting the players.  Eg one player doesn't come to training for many many many weeks and a kid who can't really, or shouldnt play centre back get put in there for 5 or 6 weeks to fill the hole.

 Because towards the end of the year when  you run out of players you have to put a square peg in a round hole sometimes.  Original centre back mysteriously appears literally 2 minutes before a game starts one week. Not 45 minutes like everyone else to warm up.  All kids standing on pitch ready to start and square peg gets yanked off field so that no-show training  boy can be put in his original position.  Acceptable? Doubt it? Wasn't my son but if I was the kid or the parent I would have had a meltdown. Jsl Kids who don't come to training get equal rights as long as your better than other kids. How does that work. Cant punish them by dropping them to a lower team, maybe. Have another few examples of that was well where my son did let the coach know he was less than pleased (with a few choice words which rarely happens so you know he was really over it) . Seemed to go over the coaches head though.

Previous coaches have instilled a good work ethic at the club and I have always told my son that playing any sport at any club level is a privilege not a right. You respect the coaches who are giving up their time for you. Come to training, be on time and put in a good effort, get along with everyone and have fun. Clearly we have both seen that many others believe otherwise.  End of the year if you enjoyed yourself you will keep playing your chosen sport, if not try elsewhere. Don't let Anchors weigh you down eh!

Best of luck to the team this year.  Try to look after OA, he's a good kid.

[Pie and Bovril]

Good hope you figured it out.  Left enough breadcrumbs for ya.  Would be worried if you didn't. 

Hope I wasn't disrespectful but there are a couple of other classic stories I witnessed that lessons can be learnt from.

The biggest eye opener for me was that a young coach might know something about training or game day strategies but be oblivious to what's is going on with respecting the players.  Eg one player doesn't come to training for many many many weeks and a kid who can't really, or shouldnt play centre back get put in there for 5 or 6 weeks to fill the hole.

 Because towards the end of the year when  you run out of players you have to put a square peg in a round hole sometimes.  Original centre back mysteriously appears literally 2 minutes before a game starts one week. Not 45 minutes like everyone else to warm up.  All kids standing on pitch ready to start and square peg gets yanked off field so that no-show training  boy can be put in his original position.  Acceptable? Doubt it? Wasn't my son but if I was the kid or the parent I would have had a meltdown. Jsl Kids who don't come to training get equal rights as long as your better than other kids. How does that work. Cant punish them by dropping them to a lower team, maybe. Have another few examples of that was well where my son did let the coach know he was less than pleased (with a few choice words which rarely happens so you know he was really over it) . Seemed to go over the coaches head though.

Previous coaches have instilled a good work ethic at the club and I have always told my son that playing any sport at any club level is a privilege not a right. You respect the coaches who are giving up their time for you. Come to training, be on time and put in a good effort, get along with everyone and have fun. Clearly we have both seen that many others believe otherwise.  End of the year if you enjoyed yourself you will keep playing your chosen sport, if not try elsewhere. Don't let Anchors weigh you down eh!

Best of luck to the team this year.  Try to look after OA, he's a good kid.

swearing at the coach isn't showing respect.

[roundandround]

Thanks for the lesson. It also goes both ways.  When the coach looks at you with a blank expression as if he cant figure out what just happened you know your in trouble.  Won't go into detail but let's just say when some one normally reserved loses the plot you might have made a big boo boo. One of those time when you go from having one foot out the door two perhaps.   Chalk it down to one of those lessons learnt throughout the year I hope never to be repeated.
 

[Le_God79]

I don't think is necessarily the structure of the leagues that are wrong but our almost desperate trialing system...one week after the season finishes every club has trials at the same time forcing kids to either risk going elsewhere or going along with a club that do not reveal who is in the JPL and JSL squads (and I assume probably led to believe that they are a good chance for the JPL squad and if not there will be rotation and all that talk). I'm not sure who wins in this odd situation where parents/kids are forced to make a decision in a limited time (and usually taking a gamble on one club as they don't want to risk missing out), coaches have a few one hour sessions to determine if someone is technically good enough and a good fit from an attitude point of view and I imagine clubs who take in everyone will have some angry parents/players when they are put in the JSL team a couple of weeks before the season starts (I have heard of one team that finalised their JPL team one week before the season started).

