Mainland Premier League

Hey BenchWarmer, is the Nomads team playing in the u19 tourney essentially the div 3 17s team, plus a few from PDL or 15s? If so, it's going to be a very tough tournament for those boys; but they'll hopefully learn lots.

From The Press today on the Mainland Awards:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/9215530/Magic-moments-for-defender

Not from the Press (yet): APFA leaving Chch.

Great write up for Coastal. Nice work.

Big news on APFA, where they off to? And why?

keep it going 10CC / Dreadlock holiday

well keen on all the news before it's fit to print

Writing has been on the wall for a while. Struggling to attract staff and students of a high enough ,calibre plus completely offside with Mainland. Off to Wellywood with their Phoenix partnership?

Doesn't it suck waking up on Saturday and there's no football?

No prizes then I'm certainly not guessing, it's all about winning you know :). Unless you're from a progressive club that believes in development .........

Interesting.... One of the biggest issues across the Mainland League is having the 17th Grade play at the same time as the PDL...... As development surely to start getting them involved in PDL teams for experience etc then it would make a lot more sense for the 17's to have an early Kick Off? This would allow them valuable game time in their respective age but then also allow them experience at the higher level too.

I know of a couple of clubs that would prefer to see it this way.... Could Mainland not just switch the 15th Grade & 17th Grade kick off times? Ok it may push others grades back 10 minutes but this wouldn't have too much effect at a younger age surely?

In regards to the above Scottie Rd, none of the 15th grade or 17th grade guys are guaranteed a spot in the Nomads squad.... A few have been spoken to in being looked at for a potential place, but as you say, the players themselves have to have the drive to want to push themselves further. Those that have been asked are to be looked at to see what they could potentially bring to a team or squad.

The fact of the matter is that if the 17's and 15's actually played each other the likelihood is that the 15's would win. Part of the 17th grade team this year was made up of 15's that did not make the 'A' team squad and moved up to support the previous years 15's that remained.

Nomads as a club at the Youth Age (19's) are not quite as strong as they have been previously, I don't think there is any argument about that, but if the right structure and training is put in place then there is the chance that in 3-5 years time there will be youth players coming through that are potentially (if they stick at it and have that desire) to be 1st team players. They also, as you say, have to have the coaches available and willing to ensure the players/clubs agenda is at the forefront, rather than as a parent/coach who has their own, or their child's, incentives at the forefront.

What is the right and wrong way of developing the main teams is something that can be argued, youth v experience etc etc.... But having the structure in place is certainly a step in the right direction... that is what a number of clubs need to look at long term. 

Kids, that want to play competitively, should be allowed to do so from whatever age..... I still take great pride in the 1st trophies I won as an 8 year old, ok scoring the winner from 30 yards may have helped!, but I've always been someone that likes to play competitively.

Yes, some players play so that they actually play a sport, and play socially, and with my business I'm all for that and getting children involved in sport, but then again sometimes they need to learn about winning and losing. We are always getting children that if it doesn't go their way end up in tears! This comes from people molly coddling them from an early age!

Could there not be leagues created that allow for both? Ones where results actually count towards a trophy and others where the result doesn't count?

*Foal - Nomads were due to enter a 14th grade side last season, but then numbers dictated that to enable enough players as possible to play then those that were due to play 14th grade had to step up to play 15 B's. this wasn't necessarily through choice, but to enable the 17th grade side to happen.

There is a problem in that a number of players have decided themselves to step up, the fact that the 15th Grade league champions have at least 11 players that are eligible for 15th grade again next season, plus those in the B team, mean that long term, hopefully the future is good.

At the end of the day who is to say a player can't step up and test themselves at a higher level? As a youngster I started 2 years above myself (which was the maximum we were allowed to do) and gradually over the years stepped down to play at the right level by the time I reached 15.... but this was through my own choice, never was it forced upon me, and every player should have their choice at what grade they wish to play (within reason).

There is a player in the Nomads 15A side that could technically play in the 13th grade side..... having seen a 13th grade game that the Nomads team played in he would literally destroy the opposition. He is physically a lot bigger than them and the fact he bullies a lot of players off the ball at 15th grade, the 13's would stand no chance! As his age grow and develop there would be more of a chance of him playing against players his own age, but at the moment it is of no benefit to anyone, you are more likely to lose him to football as it becomes 'too easy'.

*edited as paragraphs seemed to join together and looked stupid!

There is a player in the Nomads 15A side that could technically play in the 13th grade side..... having seen a 13th grade game that the Nomads team played in he would literally destroy the opposition. He is physically a lot bigger than them and the fact he bullies a lot of players off the ball at 15th grade, the 13's would stand no chance! As his age grow and develop there would be more of a chance of him playing against players his own age, but at the moment it is of no benefit to anyone, you are more likely to lose him to football as it becomes 'too easy'.

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I had the same situation back in the day when helping out with coaching 8th grade, throw a team together now matter what the skill level.

I still think at this age you still need like with like or training and development becomes a farce.

