Gary Lineker take a bow.......

[Bold Seagull]

Our U8's team is strictly inclusive and in our 2 matches of 30mins 7-a-side format I ensure we have mixed ability teams and everyone gets a game. We work on our passing, first touch and movement, and sometimes it really works.

We then come up against sides that have an exclusive policy, have trials, and basically pick the biggest and best kids. They don't play anymore attractive football, but it's like playing a team from an age group above. I'm not sure what anyone gains from this approach - especially for 7 and 8 year olds, telling kids of that age they're not good enough just doesn't work for me. FOOTBALL SHOULD BE FUN. A lot of parents and teams need to be reminded of this. The more fun it is, the more touches of the ball they get, the better our players will be in the future.

 

[loz]

I used to ref my sons team U13 as I am a qualified ref, no payment just as a favour.

Anyway this one game a boy was getting upset because he was playing badly and his team mates were having a go. Then he lunged into a tackle and thankfully missed, I blew the whistle for the dangerous play and took the boy to one side (in fact he was a good mate of my sons) with my arm around him just telling him to calm down catch his breath and ignore the jibes.
All of a sudden I heard some bloke shouts “get your hands off him you peado” I turned round and said “what did you say” he came back with something like , "you like cuddling young boys do you?" I was going to say something but then noticed the bloke was drinking a can of Stella...It was 10.30 on a Saturday morning, that said it all really!!!

Unfortunately because of this, his team were suspended from the league, so all the boys missed a season of football because of some cretin shouting.

 

[joeinbrighton]

Britain's most notorious crisp thief is spot on.

 

[Springal]

I used to ref my sons team U13 as I am a qualified ref, no payment just as a favour.

Anyway this one game a boy was getting upset because he was playing badly and his team mates were having a go. Then he lunged into a tackle and thankfully missed, I blew the whistle for the dangerous play and took the boy to one side (in fact he was a good mate of my sons) with my arm around him just telling him to calm down catch his breath and ignore the jibes.
All of a sudden I heard some bloke shouts “get your hands off him you peado” I turned round and said “what did you say” he came back with something like , "you like cuddling young boys do you?" I was going to say something but then noticed the bloke was drinking a can of Stella...It was 10.30 on a Saturday morning, that said it all really!!!

Unfortunately because of this, his team were suspended from the league, so all the boys missed a season of football because of some cretin shouting.

To be fair, and if you are a qualified ref and have done the safeguarding course, you really shouldn't be putting your arm around an U13 really.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

...its not like he 'fell through the cracks'

If anyone saw his appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? the other week, you'll know that he's descended from a family of Leicestershire petty criminals. His great great great grandfather was one arrested by an ancestor of mine, for stealing a scythe, in Hinckley.

 

[Buzzer]

If anyone saw his appearance on Who Do You Think You Are? the other week, you'll know that he's descended from a family of Leicestershire petty criminals. His great great great grandfather was one arrested by an ancestor of mine, for stealing a scythe, in Hinckley.

A bit nearer home - his brother.

 

[Mo Gosfield]

For years and years in this country there was little or no organised/competitive youth football in this country much below 9-10 years of age. In fact in some areas there was nothing below the age of 11 ( when lads started senior school and then represented said school )
So what did youngsters do? They played in the playground, in the street, in the park or rec, in fact anywhere where you could put down some jumpers or chalk-mark goals. They usually played with a tennis ball. Much harder to control than a larger ball. But boys learnt to control it, on their chest, or thigh, or instep or even their head. They learnt close control, how to dribble, keeping this small ball close to you. ( e.g George Best, who dribbled up and down the touchlines and round the corner flags whilst his mum played hockey ) There was no pressure, no shouting, clamouring parents. The only advice came from your teammates. You remembered what you had seen on tv ( in grainy B+W ) and you tried it out. It was fun, it was exciting. No one to answer to.
You gained in confidence and you matured at the right pace. The big boys had much less advantage over the smaller ones.
When you got to senior school and started playing with a full-sized ball, it was easy to control compared with a tennis ball. Your confidence continued to grow. Bear in mind that was an old-style leather ball that retained moisture and was like kicking a medicine ball at times.
It was almost a seamless transition. Boys had done their ' apprenticeship ' They had learnt the basics and learnt them under no pressure. They were then mature enough to start dealing with the added pressure of competitive football through their teens.
By starting competitive football at 6 years of age you are guaranteeing a high fall-out rate. Youngsters will be losing interest before they even get to their teens. It is far far too young. It is hugely unfair on the kids themselves.
The whole structure has to be ripped apart and started again. No competitive football under 9. Smaller pitches and balls between 9-11. Then full size pitch and ball from 11 upwards.
It drives me mad to see these tiny kids hunting the ball down in groups, parents shouting from the touchline and the kids at 6-7 years old, going home in bits after losing 9-0.
The authorities think that by starting at this age in a controlled environment that the kids are going to learn quicker and younger and that by 9-10 years old we are going to be unearthing star after star.
Completely and utterly wrong. In fact I would go as far as to say that it has done huge damage to the fabric of our game and greatly reduced the number of skillful, confident young footballers with the potential to make it in this game. By putting pressure on children too early in life, you virtually guarantee that many of them will simply walk away as soon as possible.

