30 man squad - what age level should this be implemented?

[N5 1BH]

I don't see what the issue is. Clubs with two teams already have 30 man squads anyway. If the coaches of the club can't communicate then the buck stops with them.

Yes there are 30 man squads - made up of 15 JPL and 15 JSL players in Under 12 to Under 16's at a number of clubs, but probably not all. There are U17s and U18s at a number of clubs which add up to approx. 30 players as well.

The problem is these teams have completely separate coaches (assistant coaches, team managers) with differing agendas and will not change their teams for purely selfish reasons and not to upset kids and their parents.

No movement occurs and never has! All the promises are not delivered and development policies are not implemented.

A (JPL) coaches do not want to change their teams to not upset kids and their parents.
B (JSL) coaches do not want to lose their best players and will not let them go. They will undermine any player who wants to move up.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not watch any games and if they do they're not watching very closely at all, having a chit chat, discussions on the side. They are influenced or fed false information by the A and B coaches and nothing changes. Players get disillusioned and change clubs or quit forever.

What a garbage, pathetic system FFSA has devised.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not do their jobs at all!
The team Coaches and Technical Directors can communicate, they just won't or not communicate any valid player information!

Spot on. You could just as well be talking about my son's club.

[fball12]

I don't see what the issue is. Clubs with two teams already have 30 man squads anyway. If the coaches of the club can't communicate then the buck stops with them.

Yes there are 30 man squads - made up of 15 JPL and 15 JSL players in Under 12 to Under 16's at a number of clubs, but probably not all. There are U17s and U18s at a number of clubs which add up to approx. 30 players as well.

The problem is these teams have completely separate coaches (assistant coaches, team managers) with differing agendas and will not change their teams for purely selfish reasons and not to upset kids and their parents.

No movement occurs and never has! All the promises are not delivered and development policies are not implemented.

A (JPL) coaches do not want to change their teams to not upset kids and their parents.
B (JSL) coaches do not want to lose their best players and will not let them go. They will undermine any player who wants to move up.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not watch any games and if they do they're not watching very closely at all, having a chit chat, discussions on the side. They are influenced or fed false information by the A and B coaches and nothing changes. Players get disillusioned and change clubs or quit forever.

What a garbage, pathetic system FFSA has devised.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not do their jobs at all!
The team Coaches and Technical Directors can communicate, they just won't or not communicate any valid player information!

Spot on. You could just as well be talking about my son's club.

Thanks for the confirmation that it occurs at more than a few clubs.

I've seen it happen at more than one club, all promising movement but the Technical Directors (or Coordinators) never bother to look at kids properly or at all. They just talk to the individual coaches and the status quo remains. The coaches want no changes, that's how they like it - they do the trials once and the team stays the same throughout the whole year until the next set of trials occur. Its a joke!

[Pie and Bovril]

Thanks for the confirmation that it occurs at more than a few clubs.

I've seen it happen at more than one club, all promising movement but the Technical Directors (or Coordinators) never bother to look at kids properly or at all. They just talk to the individual coaches and the status quo remains. The coaches want no changes, that's how they like it - they do the trials once and the team stays the same throughout the whole year until the next set of trials occur. Its a joke!

do you coach?

[fball12]

Thanks for the confirmation that it occurs at more than a few clubs.

I've seen it happen at more than one club, all promising movement but the Technical Directors (or Coordinators) never bother to look at kids properly or at all. They just talk to the individual coaches and the status quo remains. The coaches want no changes, that's how they like it - they do the trials once and the team stays the same throughout the whole year until the next set of trials occur. Its a joke!

do you coach?

Not currently.

[ticc]

A couple of points come to my mind.
1- Are the JPL coaches always more capable of developing players than the JSL coaches? They may have more talented players but are they being developed. With so many kids going from club to club each year this makes me think not. As previously said that when a players dad is coaching then the team he coaches depends on the talent of his child.
2- Each child a club takes money from should have the same experiences in the team environment as the other. Like said previously each team have advanced players, even in professional teams this is the same all over the world. A team is a team and we need to teach this to all players, a JSL team may be playing great football and this could all change with movement of players. I believe that if a player has played well for the season then movement the following year is appropriate. Parents are all about their own child which I accept, but maybe we need to teach them about commitment to a team.
3- I believe squads should come into effect from U16 onwards, but this will never be the case for most clubs as from U13 the JSL leagues reduce each year. Why put it into place at U12/U13 unless you know you can carry it on through continuous years.
4- A player might not be good enough to play JPL one year but would this be the case if they needed players.

