A Seasons Football - From the other end

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sniffer66

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I know this forum focuses mainly on the Prem but hopefully this will hit a few notes with some of the dads on here - and I'm so proud I feel like sharing :)

My lad is 12 and a keeper. He is pretty decent and plays at somewhere just below academy level, though his height is always going to be an issue. He wasnt happy at his old club so moved to another local team and they put a Saturday team into the East Berkshire league in Div 2 (Div 1 is the highest) so he is in the equivalent of the Championship. The boys play on intermediate pitches, 9 a side

To cut a long story short they played a blinder for the whole season, losing only 2 games, drawing none and winning their division last week.
They also made it through to the final of the League Cup after a few hard battles with teams in the Division above. On Saturday the final was played against Binfield who won the Div 1 (Prem) at a canter, only losing one game all season.
They fought every ball and battled non stop for the whole 60 minutes and ended up 2-0 winners to take the cup. My son had another blinder in goal, keeping a clean sheet and stopping everything that came near him

So, Division Winners and League Cup holders in first season together. People talk about kids in this country playing kick and rush, long ball football but everything is played along the ground, to feet, one touch, look up and pass. And most of the other teams we have played do the same. Its just passing triangles all over the pitch. So they even did it the "right" way

I don't get the chance to go to many pro games these days as I just don't have the time and money due to the kids costs but I take him to games and training 4-5 days a week, often getting up at the crack of dawn or racing home from work and going without eating, cleaning boots and acting as a glorified trainer, physio and boot cleaner. I spend a fortune on boots, gloves and kit as the little bugger grows out of everything every few months. I reckon I've done at least a £1.5k in fees, petrol and other costs this season. He has had some injuries as well as he is a brave little sod and often ends up at feet with a boot in the face

But do you know, its all completely worth it when you get to stand and look at pics like this at the end of a season.
I've included some stat links as well if anyone is interested. He has 9 clean sheets out of 20 games, keeping the team in some games we only won by a goal. He was also MoM 4 times, more than any other player. Not bad for a keeper :)

Its easy to get caught up in the money game, the glamour and everything that goes with that but the grass roots stuff is also what its all about

East Berks Football Alliance

U12 Elm Grove Colts Saturns

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Loved reading that, loved it.

EDIT : that's not him in the sling is it?

;-)
 
Loved reading that, loved it.

EDIT : that's not him in the sling is it?

;-)

Thanks. I know other people's kids aren't always of interest to anyone but their parents but I have the biggest grin on my face this week. I lived every kick in that final along with all the other dad's. We must have had about 200 people there.
Good support all season as well, no sideline coachng allowed, just cheering the good stuff

And not in the sling, that's one of his defenders, who is bigger than me ! Broke his collarbone
My lad Euan is in the orange gk top
 
I enjoyed reading it but thought the second picture was of them all eating ice creams :D
 
People talk about kids in this country playing kick and rush, long ball football but everything is played along the ground, to feet, one touch, look up and pass. And most of the other teams we have played do the same. Its just passing triangles all over the pitch. So they even did it the "right" way

Lovely read, thanks for sharing. My eldest (also Ewan) started playing this year, but he's only 5 so early days yet but he absolutely loves it and is pretty decent for his age. He loves watching MOTD, live games on the telly and has had 5 trips to Anfield this season !! Every day he's kicking a ball either in the garden or the living room !!!

The bit I quoted above is especially true at my lad's club as well. Although not yet applicable to his age group, the later ages all play to feet and try to do it the right way. After his training on a Saturday we tend to watch some of the older kids training or their matches (after a trip to the tuck shop first) and I am amazed at how well some of them play (especially compared to some of us 40+ year olds when we play 5 a side at work). I never played football as a kid, growing up in Ireland I played gaelic football at all age groups but the sense of community and togetherness is similar.

