The Future is Small - Part 1

Registrations have begun around the country with tens of thousands of volunteers doing their bit to get things moving and all of us parents rushing off to fill out forms and pay the fees.

While some kids are dusting off the boots for another go, the lucky few may even get a fresh pair of the latest design going around. Regardless, anticipation levels among the kids will be high.

So it’s a great time to revisit some of the areas affecting the grass roots and which will play critical roles in whether the kids both enjoy their football to the absolute maximum, and are allowed to develop fully in to the players they idolise, such as their Socceroos heroes.

One of the most topical issues right now is the introduction of small sided games, which seems to be causing some consternation at junior level, not surprisingly considering this is the largest and most fundamentally important structural and cultural change for the game in decades.

This is the first critical step forward towards positively influencing the experience our young kids have of the beautiful game and of altering the way they play. To build better footballers capable of excelling at the truly top level -being the top five football clubs in the world and ultimately a World Cup winning Australian team.

Having launched a national football plan the time is now, when every football parent is naturally concerned that their child is given the optimal environment to play in, for the FFA to be selling the wonderful and vital benefits of small-sided games.

The fun and involvement that brings a smile to every kid’s face, not just the talented ones who usually dominate games on larger pitches, the tenfold increase in development of every player when placed time and again in football situations and encouraged to express themselves and solve problems and the general rise in standard of kids across Australia - giving this country the greatest platform to then apply better coaching standards to a more competent playing population, increasing our international competitiveness.

But the education process from the FFA thus far is too little too late, principally because they still have no-one in their football department who has either played the game, or even more incredibly has actually worked in a junior club or association in this country and thus understands the issues facing junior clubs in this transitional period.

It has largely been left to the states and, ultimately, to the volunteers to sell the move, to explain it in detail, and to educate themselves enough to be able to overcome the understandable concerns many parents have about any change affecting their child.

Now is the perfect time for Rob Baan, the FFA Technical Director - who since working with the Olyroos hasn’t been sighted and in my view lacks either the technical know-how, the personality, or the passion and willingness to lead this country at a critical time for the game, and possibly all of the above - to prove his worth by taking the lead in driving this revolutionary step forward.

Baan has proven he can coach at senior level but as yet I see no evidence of a technician with in-depth knowledge of youth football, the very area we most need assistance on, and it is high time a panel of Australian football experts took a long hard look at the outcomes of his work.

At least Pim Verbeek has been both vocal and honest, sparking much needed technical debate, in fact he may well be making Baan superfluous.

Nevertheless, we are moving in the right direction, and for those clubs and regions making the move to small-sided games, well done, you are working in the best interests of the kids and the game.

I know this first hand because I have spent countless volunteer hours over the last three years selling the move, showing the research behind the small pitches and small playing numbers, watching it being implemented, speaking with parents to assess feedback and reaction, answering the questions of those who can’t see the reasoning, and I have seen the process which over the course of a season has the vast majority of stakeholders evangelising the format and what it has done for their children, both the talented and less so.

But in the absence of any meaningful public education process, many will arrive at the wrong conclusions, and just in the last week there has been some press regarding having no goalkeepers at very young ages, a move which, until the sound rationale is explained, can seem confronting to many.

The fact is firstly that specialisation at too young an age is disadvantageous, in contrast to every child learning how to play, including those who will later become keepers.

In modern football keepers must be able to play with their feet, particularly after the back pass was ruled out by FIFA in 1992, making it fundamental for every child to learn to play football.

Many top class keepers did in fact not specialise until their teens at any rate, and the best with their feet like Edwin van der Sar and Fabien Barthez learnt the game on the outfield, making them doubly valuable as an added player sweeping behind the defence.

Any keeper who is incompetent on the deck in controlling and passing the ball like an outfield player are not only forced to kick long every time and therefore risk the loss of possession for their team, but in fact become only a last resort as an option to keep possession as defenders are reluctant to pass the ball back, in this way the ability of the side to keep the ball under pressure is severely compromised.

This is not how Australia will play football in future, we want to keep the ball and 11 men are better than 10, so future international keepers will need to be extremely competent to play.

If any parent is concerned that ‘little Johnny’ wants to emulate Mark Schwarzer, and nothing wrong with that, then time can still be spent in training during the week in goals, should they wish, but on the weekend they will learn to play football.

And of course many young keepers can hardly kick the ball any distance at all, and thus the opponents tend to gather like vultures near the goal to capitalise on a weak kick.

Lastly, having a keeper at young ages tends to completely change the football, back to what we are and not what we want to be, because every time a young keeper gets the ball they will rush to boot the ball from their hands as far as they can, when we want them to roll it out for their team to keep it and play, not boot it.

Later, when they are hitting double figures in age, they can better understand how to complement their team with the ball in their hands, for now, just learn to play.

Small-sided games is the single most positive story for our kids to experience the game in decades, and is only bringing us in line - twenty years too late in reality - with the world’s best football countries and their age-specific development models, such as Spain, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, France, Italy, Brazil, Argentina… you get the picture.

If you want further reassurance, the world’s best clubs - Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United and Arsenal - play their kids in this format:

:: Small Sides Games Manual
:: Youngster's learning curve
:: The Manchester United 4x4 Pilot Scheme

The documents I have indexed have much of the leading research into the format of play, but essentially the key is that football for young players should be precisely suited to their requirements and abilities, including cognitive, to enable them to learn most effectively.

In short, 11 a side football is for adults, small sided games are for youngsters, it is that simple, and that effective.

So, for all the club secretaries and registrars, the coaches and parents who want to feel comfortable you are doing the right thing, be assured you are.

This move to small fields and small teams will give your son or daughter the greatest opportunity to enjoy the game as well as to develop better skills and awareness, leading to either a lifetime of enjoyment because they can actually play and therefore don’t have to rely on running and tackling as an adult, or to excel and become a superstar, if that’s the path chosen and ordained.

I know it is difficult and laborious to change in any respect. I know this is added work for the volunteers and stress they could do without. I know those of you who deal with the parents will find that, regardless of the sound rationale behind, some will just never accept change no matter how beneficial to their own child because I have seen it happen in the last three years.

But hold firm to what’s best for the game and the kids, and you will all be rewarded with players who when older will thank you for your vision.