In my opinion, the FFSA should perhaps consider a system where no club can take deposits from parents until January then kids get a three month window to go and try at different clubs (or coaches can commit to certain players if they want to determine how many spaces are available). I imagine then the 'better' kids will deviate to the JPL teams as they can have a back-up if they don't make their first choice JPL team. Clubs still then have ample time to fill their squads before the season starts in March. Generally it makes it a more competitive environment which may force clubs to think about their overall philosophy towards the juniors and the quality of their coaching.

For me the above system then allows kids/parents to find a suitable club where they like the environment and can develop/be happy. Coaches can have more time to assess players to suit their style of play and hopefully overall better communication will emerge. Unfortunately fear is what stops this - clubs don't want to lose money, coaches don't want to lose their best players however what is not considered in all of this, and should be the real reason we are all here, is what is best for the player...

[Chocco]

one wise person told me for my son many years ago pick the coach not the club or team.

In the end, if the player develops to be a better player, hold their own and Plays play senior football with a club then they have achieved a fantastic result that they should be proud of.

If a player is only in a certain squad because of politics, being at the club a long time or for any other reason other than ability and commitment then really it is masking a future disappointment.

Every player should respect the team by attending every training session either JSL or JPL, should be on time at games and training if not then there has to be consequence otherwise it is not respecting the coach, team, club and fellow players. Coach should start them on the bench, reduce game time then everyone will adhere to the rules.

I recall a large club in SA having a rule that the only way a player can be selected for a JPL squad is by being at the club for more than 1 year, so if you come through the mini roos then its fine, turn up for the 15s then you have to play a year in JSL.

[salap]

Interesting discussion.

Some thoughts.

JPL and JSL teams should be treated equally. Every player is paying the same amount of fees and is entitled to the same level of service. If you do that then you dont have as many problems.

Clubs should preference their returning players over players from outside. If you want loyalty from your players and parents then you need to show loyalty to them. If you dump one of your loyal players from last year out of the squad because a marginally better player comes along from another club at trials then you should also be fully prepared to accept that you best player will leave if he gets a better option from another club.

Lets say you have 30 players in each age group. How many of your U12 JPL side do you really think will play first team football for your club? 1 maybe. If your lucky maybe 3. Thats a maximium of 10% of your customers. Any business model that is based on ignoring 90% of their customers to focus on 10% of their customers is doomed to failure. Further that 10% of your customer base is the most flighty of all because they have the best options elsewhere. You need to focus on all of your customers.

[Mrs Red]

In my opinion, the FFSA should perhaps consider a system where no club can take deposits from parents until January then kids get a three month window to go and try at different clubs (or coaches can commit to certain players if they want to determine how many spaces are available). I imagine then the 'better' kids will deviate to the JPL teams as they can have a back-up if they don't make their first choice JPL team. Clubs still then have ample time to fill their squads before the season starts in March. Generally it makes it a more competitive environment which may force clubs to think about their overall philosophy towards the juniors and the quality of their coaching.

Nice in theory. But clubs require deposits asap due to deposits being required with suppliers, eg Adidas, nike, etc. Most club junior orders for kits, etc occur in October and November. Clubs need the money to pay for the deposit on all the kids orders so they could not wait until January to get payment, size players up and then order kits. many clubs are putting their orders in prior to Christmas and still only getting kits mid March due to World demand.

But do agree holding trials the week after the season ends is a bit crazy.

[Pie and Bovril]

In my opinion, the FFSA should perhaps consider a system where no club can take deposits from parents until January then kids get a three month window to go and try at different clubs (or coaches can commit to certain players if they want to determine how many spaces are available). I imagine then the 'better' kids will deviate to the JPL teams as they can have a back-up if they don't make their first choice JPL team. Clubs still then have ample time to fill their squads before the season starts in March. Generally it makes it a more competitive environment which may force clubs to think about their overall philosophy towards the juniors and the quality of their coaching.