[God is an Englishman]

A couple of points come to my mind.
1- Are the JPL coaches always more capable of developing players than the JSL coaches? They may have more talented players but are they being developed. With so many kids going from club to club each year this makes me think not. As previously said that when a players dad is coaching then the team he coaches depends on the talent of his child.
2- Each child a club takes money from should have the same experiences in the team environment as the other. Like said previously each team have advanced players, even in professional teams this is the same all over the world. A team is a team and we need to teach this to all players, a JSL team may be playing great football and this could all change with movement of players. I believe that if a player has played well for the season then movement the following year is appropriate. Parents are all about their own child which I accept, but maybe we need to teach them about commitment to a team.
3- I believe squads should come into effect from U16 onwards, but this will never be the case for most clubs as from U13 the JSL leagues reduce each year. Why put it into place at U12/U13 unless you know you can carry it on through continuous years.
4- A player might not be good enough to play JPL one year but would this be the case if they needed players.

1. Whilst I don't agree that the better qualified coaches are necessarily the better coaches, you would expect the JPL coach to be better qualified and better experienced.

2. The world is a competition, better players move up and lesser players move down. All players have the same opportunities to move up and down. In fact the JSL player should have the same opportunities to move up to the "better" team. To not allow this is actually an insult to the money they pay.

3. So, teams should turn away players. How are they supposed to know who will leave next year. You have to expect that all players will stay.

4. Every player across both teams is only there because they don't have anyone better. This is football, this is life. This is the same across every single football team in the world.

[magnet]

A couple of points come to my mind.
1- Are the JPL coaches always more capable of developing players than the JSL coaches? They may have more talented players but are they being developed. With so many kids going from club to club each year this makes me think not. As previously said that when a players dad is coaching then the team he coaches depends on the talent of his child.
2- Each child a club takes money from should have the same experiences in the team environment as the other. Like said previously each team have advanced players, even in professional teams this is the same all over the world. A team is a team and we need to teach this to all players, a JSL team may be playing great football and this could all change with movement of players. I believe that if a player has played well for the season then movement the following year is appropriate. Parents are all about their own child which I accept, but maybe we need to teach them about commitment to a team.
3- I believe squads should come into effect from U16 onwards, but this will never be the case for most clubs as from U13 the JSL leagues reduce each year. Why put it into place at U12/U13 unless you know you can carry it on through continuous years.
4- A player might not be good enough to play JPL one year but would this be the case if they needed players.

1. Whilst I don't agree that the better qualified coaches are necessarily the better coaches, you would expect the JPL coach to be better qualified and better experienced.

2. The world is a competition, better players move up and lesser players move down. All players have the same opportunities to move up and down. In fact the JSL player should have the same opportunities to move up to the "better" team. To not allow this is actually an insult to the money they pay.

3. So, teams should turn away players. How are they supposed to know who will leave next year. You have to expect that all players will stay.

4. Every player across both teams is only there because they don't have anyone better. This is football, this is life. This is the same across every single football team in the world.

The numbers drop as you go through the age groups so a 30 man squad at U16 is more than enough. No clubs have more than two teams at U16/U17 age groups.

U12 – 61 teams
U13 – 56 teams
U14 – 49 teams
U15 – 46 teams
U16 – 35 teams
U17 – 20 teams

[Laces thru the ball]

To geoff9559,

Some excellent points there however I must say that was 2x cups of coffee worth

In my opinion if a 30 man squad was implemented at U18s level then I wouldn't have any concerns about the players mental health or their football development as they should have established themselves as junior adults and been through the body changes of puberty by then.

[Laces thru the ball]

To fball12,

You definitely say it as it is.

I for one have never ever seen a Technical Director do their job as its supposed to be. Despite all the promises by Club Officials at the commencement of every season.
Disclaimer: I only talk about the clubs I have experience in.

[lefty]

I don't see what the issue is. Clubs with two teams already have 30 man squads anyway. If the coaches of the club can't communicate then the buck stops with them.

Yes there are 30 man squads - made up of 15 JPL and 15 JSL players in Under 12 to Under 16's at a number of clubs, but probably not all. There are U17s and U18s at a number of clubs which add up to approx. 30 players as well.

The problem is these teams have completely separate coaches (assistant coaches, team managers) with differing agendas and will not change their teams for purely selfish reasons and not to upset kids and their parents.

No movement occurs and never has! All the promises are not delivered and development policies are not implemented.

