Yehp, whether the players or parents like it or not, I’d say this is the elite competition of the age.Originally Posted by sapdad
There was an argument early days saying it wasn’t the elite competition and merely a development program, but it is. Where are 70% of the most talented young players playing…JDL.
I agree with the sentiment that this should be expanded to include more kids and clubs to improve foundational skills across the board.
A few problems I foresee:
- $$$ - not everyone is in a position to pay JDL fees for their child to play. Id suggest some clubs have scholarship type systems in place, but we know sometimes those things do not go to people who need them.
-dilution of quality - at the moment it’s a limited group of players. Expanding increases the difference between the best and worst. Further grading and allocation of teams into appropriate groups needs to happen to ensure most games are competitive and beneficial.
- ability of clubs to attract players - non NPL/NL1 clubs may find it difficult to attract players due to lack of natural progression/pathways to NPL.
- does it just become a glorified inter district competition
I think it’s a step in the right direction, but there are definitely some consequences to expanding the program.
For those involved, would an expanded league be viable? As I understand it, there’s 2 tiers now to promote even games. Is it viable to extend this to 3,4 or 5 tiers?
One of the things that makes it work so well from what I can see, is that it is very controllable and adaptable given the number of teams competing. Logistically easy to organise and train coaches, technical directors, assess teams and grade them appropriately. Increasing numbers too quickly or too much could limit the effectiveness.