Nice in theory. But clubs require deposits asap due to deposits being required with suppliers, eg Adidas, nike, etc. Most club junior orders for kits, etc occur in October and November. Clubs need the money to pay for the deposit on all the kids orders so they could not wait until January to get payment, size players up and then order kits. many clubs are putting their orders in prior to Christmas and still only getting kits mid March due to World demand.

But do agree holding trials the week after the season ends is a bit crazy.

The season lasts for nine months. Coaches want to have a break and getting trials done and dusted is a good way to bring the Season to a close. The FFSA gives clubs a window to trial and it's up to the individual club whether they trial early or late.

[Le_God79]

In my opinion, the FFSA should perhaps consider a system where no club can take deposits from parents until January then kids get a three month window to go and try at different clubs (or coaches can commit to certain players if they want to determine how many spaces are available). I imagine then the 'better' kids will deviate to the JPL teams as they can have a back-up if they don't make their first choice JPL team. Clubs still then have ample time to fill their squads before the season starts in March. Generally it makes it a more competitive environment which may force clubs to think about their overall philosophy towards the juniors and the quality of their coaching.

Nice in theory. But clubs require deposits asap due to deposits being required with suppliers, eg Adidas, nike, etc. Most club junior orders for kits, etc occur in October and November. Clubs need the money to pay for the deposit on all the kids orders so they could not wait until January to get payment, size players up and then order kits. many clubs are putting their orders in prior to Christmas and still only getting kits mid March due to World demand.

But do agree holding trials the week after the season ends is a bit crazy.

The season lasts for nine months. Coaches want to have a break and getting trials done and dusted is a good way to bring the Season to a close. The FFSA gives clubs a window to trial and it's up to the individual club whether they trial early or late.

But that's part of the issue - everyone is so scared of losing players they all hold trials on the same week. Parents/players have to then take a gamble whether to shift clubs so probably only those that are really unhappy move plus I imagine there are a few that end up playing for the JSL team as some teams will not announce the JPL/JSL split until as late as possible (And probably some wishy washy promises about movement between squads etc). This just means that potentially players who would walk into JPL B teams get stuck playing in the JSL. As a coach I want a bit more of a window so players can find their place where they are happy - even if trials were a bit later (say November) than the current craziness, everyone can have a break when the season finishes and think about whether they are happy where they are or try out somewhere new (or even a new sport).

As for kits, other clubs/federations around the country just order a certain amount of XL, certain amount of L, certain amount of S and go from there - I think we've made the system too hard and the way some of the lads grow their kits are too small by the time they get them anyway!

[fball12]

Kids don't want to play JSL.

Promises about movement between JPL and JSL never occur. Tech Directors do not fulfil their responsibilities. JSL coaches hold onto their good players and do not allow them to move.

Get rid of JSL and form one league with divisions.
Kids will then be motivated to play to their best ability and not give up on soccer earlier than they would.

[Pie and Bovril]

Kids don't want to play JSL.

Promises about movement between JPL and JSL never occur. Tech Directors do not fulfil their responsibilities. JSL coaches hold onto their good players and do not allow them to move.

Get rid of JSL and form one league with divisions.
Kids will then be motivated to play to their best ability and not give up on soccer earlier than they would.

those kids won't want to be playing division F either

[fball12]

Kids don't want to play JSL.

Promises about movement between JPL and JSL never occur. Tech Directors do not fulfil their responsibilities. JSL coaches hold onto their good players and do not allow them to move.

Get rid of JSL and form one league with divisions.
Kids will then be motivated to play to their best ability and not give up on soccer earlier than they would.

those kids won't want to be playing division F either

They will play in the division that matches their ability and performance.

A fair assessment.

And there will be much less differential in winning margins.