Some of the other Dads are contemplating taking up the coaching side to help their kids' teams and have suggested I get involved. I'm not sure to be honest. Its a big investment from a time perspective and you've also got to deal with other parents when their kids don't get picked. Not sure its worth the hassle?

Still, good on your lad, well done !

BTW - I also thought they were ice creams !.....and is that a Germany top they are wearing :devil:
 
Great stuff.....like yourself I've been helping out with my lads U13 team. He's been with them since U8 level.
Two seasons ago we moved up a level to the National League and really struggled (having won everything in our local league the previous few years), but this year we played must better football and held our own against some of the very top teams.

Over Easter my son got the chance to train with Celtic for a week and is buzzing since that. For me though, it only struck home how poor our coaching is as he learned more in that week than in the whole of the last 5 yrs with his local team. Far to much emphasis is on winning games, be it league or cup matches. With Celtic there was no pressure and my son flourished and was enjoying his football more than I've seen from him in a long time.
I'm seriously questioning whether or not to send him back to his club next year.
 
It's a great point Dony. As you know, I have lewis aged 8 and everyone keeps asking him "which team does he play for" when, at the moment, he doesn't. Some parents look at you as if you are daft.

I've been taking him to manchester futsal every week and it focuses on ball skills, tricks, movement, space and control. It's an amazing game to watch as it moves so fast. Ronaldo put his world player of the year down to playing futsal when he was young.

Next door comes home with a trophy from his local team and my wife gives me grief. She said one time, "it doesn't matter about development, it matters that he plays in a team and wins things, it's not like he's going to be a premier league footballer is it?"

I cried.
 
Unfortunately I'm away from home this week and will miss the underage "End of Year Award Ceremony" (have you ever
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), so I'll not have an opportunity to hear the plans for next year. I'm going to have a look at alternatives to competitive football for him over summer. He just wants to play so if there was 5 a side or futsal available I think he'd enjoy it just as much. Trouble is he's now become institutionalized and feels he'd be letting his team-mates down if he were to leave.
 
Lovely read, thanks for sharing. My eldest (also Ewan) started playing this year, but he's only 5 so early days yet but he absolutely loves it and is pretty decent for his age. He loves watching MOTD, live games on the telly and has had 5 trips to Anfield this season !! Every day he's kicking a ball either in the garden or the living room !!!

The bit I quoted above is especially true at my lad's club as well. Although not yet applicable to his age group, the later ages all play to feet and try to do it the right way. After his training on a Saturday we tend to watch some of the older kids training or their matches (after a trip to the tuck shop first) and I am amazed at how well some of them play (especially compared to some of us 40+ year olds when we play 5 a side at work). I never played football as a kid, growing up in Ireland I played gaelic football at all age groups but the sense of community and togetherness is similar.

Some of the other Dads are contemplating taking up the coaching side to help their kids' teams and have suggested I get involved. I'm not sure to be honest. Its a big investment from a time perspective and you've also got to deal with other parents when their kids don't get picked. Not sure its worth the hassle?

Still, good on your lad, well done !

BTW - I also thought they were ice creams !.....and is that a Germany top they are wearing :devil:


It is a big commitment getting involved in the coaching but it must be very rewarding and at least you get the opportunity to try and influence things the way they should be.

One thing our coaches have always done is play everyone in rotation without any exceptions for ability, at least until the boys got to 11. That removes any input from parents who think little Johnny deserves more pitch time. Our coaches have also banned any parental coaching from the sidelines. Parents can applaud, encourage and commiserate but thats it. We have never had any issues because of it

I also think the FA are starting to move in the right direction by not publishing league tables until at least 9 years old
 
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Completely agree with your points guys. Boys of that age are naturally competitive anyway and will always try to win but coaches who make winning their only priority cause a lot of problems.
Our main coaches have their FA badges and the emphasis is on playing the game properly and if winning is the end result then all well and good

And they have Futsal down the road from us and a few of the boys rave about it. its definitely the way to go. Though Euan has separate GK training on top of club training so we might be overdoing it at that point :)
 
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