touchy subject but the u17's are still a continuation of our teams stacked full of white middle to upper class kids. I for some reason thought there was more cultural diversity in our younger age group teams. Given the schools Hay and Zoro are coaching at this is no surprise.
Top footballers are top athletes. If be fascinated to know what the 100m and 20m sprint times are for the u17's vs say the back line of the school boy all blacks. Our players just look like kids with a good engine but limited pace. The clubs aren't attracting the different ethnicities so its up to the schools and development guys to find these kids in the schools who may not be in the academy structures at at Kents, MAGs etc. NZF need to address this asap as the pathway CANNOT just be through the clubs.
Philosophically Id much rather see a young team trying to play than what I saw today. The coaches need to be telling the midfielders and AMs to show for the ball. They have to "want the ball". There's a big difference between players who are good "with the ball" and players who are good "without it". Watch our guys, they run very straight lines and don't demand the ball. It's a philisophical thing. Sure they will make the odd mistake but that's better than just running for 90 mins and hardly touching the ball because either as a midfielder the ball is going over your head or into the corners. Just tell the kids to "want the ball", "want it back" and move!!!
This is an important and difficult issue that you highlight. Here is the problem, football is increasingly becoming the domain of the middle class. Its becoming a sport where having parents with a decent disposable income means you have a better chance of progressing.
It starts early, as junior players kids who have parents who can afford to send their kids to paid skills academies etc get a head start. Also because players now need to very early be in the "streamed" teams they are training far more than they did 20 years ago. its not uncommon for a really good 9 year old to be training 4 times a week. So the kids who have parents who have a decent disposable income and the ability to ferry these kids from training to training have an advantage.
As the players get older there are more demands on parents ability to pay for more academies, federation training and then school or club tournaments and trips. Add on that kids who are involved from 8 or 9 onwards in the higher end of their age groups are also having to spend more on gear, its not unusual for kids to have a couple of pairs of boots per season. Gear bags, training tops, playing strips, playing boots, tracksuits etc etc all add layers of cost and over time it makes it more and more difficult for those on average or lower incomes to provide for their kids footballing costs. Add in when some families have 2 or more kids playing.
The days of kids being able to become top footballers from street football are virtually over.
The cost of becoming a decent player is drifting away from the working classes.