Having watched/coached for a number of years i have noticed, as a generalisation, at about 10-11 years the boys stop passing the ball to the girls etc, girls playing against boys in the Saturday league ,in my humble opinion, will prepare them better for the intensity of senior football later.
It has been very interesting to see the reactions of a few of the all boys teams we have come up against so far.
We are simply trying to build a good strong base of girls that not only enjoy playing the game but also have a strong club identity.
I am fully aware that not every player will make it to the top 1% but if we do not provide a clear and supportive pathway for the other 99% we have no real base to grow women's football from.
If we continue with the attitude that "perhaps playing with boys is better for their development as a player? and perhaps as a human being" are we just going to keep doing what has always been done and therefore keep getting the same results?
I for one would love to see the ladies central league remain strong and for this to happen we need to make some changes at the lower levels so the girls have a clear pathways that shows them the clubs actually care about women's football in its own right and dont just see them as
1. Spare members of boys teams to be subs on the sideline
2. The ladies that run the kitchen after the men have played
Or we could just bury our head in the sand and wait till there is no senior ladies football and we have nothing for the younger girls to aim for as a pathway to stronger leagues or higher honours.
Don't you get better play playing with better players eg if I was a talented girl I would get more from playing with boys where I may be considered average, rather than with girls who I was pretty much heads and shoulders better than.
To form such a girls team you speak of - girls would need to come from a number of clubs - what does that do to the source clubs wanting to develop girls football?