 

[Bold Seagull]

For years and years in this country there was little or no organised/competitive youth football in this country much below 9-10 years of age. In fact in some areas there was nothing below the age of 11 ( when lads started senior school and then represented said school )
So what did youngsters do? They played in the playground, in the street, in the park or rec, in fact anywhere where you could put down some jumpers or chalk-mark goals. They usually played with a tennis ball. Much harder to control than a larger ball. But boys learnt to control it, on their chest, or thigh, or instep or even their head. They learnt close control, how to dribble, keeping this small ball close to you. ( e.g George Best, who dribbled up and down the touchlines and round the corner flags whilst his mum played hockey ) There was no pressure, no shouting, clamouring parents. The only advice came from your teammates. You remembered what you had seen on tv ( in grainy B+W ) and you tried it out. It was fun, it was exciting. No one to answer to.
You gained in confidence and you matured at the right pace. The big boys had much less advantage over the smaller ones.
When you got to senior school and started playing with a full-sized ball, it was easy to control compared with a tennis ball. Your confidence continued to grow. Bear in mind that was an old-style leather ball that retained moisture and was like kicking a medicine ball at times.
It was almost a seamless transition. Boys had done their ' apprenticeship ' They had learnt the basics and learnt them under no pressure. They were then mature enough to start dealing with the added pressure of competitive football through their teens.
By starting competitive football at 6 years of age you are guaranteeing a high fall-out rate. Youngsters will be losing interest before they even get to their teens. It is far far too young. It is hugely unfair on the kids themselves.
The whole structure has to be ripped apart and started again. No competitive football under 9. Smaller pitches and balls between 9-11. Then full size pitch and ball from 11 upwards.
It drives me mad to see these tiny kids hunting the ball down in groups, parents shouting from the touchline and the kids at 6-7 years old, going home in bits after losing 9-0.
The authorities think that by starting at this age in a controlled environment that the kids are going to learn quicker and younger and that by 9-10 years old we are going to be unearthing star after star.
Completely and utterly wrong. In fact I would go as far as to say that it has done huge damage to the fabric of our game and greatly reduced the number of skillful, confident young footballers with the potential to make it in this game. By putting pressure on children too early in life, you virtually guarantee that many of them will simply walk away as soon as possible.

Mo, there is no competitive football until you get beyond 11.

For example the FA have released a guide to U7 and U8 football. Small 5 a-side non competitive games, no league tables or first places size 3 balls only. Pitches to be max. 40 yards by 30 yards. Small 'samba' size goals. No one player to play more than 40mins in a day, with normal matches a max. of 20mins per half (we play 15mins per half but have 2 games). By the side of the pitch set up a tape 2m or so from the pitch for parents to stand behind. Goal kicks, the other team has to retreat to their half.

For the most part the kids love this format, as I've said above you get the odd team treating it with trials for 7 year olds etc. which I think is completely wrong, but mostly we've had great games with parents enjoy a more relaxed atmosphere. Scores are not recorded or put into any league. We have girls and boys playing at this age group. There is no pressure on them, they are there to have fun, and believe me, most of the time they do.

We are talking 1 hour training session on a Saturday, and maybe 20 fixtures per year on a Sunday. Plenty of time for them to still go out with their tennis balls and jumpers for goal posts.

 

[User removed 4]

Where my son plays on Saturdays, one of the coaches from a different age group went to watch some junior matches in Spain in the summer while on holiday, nothing major just normal local club stuff. They played on vastly smaller pitches with smaller goals, about u9's or u10's he reckons, but they had a brilliant (IMO) rule for goal kicks. All the players had to be in their own half, i.e. the team taking the goal kick had to be in their own half and the opposition had to retreat back to their half. Consequently goal kicks were just rolled out and the kids played from there. He reckons it was great to watch and you just didn't see any 'long' balls at all. When a goal was scored, play re-started with a goal kick and off they went.

I've got kids in U17 & U14 this year and I've seem them all the way from U8's up and the amount of parents who constantly shout out 'get rid' or 'launch it' at every age group is quite staggering.

both my boys play in the mid sussex league, thats certainly the rule in u10's.

 

[User removed 4]

To be fair, and if you are a qualified ref and have done the safeguarding course, you really shouldn't be putting your arm around an U13 really.

To be fair , in front of all the other players and parents on the touchline , use some common fuc*ing sense.

 

[upthealbion1970]

both my boys play in the mid sussex league, thats certainly the rule in u10's.

Its the same in the Sussex Sunday youth league for all ages upto u10 I believe

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

To be fair, and if you are a qualified ref and have done the safeguarding course, you really shouldn't be putting your arm around an U13 really.

Are you being serious?

 

[chaileyjem]

Some junior matches in Spain...They played on vastly smaller pitches with smaller goals, about u9's or u10's he reckons, but they had a brilliant (IMO) rule for goal kicks. All the players had to be in their own half, i.e. the team taking the goal kick had to be in their own half and the opposition had to retreat back to their half.

