Player Development - so we all agree an 'academy' style hothouse - 10,000 hrs principle and all that is good for player devt, right? Pro clubs all recognise this. Big diff here is that in a small backwater with too many clubs and not enough numbers, no club is able to offer anything like a true 'academy' experience. OK Coastal & Nelson Subs have started something - good on them - but it's nothing like the real deal. Pro academies don't waste their time playing in club Sat leagues but they do play games as part of development. Honestly don't see what's wrong with Mainland providing some sort of academy experience to players whilst the clubs catch up in the meantime. They are filling a gap. To me whether they play in Sat leagues is a question of what's best for their devt. To date Coastal and Mainland seem to think so but it's not what happens in other parts of the football world, is it?
I agree.� There are a proliferation of academies here in Welington filling a gap that a combination of club/CF isn't.� They generally cost a bomb, and those parents wouldn't be paying if the players were getting all that�they needed from their junior clubs/schools/CF.
You'll always get a certain number that pay over the odds to get the perceived "best" for their child. We see it here in our own area. Many of our members live in the poorest parts of town (Bromley, Linwood, Aranui, Wainoni) while some live in relatively affluent areas such as South Shore where the household income would easily be 2 to 3 times that of the others. While they may be members of the same football club the difference is seen in the high schools they attend - many bus out of the area to Boys High, Shirley boys, Girls High etc rather than attend the local schools Aranui High, Linwood College or Mairehau high. Interestingly while many clubs lost players due to the earthquake Coastal actually maintained numbers due to an influx of members from other areas because of the perceived quality of the player development programmes!