A (JPL) coaches do not want to change their teams to not upset kids and their parents.
B (JSL) coaches do not want to lose their best players and will not let thempp

Yes there are 30 man squads - made up of 15 JPL and 15 JSL players in Under 12 to Under 16's at a number of clubs, but probably not all. There are U17s and U18s at a number of clubs which add up to approx. 30 players as well.

The problem is these teams have completely separate coaches (assistant coaches, team managers) with differing agendas and will not change their teams for purely selfish reasons and not to upset kids and their parents.

No movement occurs and never has! All the promises are not delivered and development policies are not implemented.

A (JPL) coaches do not want to change their teams to not upset kids and their parents.
B (JSL) coaches do not want to lose their best players and will not let them go. They will undermine any player who wants to move up.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not watch any games and if they do they're not watching very closely at all, having a chit chat, discussions on the side. They are influenced or fed false information by the A and B coaches and nothing changes. Players get disillusioned and change clubs or quit forever.

What a garbage, pathetic system FFSA has devised.

The Technical Directors (or age group Coordinators) do not do their jobs at all!
The team Coaches and Technical Directors can communicate, they just won't or not communicate any valid player information!

Add to that a clubs process of player movement purely to maintain or achieve A Division status at the expense of players already selected in that squad.

[themessenger]

Once they move to the full sized pitch (under 12's) I believe they should be able to accept that football is a form based game. A kid might be missed during the season and only selected for JSL, should he have to play the lower level all season?

Kids need to realise that things aren't given to you on a plate and no, you're not all winners. Rejection is part of life. Train hard and earn your spot in the top spot.

Some great discussion, thanks.

I agree any JSL player that shows potential should get a crack in the JPL team when the opportunity arises.
As we all know, during any season many vacancies present in the JPL team for many reasons such as kids getting sick, long overseas holidays, players getting poached for higher age groups, player suspensions etc. etc.. Its at these times I believe the JSL players get a crack.
I agree, rejection is part of life but at what mental age can a kid handle getting rejected numerous times throughout the season. What would this do for his/her morale, motivation or passion for our beautiful game?
We all know how stressful it is for the kids at selection time trying to get into the JPL team. Its stressful for everyone involved. Well guess what? The 30 man squad system promotes this stress on the kids for the whole season.
Remember this is a player that has been selected for the JPL team so they must have some good qualities about them.
As most of us have agreed the gap between JPL and JSL is huge so getting dropped from the JPL to the JSL is a massive backwards step and in my opinion doesn't do anything for their development.

If your child is at a club where this is the current practice, and you believe the system is not working for him or her, why don't you just move clubs next season?

[Stich This]

Once they move to the full sized pitch (under 12's) I believe they should be able to accept that football is a form based game. A kid might be missed during the season and only selected for JSL, should he have to play the lower level all season?

Kids need to realise that things aren't given to you on a plate and no, you're not all winners. Rejection is part of life. Train hard and earn your spot in the top spot.

Some great discussion, thanks.

I agree any JSL player that shows potential should get a crack in the JPL team when the opportunity arises.
As we all know, during any season many vacancies present in the JPL team for many reasons such as kids getting sick, long overseas holidays, players getting poached for higher age groups, player suspensions etc. etc.. Its at these times I believe the JSL players get a crack.
I agree, rejection is part of life but at what mental age can a kid handle getting rejected numerous times throughout the season. What would this do for his/her morale, motivation or passion for our beautiful game?
We all know how stressful it is for the kids at selection time trying to get into the JPL team. Its stressful for everyone involved. Well guess what? The 30 man squad system promotes this stress on the kids for the whole season.
Remember this is a player that has been selected for the JPL team so they must have some good qualities about them.
As most of us have agreed the gap between JPL and JSL is huge so getting dropped from the JPL to the JSL is a massive backwards step and in my opinion doesn't do anything for their development.

If your child is at a club where this is the current practice, and you believe the system is not working for him or her, why don't you just move clubs next season?

Good question. In some cases, people would rather whinge than leave.

[geoff9559]

Once they move to the full sized pitch (under 12's) I believe they should be able to accept that football is a form based game. A kid might be missed during the season and only selected for JSL, should he have to play the lower level all season?

Kids need to realise that things aren't given to you on a plate and no, you're not all winners. Rejection is part of life. Train hard and earn your spot in the top spot.

Some great discussion, thanks.

