|
Post by administration on Nov 9, 2015 10:10:01 GMT 10
Which clubs in your local district do you think is the best?
Just wanting to see who you think and why?
|
|
|
Post by tarzan on Nov 9, 2015 10:17:38 GMT 10
All of them are equally fantastic over my way because they all have access to the same pool of highly qualified coaches.....
Every one of the 30+ clubs is also accredited under the FFA Club Accreditation system ( mandatory requirement for all clubs in the Association). Clubs have access to 5 artificial surface fields in the area, with several more on the way.
Elite football and Community football working together!!
|
|
|
Post by tarzan on Nov 10, 2015 9:42:46 GMT 10
Well, that killed that conversation admin....something i've mastered over a long period of time
|
|
|
Post by kookaburra on Nov 10, 2015 15:39:36 GMT 10
I bet you have a whole heap of artificial coaches as well !
|
|
|
Post by enmorecat on Nov 10, 2015 18:53:46 GMT 10
I have had two experiences of clubs within the Canterbury Association, Marrickville and Balmain.
Both of these clubs are amongst the bigger ones in this association. Marrickville is arguably more of a community club (but am sure both clubs would say they are) in that are able to train and play solely at Mackey Park, which I think creates more of a "club" feel, whereas Balmain is quite spread out in terms of training and playing, using a number of grounds (at least 5-6 I think).
Both clubs have gone down different avenues in terms of development paths. Marrickville originally ran an academy in partnership with Dulwich Hill which was an avenue for DH to develop players for their youth league teams (when they used to participate in that competition - glad to say they are back in 2016). This used to go up to the age of 12, when in theory players would progress to Dulwich Hill. I am not quite sure what happened, but there was a change which meant that their connection was severed (this came before the most recent restructure so it wasn't that) and one of the academy coaches took over. This now means that they also run teams in older age groups (I think they might be running 14-15s in 2016). My son was there up until 10s and I thought the academy there was very well run and certainly was an excellent platform to move into SAP and beyond.
Balmain has gone down a different path, offering extra training, once per week, to those interested, but the expectation is that if you are selected in the Division One team, then you will participate in the extra sessions. That has pluses and minuses. It does mean that a team coach only works with the boys/girls once a week, with the other night spent with the specialist coaches. That can lead to different focuses, but I presume the coaches have some input into what gets worked on. I don't actively follow the tables in the association competition (that will surprise some in here I am sure), but I know Balmain does seem to regularly have young teams making later rounds of Champion of Champions, moreso than other CDSFA teams, so would guess that it is one of the more successful clubs overall, for the CDSFA at least.
I know local area clubs all over Sydney face this issue, but it does seem to be accentuated within the Canterbury Associaton and I am talking about the impact of losing better quality players younger and younger to SAP programmes from PL clubs. From 2016, APIA, Olympic, Fraser Park, Sydney Uni, Dulwich Hill, Stanmore Hawks, Inter Lions and Balmain, will all be offering youth league from 13s onwards, with all bar Stanmore, Inter Lions and Balmain also running SAP. Whilst it is great to have more players in more structured learning environments from earlier, I do think the price for this is the dilution of CDSFA competitions from a relatively early age. What it does mean is that going forward, there is probably going to be a bigger jump from association competitions to PL. I could mention that that could be an argument for more defined tiering of youth league, to enhance the transition process, but will resist that temptation.
All up, I think all CDSFA clubs appear to run well from the outside, more and more employ full-time/part-time personnel to handle administration and coaching. This is a welcome development as finding volunteers is getting tougher and tougher. Sausage sizzles can be variable, Inter Lions used to be the benchmark, spicy sausage with onions AND capsicum, with Balmain offering only a sausage. Most grounds start the year well and then by the middle of the year are struggling due to overuse, no different to anywhere else. There are no synthetic pitches available, but there are some picturesque grounds. My favourites are Callan Park, Easton Park and Birchgrove Oval (all Balmain - possibly some bias there), with honourable mentions for Queen Elizabeth Park (Russell Lea) and Pratten Park (CDSFA home ground).
|
|