Keep it quiet, mums and dads – let the kids play their own game, and learn by being bold
Craig Foster
The Sun-Herald May 18, 2008
There were two initiatives for kids' football last week, one concerned with the environment that moulds our young players and often holds them back, the second a living example of why this cultural change around youth football is so critical to Australia's success as a football nation.
Hands up all those parents who have seen what we can euphemistically call
“inappropriate” parent behaviour at a junior football match? We can now applaud an initiative by the Ku-Ring-Gai Association to begin changing the perceptions and the conduct of everyone associated with junior and youth football, including parents, spectators and coaches.
For an entire weekend no one apart from the players is allowed to say anything. If they do, they are asked to donate to charity – to the Shepherd Centre for the hearing impaired.
And this weekend follows on beautifully from the launch of small sided games (SSG), which is the first step and a critical one. Ultimately four or five a side and pitch measurements are just that, numbers and statistics which ensure our kids have the opportunity to play the game in the best format for their enjoyment and development, with the emphasis on “opportunity”.
The next step must be to capitalise on that chance by educating adults about how their conduct and messages affect the children so every child is able to maximise their experience of playing football.
This is different from the usual “sport rage” campaigns and policies which seek, importantly, to curtail those adults who cannot help taking the importance of an under-eight match far too seriously. “Get rid of it”, kick it out”, “don't do that”, “tackle him” and “pass it” are the usual fare we can hear on any suburban pitch every Saturday, all of these messages restrictive, telling a youngster what not to do and often teling them to take the most basic and, in fact, incorrect option.
Many of these messages are actually setting the youngster up for failure in adult football, since to play at elite level requires the ability to deal with risk, to make and deal with mistakes, and to be able to play comfortably on the ball in all situations.
The truth is that our kids would be far better off if they could play by themselves with parental supervision, not involvement, and would more quickly find their way within the game on what does and down not work.
Indeed, many would become far better players simply by not having an adult telling them not to try something, or why they should take the “percentage option”.
Football for kids is not about percentages – quite the opposite! Rather, it is about joy and risk, testing themselves and their skills, about trying the outrageous and learning how to pull it off, and not being made to understand why great moves hold too much risk.
This message is very confronting for many parents and coaches to find that their presence at their child's football match is not only not required, but is actually a hindrance to their youngster's enjoyment.
Ask yourself this, when Maradona and Pele, Cruyff and Ronaldinho, Messi and Ronaldo learnt to play the game, do you really think their parents were there, constantly berating them for losing the ball, telling them not to go too far forward, not to risk all in attack, or to pass the ball, not “hog” it?
No, in fact as kids, their experience would have been almost totally child-centred, playing with others at school or in the street, probably with no adults within a cooee, with other kids to regulate the game, all able to find their own way.
There is one other football great, Zinedine Zidane, who was quoted as saying that all he learnt as a player both technically and philosophically – meaning the want, need and ability to express himself as a football genius – was learnt on the street with his mates.
Zizou, whose presence in Sydney next month is a beautiful moment for football, is certainly in the top 10 to lace a boot. Think about that, the 10 best players in a sport with a history of more than 100year, the most played game the planet has ever devised, with 208 recognised member countries (more than the UN), 129 female national teams and more than 250 million regular participants. And Zizou ranks in the 10 best every.
So, at a time when Kur-Ring-Gai is endeavouring to encourage their adults to get out of the way and give the game back to the kids, the arrival of a world legend who played the game with a freedom and skill few have ever matched, is timely indeed.
If you get the change to watch him live or on SBS in a few weeks, marvel at his skills but keep in mind that they are not built in a climate of restriction, adult interference and negativity. Quite the opposite.
| The deadline for registering for the FFA coaching conference at the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in Homebush, Sydney, over 26 & 27 May 2008. has been extended. 2008 will mark the inaugural year of the FFA Coaching Conference. Recognised within the National Football Development Plan as an area of absolute priority, effective coach education is vital in maximising the enjoyment of players as well as their overall technical development. The objective of the FFA Coaching Conference is to provide further education & development opportunities for coaches both in Australia and overseas. Coaches operating at all levels of the game will be able to attend and choose practical sessions and lectures that are relevant to their needs and those of their players. Presenters from FIFA, Holland, German Football Federation and Brazil as well as domestic experts from FFA and elsewhere have already been confirmed for the conference - many others are expected to join this list of excellent presenters over the coming weeks. Topic areas include age related exercises for junior and youth players, how to prepare players for small-sided games, goal scoring secrets, the future of women’s football, strength & conditioning, sport psychology, nutrition and skill acquisition. Keynote Presenters include: Jurgen Klinsmann, Jozef Venglos and Mauricio Marques Session Topics include: Nutrition, Goal Scoring Secrets, Age Related Exercises for various age groups and Women’s Football – the future. www.footballaustralia.com.au | ||
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