Tribalism or Community in English Youth Football

A few months ago I posted some comments on twitter regarding local junior football and the number of individual clubs there were in just a small 3 to 4 mile radius.  This is in a city of over 300,000 people.


There are 5 clubs in a 3 to 4 mile radius with 43 teams from Under 8's through Under 16's.  This is something that would probably be seen as strange in continental europe.  What about creating 1 large community club for this area?  Pool the financial and other resources, improve the development structure across the age groups and probably, more importantly, have one consistent philosophy on youth development and coach education. Ultimately there could be economies of scale with finances, less competition and greater co-ordination of grant funding, more money to use on facilities, education, kit and equipment and all involved would be singing from the same song sheet.  Many people talk about the loss of 'community' in England, well maybe this could provide a relatively simple answer to the problem.  Personally, to make it stand out and be that bit different I would not limit the idea to this type of community club being football based alone.  Football could be it's starting point and at it's core but it could easily be expanded to incorporate other sports and other community activities.  The 'Big Society' in action.  The problem, of course could actually be the opposite, inaction and unwillingness to become involved, and of course government intransigence.


Some may say what about teams to play against?  Well, first of all, in the area referred to above there are approximately 75 other clubs with around 355 teams in the whole city.  Relevant opposition would be maintained but what about the potential for internal games across age groups (sometimes playing up or down a year) and doing something different?  The flexible formats the FA have referred to in it's review of junior football would fit ideally into a more community focussed football club rather than maintaining these disparate local clubs.  Arguably it would put the focus firmly on youth football development rather than the traditional us against them, league tables and mini-mourinho's prowling the touchline with socks tucked in tracksuit bottoms.


The problem at the moment seems to be the culture of rivalry, bordering on tribalism that is engrained in English culture and is yet another example of the wish to have a league structure that mirrors the adult professional game.  Now, of course it can enrich the experience of professional football, rivalries such as Liverpool v United, Arsenal v Spurs, even North v South.  But a Local Team Under 8's v another local team Under 8's?    
Other signs of inward looking and selfishness can be seen in the perennial arguments over clubs releasing players for England international duty, the tripartite bun fights of the FA, Premier League and Football League about the governance, co-ordination and control of the game.


Sometimes junior teams split and set up on their own as a result of internal politicking, sometimes because of genuine concerns on how the team is run (usually players not getting games because of the 'win at all costs mentality') but, sadly, it seems to me some just have the need to have control and power of these little empires.


Just to put into context the difference between local junior football here and in Holland (probably the best example I have seen) I thought I would use a few examples I have read about recently in Chris Green's book.


Dave Parnaby at Middlesbrough recalled that during a visit to Vitesse Arnham FC in Holland he asked a coach how they were doing .  'Very nicely, thank you,' was the reply. What Dave meant was to ask how the club was doing; the coach assumed that he was talking about the Dutch football system.  'He spoke in a national sense rather than about his own club,' said Parnaby.  'That is how they see the technical aspects of their programme - in a national framework.  That is why Holland has one of the best reputations for youth development in Europe.


Now whenever another country is mentioned with regard to youth development, many say, to some extent, quite rightly that we should have our own identity, our own playing style, do things our way using the strengths of our own culture and not try to copy Barcelona or Ajax or their national youth structure.  However, I don't believe this means we should simply ignore something that just simply seems to be good practice.  The Dutch community based football system just seems to be so logical.  Of course we could adapt it to local needs and local systems but at least try something different.


Another example was given about this very system of community football in a small village in Holland and I challenge anybody to say this wouldn't be a good idea to at least try, even if it were a 'pilot' project:


To understand the difference between English and Dutch football let's have a look at Heijman's (Dutch coach working in England) home-town team, OJC Rosmalen.  The club is based in Rosmalen, a small town with a population of 35,000 in the southern province of North Brabant.....The club has nine pitches, including five match pitches, two with floodlights and four floodlit training pitches.  In total it has 22 sets of dressing rooms, 1,600 club members and 976 youth players.  An amazing 100 teams play at 11-a-side, 7- and 4-a-side matches from Under 5's to over-50s, including girls and women's teams each weekend.  The whole operation is run by 400 volunteers mostly made up of the club's 2,000 parents, who are described as the 'engine of the club'........The club is an intrinsic part of the local community and is linked to the national football programme.