The FA have made big changes to rules this year , introducing a similar retreat line for kids football , smaller pitches, goals and no longer 11v11 until kids get to u13s. Just like Spain it seems.
http://www.thefa.com/my-football/player/youth-football/youth-development-review

 

[glasfryn]

My 10 year old used to play for Mile Oak Wanderers and I have to say they had/have a terrific policy and charter regarding parent behaviour. Whenever a parent was out of order, the coach used to deal with it very well indeed.

On the other side of the coin, about 8 years ago I would occasionally 'run the line' when my former step son played for Worthing United. WUFC again were very well run and the coaches were hot about 'proper behaviour'.. although one race issue occurred which was rather distasteful.
Anyway I recall one game when I was given so much abuse from opposition parents and coaches that I approached the ref (who i didn't know) and suggested we call the game off. The ref (a mate of the opposition coach) declined funnilly enough, and spent the rest of the game ignoring my flag!

although not qualified I reffed a good few games for the mile oak team and never had many arguments (they are were a great little club by the way)only ever had problems with one team and took their parents in to the dressing room before the match warned them about their behavior and told them in no uncertain terms that I had nothing to do with the home club (I was a manager at Fishersgate Flyers at the time)

my son played for his school at left back although he was right footed (took after his father) and after coming into the opposing teams area and scoring the teacher took him off immediately and admonished him for coming out of his playing area what ever that meant.
thats the sort of thing that is killing the English game not allowing lads teams to do the unusual the unexpected.

 

[Springal]

To be fair , in front of all the other players and parents on the touchline , use some common fuc*ing sense.

Are you being serious?

Yes. Just saying its a case of judgement, but I wouldn't put myself in a position where that might happen.

 

[BigGully]

Lets for a moment not assume that every organised match or practice needs scrutinising to see if we are delivering the relevant tools for the next English International to the boys involved.

If there are maybe 10 000 youngsters affiliated to Sussex Youth Football ( I dont know ) then you can assume that probably 1 or two might go and sign professional at a later stage so we needn't feel any burden of responsibility, that's for the professional academy's to endure.

I think sometimes we seem so wrapped up in the latest FA initiative that we become extremely judgmental of other clubs and coaches if they do not deliver the same as you.

Its all a little irrelevant anyway as nearly all the kids will only be playing pub football at best by the age of 20, absolutely no shame in that, but I just hope that they had some fun on the way.

 

[Albion Dan]

Where my son plays on Saturdays, one of the coaches from a different age group went to watch some junior matches in Spain in the summer while on holiday, nothing major just normal local club stuff. They played on vastly smaller pitches with smaller goals, about u9's or u10's he reckons, but they had a brilliant (IMO) rule for goal kicks. All the players had to be in their own half, i.e. the team taking the goal kick had to be in their own half and the opposition had to retreat back to their half. Consequently goal kicks were just rolled out and the kids played from there. He reckons it was great to watch and you just didn't see any 'long' balls at all. When a goal was scored, play re-started with a goal kick and off they went.

.

My son plays for a very good under 8s side that play excellent passing football in the south east london league and this rule has been implemented this season. It has been nothing short of a disaster for every opposition side we have played.

Every time one of their players gets the ball they have two or three of my sons team tearing at them from the half way line pressing and invariably get tackled or boot it out of play. They dont get far with passing either as the rest of the team are so organised. Three of their five matches this season have been 34-0, 25-2, and 15-1. These games last 40 mins and id say that rule has put five goals on top of each score line minimum.

 

[loz]

Yes. Just saying its a case of judgement, but I wouldn't put myself in a position where that might happen.

Thats a really sad thing to say....why oh why cant someone put there arm round a child to comfort them?? we are not all sex criminals!!

But the way things are today you sadly have a point.

 

[tinycowboy]

the amount of parents who constantly shout out 'get rid' or 'launch it' at every age group is quite staggering.

You always get plenty of people at football matches who think they have something perceptive to say, despite the fact that they are hardly experts. 'Get rid' is still unfortunately heard every game at the Amex, but I haven't heard 'launch it' for a few months now.

 

[Bold Seagull]

My son plays for a very good under 8s side that play excellent passing football in the south east london league and this rule has been implemented this season. It has been nothing short of a disaster for every opposition side we have played.

Every time one of their players gets the ball they have two or three of my sons team tearing at them from the half way line pressing and invariably get tackled or boot it out of play. They dont get far with passing either as the rest of the team are so organised. Three of their five matches this season have been 34-0, 25-2, and 15-1. These games last 40 mins and id say that rule has put five goals on top of each score line minimum.

What would change if your sons team didn't have to retreat to the halfway line? I'd suggest the score would remain the same if not increased.

I'd also query how much of a passing/possession side it is if you're scoring 34 goals in 40 mins. I'd suggest when a team is so dominant, the manager needs to swap all their positions round, swap the keeper etc. and make it clear that you want to see them keep the ball for 20 passes before they have a shot at goal. Get them trying things within the match environment, like only shooting from outside the box, or trying to score a headed goal. This is what coaches and managers have a responsibility to do. Who has gained anything from those score lines? Rather than win by those large margins, other things can be coached into the youngsters to experiment with in a game.