Dear Football community

I don’t want to sound pessimistic or critical, but if we want to become more competitive as a nation, we need to change our approach to the game particular with Juniors & Youth players. Around the world Australia has a reputation for it’s fighting spirit and resolve. Physically we match leading football nations but technically we have a long way to go. Today's modern dynamic football played by leading European Clubs has changed significantly in the last five years alone and we need to adapt and learn quickly to give young talent a realistic opportunity to take their ambtions and carrers to the next level. Modern football is played end to end with a three to five pass finish. Players understand and excecute tempo change in the line of play and all players are goal scorers. Professional development coaches are not winning coaches instead they are educators. I understand and respect the endless hours of work thousands of volunteers put in to make us more competitive on the world stage. I know first hand what it takes as I manage juniors at 2 Victorian clubs. Compared to leading sports like AFL and Cricket, who have had minimal growth in recent years, football participation has grown by over 25% in the last three years alone. We never had the recourses to start with and now have an even bigger challenge to expose our talent to professional coaching. We’ve got it all wrong with the definition development by creating winning teams particular in age groups 12 and below by choosing physical dominance instead of technical ability. I attend on average 8 games every weekend all ages and the majority of teams just boot the ball up forward, get bodies behind the ball and get lucky in front of goal. Rarely do I see teams with structure, technical knowledge and ability to construct team attack with build up and possession of the ball. I could go on with problems in all other aspects of the game but I hope you know what I mean.  By the time physical players reach the age of 14/15 technical players catch up and outplay them. This is one of the main reasons we have a big drop out of players aged 15 and above because they simply are not competitive anymore. I’ve worked with many players 12 years and above over the years at “A level” who have poor basic technical ability. It’s almost impossible to develop and retune these players and in a lot of cases it’s to late.  We need a much bigger pool of technically advanced players to create the next generation of Socceroos’s if we’re to full fill our dreams on the world stage. As people we have this tendency to be opinionated and when others have a lot more to offer, we’re more concerned about being exposed and therefore protect our inabilities. For many that think they’re teaching the game it’s about them not their players. So if you don’t agree with me, I’m sorry if I’ve offended you. But if you do then get behind the common cause and get the future stars developed by professionals.

Our emphasis is not only to provide age and skill specific programs but also to educate players about social benifits and responsibilities of the game. Our coaches are fully qualified with over 20 years experience in Australia and overseas. We provide coaching development for clubs, elite coaching for players at the highest level, programs  for beginners as young as 4 and since 2008 delivered a variety of programs to 40 primary schools around Melbourne. 100 plus registered players participated in 2008 aged 3 to18 which has doubled to 200 in 2009. We pride ourselves in delivering value for money and offering players affordable options in pursuing their dreams.

 

What our coaches say

For 30 years I have promoted skill as an important parameter in our game and this has fallen on many deaf ears. I am glad that my own battle has finally been recognised at national level and an emphasis on skill is now directed from FFA. It is now recognised nationally that our players have many good physical attributes to play the game but simply many lack the skills to compete at international level.

Over many years our beloved game Football (soccer) has played little brother to many organised sports, games and leisure pursuits in Australia. We as parents have paid good money to get our children to learn from experts in their field. We have paid for swimming lessons, piano or guitar lessons, for skiing tuition, singing lessons, etc.

Without attempting to offend the legion of helpers that our game has had over many years it needs to be recognised that quite simply our clubs and us as parents have not attempted to change this pattern and continue to hope that the appointed coach can teach our children what he has learned hopefully as a player and at times this get worst. We know that we should be doing better and know that we need someone with up-to-date knowledge.  Still today, many clubs appoint the father of one of our players as it is cheap and simple. Hopefully, he may be able to impart lots of knowledge and it should be recognised that in a few cases this has happened.

Acquiring the knowledge and the experience to develop players is not cheap for those who seek it or is an easy task like anything else; we know that not all so call coaches can do this job well. There is now a proliferation of Football clinics available for children in Football. However, not all of them can deliver what is required.

Patricio Barrera (PAT)
B. Appl. Sc. (Phys. Ed). Gr. Dip.Ed. M.Ed.
UEFA “A” Licence (part 1&2)
FFA “B” Licence ACC - NACC # 1234153
Level 2 – Futsal Licence

 

Established 2007 in beaumaris melbourne

What started out in 2007 from a 20 year ambition with a small group of players and one coach part time has turned into 2 full time, 6 part time coaches delivering 5 different programs to almost 200 registered players in 4 Bayside Suburbs. A big "Thank You" to all Parents, Players, Sponsors, Coaches and support staff that have supported us throughout this journey. We look forward in continuing to deliver football to all ages and skill in Bayside Melbourne. It is our policy to continue focusing on offering programs in the Bayside suburbs so that players alway's have familiar coaches running sessions. Established relationships between coaches and players can be critical in promoting confidents and enjoyment particular in younger players.

 

Don't get caught up living the dream.

I've been coaching for nearly 30 years in Australia and Germany and the facts are that only 0.5% of football players will make it to professional level in Australia. Many organisations claim to provide a pathway in becoming a Socceroo and I'm not saying that you shouldn't persue your dreams, but at the end of the day, like most things in life, it comes down to commitment, dedication and most importantly hard work. Looking at leading football nations around the world, players live, breath, train football 4,5,6 days a week at a very young age and in some country's football is all they have. Yes, we have talented players, but they still need to be in the right place at the right time. My advice: play and train for high profile Clubs that have a structured junior development track record during the winter season. Aim to play for a youth squad at Reserves/U21 provissonal or state level, age 15/16+ providing transition to your senior years. Then every pre season go to trials at Clubs in state and premier league and if you make it your chances being spotted for A-League are far greater than being discovered by an EPL Club. Talent scouts from all leading football nations always look at the best all counties have to offer and in our case it's A-League. And during summer, continue to work hard and train. That's where the Academy comes in.

Academy Director Oliver Schulze