Is the fact that we are tribal and less community focussed part of our culture? Do we actually quite like it that way?  Is it going to be the reason why we don't see a change in the junior football structure in this country?  Ironically, is the wish to be different, the desire to have our own identity going to result in inaction and ultimately stay as we are and not change anything even if the example from another country does seem to offer such a logical solution.  Are we going to be 'Little Englander's' or be a little bit creative?

English Grassroots Football - Time for Change?

This blog is as a post I tried to make on this website - http://www.clubwebsite.co.uk/news/2011/09/18/fa-positive-as-roadshow-draws-to-a-close/

I felt the need to respond to a number of the comments that have been made on this site which seems to show that a number of people still have the view (and it's stated in a number of the comments to the article above) that 'if it aint broke don't fix it'.

Parents and volunteers do and are being commended for their work but also need to think about their contribution to the game as a whole. We can’t stand still, the rest of the world certainly hasn’t.

Volunteer or not, everybody has a responsibility to the boys and girls involved to make the game enjoyable first, listen to what THEY are telling us and make a positive step change to youth football and youth development in England.

We need to ask ourselves what do we want from the FA? Implement the changes without any consultation at all? Don’t change anything?

On my first coaching course a number of years ago the head coach said “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” and I have heard this on a number of occasions since, usually in the context of youth development in football.

What we have done and what we have always got is players lacking skill, game sense, the ability to play under pressure with little time, the ability of back players to bring the ball forward comfortably, the ability to play football ‘through the thirds’, the ability to play without fear and ultimately the ability to totally enjoy and have a lifelong love for the game.

The coaching and supporting of the game is limited, restricted and controlled by adults who’s primary purpose seems to be the participation in a miniature, mirror image version of the Premier League.

Coaches, Managers and parents acting like ‘puppet masters’ instructing practically every touch of the ball – “pass it”, “get rid of it”, “row z”, “play it simple”. How are players going to develop their own game style, own game awareness and ability to play under pressure when they are being given constant (and mostly) negative, ill-conceived and ultimately incorrect instructions from the sideline.

The reason we don’t develop players who are as skilful as our continental counterparts and ultimately why England don’t succeed at major tournaments is as a result of the junior football structure that ADULTS have created and say isn’t broken!

The adult focus on league tables means the primary focus is get the ball forward as quickly as possible to the big, strong or quick lad up front. By the time the rest of his peers start growing also, the big/quick/strong lad will not know how to play the game with skill and will be lost to the game and for what reason? To win a league at U10′s and for the coaches and parents to be able to say “We won the league and little johnny got a (crappy £5) trophy for winning.”

Give me a break. Take a long hard look at yourselves and ask “Why do I want to coach/support/volunteer/run a league in junior football?”  The only answer(s) to this should be – fun, enjoyment, learning new skills and ultimately, football development for young people not for you.

This rubbish people are spouting about the lack of league tables is because the FA want to make it some kind of nicey-nicey non-competitive game is complete ignorance as far as I am concerned. Kids will ALWAYS be competitive when they play the game of football. They will still know at the end of the game whether they have won or lost, they will still know if they played well or not. The only difference is it won’t be recorded for parents and coaches to be able to say “We are top of the league ” in the pub or at work on a Monday. The FA’s proposals are ‘child-centred’ competition. That means they asked the children, not the adults and the overwhelming response was league tables were not a primary concern for young players.

I bet I can ask any coach of an U8′s to U14 where they are in the league and they could tell me in an instant. However, if I asked them how has your right back improved as a player, what are you going to do to develop your teams ability to counter-attack when they win possession, can all of my defenders use a skill to safely beat a marker, can my goalkeeper distribute from his hands and feet, short and long - could you as a coach/manager give an honest 'yes, I record and can prove the development of the players?'  Probably, the most important question should be, how is the lad who has been on the bench for the last four weeks going to improve AT ALL because the league position is so damned important!

Get a grip, get on with it and listen to the people who are most important – the kids, why they want to play, how they want to play and give them that life-long love for the game that will ultimately give us the next generation of coaches, parents, referees and other volunteers.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.”