One kid in that 8th grade team couldn't kick a ball or run but had to play that year with the best player in the club [Nomads] under about 12th grade. Shame to waste the talent of a top player with no competition for him, this lad only played the one year at Nomads [played previous year at Pap/Red, came to Nomads from the other side of Main North Road for guess what] then focussed on another sport and is one of the best NZ players at his sport. Still the best 8-10 year old I've seen in last 15 years of watching/coaching football.

I'd only been involved with Nomads for a few days so couldn't push this kid up the grades [it was put forward to junior section] with season started. An All White gone missing maybe.

Life is full of competitions some kids pick the Daisies others want to score goals.

And therein lays the problem.... Clubs get slated if they try and put like minded players together but also get slated for not mixing it up.

Surely creating divisions, as with older ages, should help players to be playing against players at similar levels... Maybe say that div 1-3 will be competitive and then div 4 onwards 'social'/taking part. Clubs could then have a mixture of levels of teams which long term would hopefully help to keep the better players, whilst also developing those that are slower starters in life (after all some of these players could become future world beaters as they develop the basic understanding 1st and work hard, rather than those that are naturally talented....

To be honest though this is not just an issue in Juniors.... a Couple of years back the Sunday League Div 1 only had 2 or 3 teams that pushed each other hard.... other games, despite being Div 1, resulted in double figure wins.... this only helps to boost the Golden Boot tally in truth! (This has improved with more competitive teams recently thanks to immigrants!)

What is wrong with us on here at the moment.... we're actually having educated discussions around where issues lie in the Junior Grades!!! So continuing that.... What other aspects would people like to see improved/changed/maintained to improve our Junior game?

I don't ever remember feeling any pressure to win when coaching 8-12's. If I did I hope I never pushed that philosophy onto the players. Those players more win centered were invariably in that frame of mind by the requirements of what success is as measured in their  their own homes. They are also the hardest ones to train and the ones most likely to drop out because if your priority is winning 13's Div 1 over being a footballer then you will never cut it anyway. Once the winning stops it's no longer fun so they quit. If they put more attention and effort into training as opposed to winning they would of learned the skills that will keep them playing well long term.

Whole of Football is here to stay. For sure there was resentment and anger about it's introduction but how it's gone at the club I am with there is no turning back and the nay-Sayers are amongst it's biggest fans now.

Interesing evening at other night at the Mainland Referee Awards, the refs asked Andy Pitman and Keith Braithwaite to be the MC's so plenty of good humour, both given and taken.

It was good to see the ref's in a different mode and overall the refs look to be in good heart with many of the up and coming refs either in their late teens of their early 20's.

Had our cricket club's open day down at Garrick Park, and saw this up in the dressing room blackboard.

From Waimak v Cash Tech in which grade? (reasonably simplistic analysis!)

Haha that is classic.  Would have been the Chatham Cup match a month or so ago. 

The writing has been on the wall about Waimak for some time. 

As a coach of a junior team for a few years what gives me a buzz through coaching is the weaker players getting better and putting a skill shown at trainings into a game.

If you repeat a skill on a regular basis the kids will do things in a game without thinking. 

This year we had this. Second last game [thumped 8-2 by this team a few weeks earlier] and one of the less skilled players in my team does a step over and bangs it in the net with 40seconds gone, yeah, that gets his team mates mobbing him and they dominate the first half on the back of the adrenalin, 3 nil up at half time and finish 3 nil.

The boys also went on to win the last game playing with only ten players, again against a team that had beaten them in a previous game by 8-2 as well. That is an improvement.

That gives you the want to come back and coach the next year and hope the player[s] gets that as well.

Coaching the top players is easyish but do you get the same enjoyment? any thoughts?

Biggest thrill I ever got out of coaching juniors was seeing a shy 7 year old lad I had to coax out from under the drivers seat of his mums car at his first ever training session (this took me 20 or so minutes - he was tiny, at first I didn't believe her he was in there and couldn't find him) turn in to one of the best players at the club over the next 8 years. 

Worst moment? There have certainly been a few. Being confronted by an angry parent for placing (as an administrator) her woefully inadequate 11 year old son (who had registered late) in a 13th grade team to make up the numbers and get the team on the park. Either that or the time I forgot to put a sub on during a game (she had put her jacket on and wandered around to the far side to stand by her mum). Or trying to explain to a 13th grade team why they hadn't won Division 1 after they drew their final game having won every other game during the season - the team they drew with had been promoted up from Div 2 for the second round and were playing for double points and had won all previous games as well, the draw gave them 2 points and the championship. Boys thought that even with a draw they were comfortably ahead on goal difference. Then there was the time as Junior Club President I got a phone call on a Friday night from a junior coach asking if I could pick up the team gear as he couldn't see himself carrying on as coach for the rest of the season with no explanation, only to read in the next mornings Press he had been convicted of peadophilia on the Friday and went to prison on the Saturday. No big surprise I gave Paul Slack his start in junior football in ChCh then is it with that track record?

Best thing I was ever taught in football was a 72 year old wearing a colostomy bag telling our (his) team there was no way he was effing well starting from the bench for the third week running 6 months before he passed away from cancer.

Greatest moment I ever had as a player? Any game my parents turned up to watch, they were there when I retired 4 years ago - awesome. Love the game.

That's my aim as a coach 2nd time round. Teach the kids to love the game. Simple, eh?