Im not sure why you are so consistently angry about the NPL youth system but Cooks Hill 16s are the only team missing this year and obviously they wont be needed next year anyway so all NPL spots should be filled.The proposed youth restructure will also get rid of byes altogether.Cooks Hill have brought a new TD in and are at least having a go at fixing what has been a disappointing year results wise.From all reports they have a good crop of JDL kids coming into NPL youth next year so considering the relative short notice they had in preparation for this year Im not sure what else anyone expected.Theres been a pretty fair pile on of a few clubs who have struggled this year but from my experience watching week in and week out they are no where near the worst run clubs in the program.
Angry nah. disappointed, very much. And I cant continue to sugar coat this crap. The kids, parents, volunteers, coaches and our city deserve better.
The comp has 2 byes. It's pathetic. A third of the teams arent competitive. Proves my point.
Tell me again what youre trying to defend?
Defend?I was merely explaining that for one year,one age division has 2 byes.The rest have one.Next year sounds like it wont have any.The age groups Ive watched the most this year 3 teams have a chance in 13s and 1 team has a chance in 14.Of course miracles happen,but what do we do about the rest?Do we yell and scream and carry on at Olympic and Maitland who havent had great results but lost a lot of players to the Jets.Is it a good thing for a club to be producing Jets players?I think so.Do we spend all year approaching opposition players to bolster our club in the hope of winning or do we stick with what we have and try and develop them to their full potential?I look at the clubs who arent winning and see well coached squads,i see next years 12s being an improvement on this years 13 (who are better than this years 14s). This shows progression.But i obviously look at things differently to you,and thats perfectly fine.But more the point is what exactly are you expecting from youth football in this city?Do you want win at all costs?Do you want less teams therefore less opportunites for kids.
Now,take exaclty what I just said and apply it to every league in the world.Its the same.This is just how football is.My advice is if you think three team comps are a joke then dont watch EPL,La Liga,Bundesliga,Ligue 1............the list goes on.Maybe support Major League Baseball theres lots of differnt winners there.Enjoy.
You seem quite knowledgeable on the kids coming through into youth at Buds and Cookers next year. If they are as good as you say, what chances they stay put at those clubs next season? It’s one thing playing development football at these clubs and another when it becomes a proper comp.
Ive seen most 12s squads,and theres lots of good kids across a lot of clubs.Im not involved with either of those clubs so no idea if they will stay and no idea if they will be better than the likes of Magic/Jaffas/Olympic etc.My point was that its one thing to look down on the clubs who dont get results and its another to see that at least they are trying something.I personally think theres one club at the moment that does the best job at recruiting,playing and results.I hate the clubs that spend all year kicking one set of kids out and replacing them with another,but do we blame the club or the parents that chase results?I feel sorry for clubs that lose their best talent to the Jets and have to rebuild quickly.I love clubs that have a clear direction with their coaching and playing style (Valentine being a great example).All I want to see is that the kids get the very best opportunities available and we as parents and (especially forum commentators at arms length) just relax a little bit and let the kids play and do their best.
It would be nice to see players stay at clubs with more consistency but there are no real regulations or controls in place to limit it.
At the end of the day club Youth TD’s are judged on their results not their loyalty. So you can’t blame any of them for trying to get the best players.
One clubs TD was even at 12’s TSP training this week taking notes.
13’s next year will be very interesting. I think there is potential of 6-8 teams challenging for finals football. Who the clubs are that will be the strongest probably depends on who loses the least players.
Based on this years squads:
Jaffas, Azzurri, Edgy, Olympic & Magic are very strong. Each of them will take a big hit if they lose their best 2-3 players to the Jets though.
Maitland, Weston, Buds, Cooks Hill etc could also be very good with just a little bit of improvement.
Last edited by Aegon; 26-07-2022 at 10:37 PM.
All opinions expressed here are my own.
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin
I have also seen all of the 12s teams this year and i will have to say i think
Based on this years squads:
Azzurri, Edgy are clearly the stronger teams - Olympic & Jaffas are next with Magic and Maitland very close.
Weston and Cooks Hills etc could also improve but i would say there 12s would need a large improvement to compete regularly with the above squads.
Side not: is the decoupling happening next year? if so i believe Azzurri Youth aren't in division 1? (i could be wrong though)
Im still not blaming any club here.
But you are accepting mediocrity.
16s with 2 byes is still stupidity no excuses and thinking that the other years are ok is embarrassing.
The competition amongst the other years is also too lopsided and until we get 12 competitive teams eg enough kids to want to fill this then we need less clubs in each division.
We can do better. Our clubs are set up fail by the football structure set about by NNSW and even maybe by some clubs who are all clambering to be in the top grade but we can't sustain a good playing model.
I see 8 teams from a club championship in 2 or 3 divisions, decoupled from seniors and have promotion and relegation from that.
Should we try a southern Lakes development squad in there so kids from Tronno Morritown and surrounding areas can develop then go to their senior clubs later? There are plenty of options to try to get good quality kids into the top grades and actually be competitive each week.
It is in my opinion a much more balanced age group than others around it.
Weston have been excellent in the last month or two keeping Edgy and Magic scoreless. One Cooks hill and one New Lambton side always give a really good account of themselves. Maitland would be one of the strongest squads if they didn't have 5 or so kids playing up for this years NPL 13's. Any team from the ones I listed in my previous post is capable of being the best team on a given day.
Hopefully next years 13's shows us that the JDL model is creating more depth of talent and in the long run a better competition.
All opinions expressed here are my own.
"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Benjamin Franklin
https://forms.gle/e1UFhyPgL5tWReqGAOriginally Posted by COOKS HILL UNITED
Honestly anyone with kids in the 16s should be annoyed. Last year it was lakes, this year its cooks. parents aren't getting a discount for missing games out of the season, It was extra disappointing that once they found out that cooks couldn't put a team together they couldn't have scheduled the two teams with the bye to play each other. somewhere every week was finishing a game at 15's and had field availability.
In this instance it's really not good enough and extra concerning if they are considering bringing NL up next year, another whole club of teams when we have had the last two years with teams missing in that age group. The proposed solution is that any club who can't field a team can't play in the top division, but when those decisions are made not long before the season starts where do the rest of the kids go? which leads into....
Changing the order of the EOI's and retention, having clubs open and close EOI before kids at clubs have been at least been notified if they are being retained or not to stay the next season is so backwards and causes so many hassles for players. Is there a better solution? I assume its maybe fairly stable in JDL until 12's (and in the girls space) but for the boys its always a ****fight.
It doesnt really matter about the rules around retention and EOI's.One of my sons teammates got approached in the first 6 weeks of NPL youth to move clubs next year.There was a lot more movement in JDL than I thought between both clubs moving players on and players themselves choosing to go.I would love to know the average amount of kids that went from JDL 9's all the way through to 13's NPL at the same club.Would assume it would be around the same amount as Aegon had.