Quote Originally Posted by MFKS View Post
Getting them in early obviously makes sense but the idea is wasted if they ain't making it interesting enough for kids in the 10-18 range

Far too many drop out after a few years in the game and never return

Maybe a strategy of all juniors up to 18 years at a cheap rate is needed
the changes to the Talented Player Pathway will make it interesting for smaller clubs.

We already find that with one team in each age group, when you reach the U12's and up the loss of 2-3 players to SAP or NPL can spell the end of a team as there is no return flow of players. We always work with surrounding clubs to find kids new homes, but ultimately a lot of kids just drop out rather than change clubs.

When the TPP drops to U9's and every NPL and NL1 club its running a program, there could be a lot of teams that aren't viable at lower ages. My fear is kids left behind drop out and stop playing.

I agree with you though on making it more interesting for kids in the U10-18 range. We have been trying to in the last few seasons make the linkage from our juniors into the Zone League a lot more obvious and having the older kids train with the ZL squads. What we are finding hard is that, even though there are kids that are easily good enough to come through, if their team folds before the U18's, none of them flow through. We charged $215 for the U17/18 this season, of which the club takes $50 and none of the players ever raise $$$ as an issue for them. The reasons for the teams folding are always the same. A few players leave to pursue higher grades (which we encourage) and new players aren't around to fill the void so the team folds. Some players find a new club, the rest just stop playing.

We are working to address this, but at the older ages the rego seems to be the least of the issue.