Just heard from my old junior club that the Waibop Federation are proposing to get rid of our EBOP 13th grade to align with other areas. Our 13th grade comp has been 11 aside competitive up till now. The games between top teams have had a lot of interest, sideline support, etc. Now they want to lump 13th graders in with 11th and 12th grades, in a 9 aside grade.
While I understand the concept that smaller teams means more time on the ball, which means more potential for development of skills, I also think that the major factor being ignored is passion for the game. A well run competitive league develops passion, which is what will hold kids in football.Total focus on skills, ignoring passion is not good for the game in NZ. We don't have much in the way of historical passion (families born into being supporters of clubs), so we need to encourage it! Playing numbers in our area have halved over the last ten years with the focus on small sided games.
Lets get the balance right.
Watering down of NZ football
sounds like they are falling in to line with all the sports bodies in NZ, removing all the junior competitive leagues cos its apparently bad for kids to specialise too early.
I've refereed about 3 games of competitive development league football this year. I'm just not convinced of the benefits of fullsize before U17s. Short side games or smaller pitches should result in more touches, and prioritise skill development. The emergence of full size pitches seems to encourage hoof-play for too many sides. Arguably a coaching, not a player problem of course.
(In capital, 13s don't have to take corners from the corner mark, but some distance closer to the goal. This should tell you all you need to know).