I agree any JSL player that shows potential should get a crack in the JPL team when the opportunity arises.
As we all know, during any season many vacancies present in the JPL team for many reasons such as kids getting sick, long overseas holidays, players getting poached for higher age groups, player suspensions etc. etc.. Its at these times I believe the JSL players get a crack.
I agree, rejection is part of life but at what mental age can a kid handle getting rejected numerous times throughout the season. What would this do for his/her morale, motivation or passion for our beautiful game?
We all know how stressful it is for the kids at selection time trying to get into the JPL team. Its stressful for everyone involved. Well guess what? The 30 man squad system promotes this stress on the kids for the whole season.
Remember this is a player that has been selected for the JPL team so they must have some good qualities about them.
As most of us have agreed the gap between JPL and JSL is huge so getting dropped from the JPL to the JSL is a massive backwards step and in my opinion doesn't do anything for their development.

If your child is at a club where this is the current practice, and you believe the system is not working for him or her, why don't you just move clubs next season?

And this is the nub of it......families are moving due these issues and then have to go through the whole breaking to the team process again and hoping that this time it will work. Cheers geoff9559

[magnet]

I’d say at 75% of the junior teams in Adelaide would be coached by Dad’s. Clubs don’t have the luxury of picking 12 independent ‘C’ Licenced coaches. At the end of the day, the coach is on a hiding to nothing.

People on here talking about the stresses of JSL vs JPL……get a grip!. It is nothing more than community football run by a superb bunch of volunteers.

[Abenomics]

I’d say at 75% of the junior teams in Adelaide would be coached by Dad’s.

By dad's what?

[fball12]

I’d say at 75% of the junior teams in Adelaide would be coached by Dad’s. Clubs don’t have the luxury of picking 12 independent ‘C’ Licenced coaches. At the end of the day, the coach is on a hiding to nothing.

People on here talking about the stresses of JSL vs JPL……get a grip!. It is nothing more than community football run by a superb bunch of volunteers.

Its not the coaching that's relevant to this issue. Its the selection of the players both at trials and during the year for possible movement.

Technical Directors and/or Coordinators (per age group) need to be completely independent and make the necessary tough decisions. In my experience at multiple clubs permanent moves during the season rarely, if ever occur. At one club there was only 1 permanent player move in 10 teams (Under 12 to 16, approx. 150 players in total) during the season. Apart from players filling in from time to time due to holidays, sickness, etc. there are no permanent moves. The players selected at trials for JPL and JSL are permanently attached (owned) to those teams.

If people at different clubs can give a figure of how many players have moved from JSL to JPL and JPL to JSL permanently during the season then that would give an indication (objective measure) of the Technical Director and/or Coordinators doing their job properly and fairly.

[Laces thru the ball]

OK...perhaps I wasn't as clear as I could have been with describing what I meant by a "30 man squad" system.

The "30 man squad" system implemented this season at a club here in Adelaide consists of 15 JSL players and 15 JPL players with individual coaches.

At the conclusion of the trials (September 2015) instead of announcing the successful 15 JPL and 15 JSL players the successful 30 players are announced as a "30 man squad" with final JPL and JSL selections to occur just before the season starts proper (March 2016).

From September 2015 to March 2016 training and trial games were conducted once per week (with the exception on xmas, new years day and some hot days). This was essentially a 5 month trial program. The kids knew it and as a result the attendance rate was constantly very high. The coaches a technical directors had 5 months to select the top 15 players.

The JPL and JSL teams where announced just before the season started and the two teams split as JSL and JPL with 2x individual coaches.
In my opinion they selected the right top 15 for the JPL team.
Two weeks into the season the coaching staff with the Technical directors decided to swap 3 - 4 players between JSL/JPL. What the??

Whilst this move provided a morale boost for the players moving from JSL to JPL what does it do for the morale of the players that have taken a big step backwards moving from JPL to JSL?

[fball12]

OK...perhaps I wasn't as clear as I could have been with describing what I meant by a "30 man squad" system.

The "30 man squad" system implemented this season at a club here in Adelaide consists of 15 JSL players and 15 JPL players with individual coaches.

At the conclusion of the trials (September 2015) instead of announcing the successful 15 JPL and 15 JSL players the successful 30 players are announced as a "30 man squad" with final JPL and JSL selections to occur just before the season starts proper (March 2016).

From September 2015 to March 2016 training and trial games were conducted once per week (with the exception on xmas, new years day and some hot days). This was essentially a 5 month trial program. The kids knew it and as a result the attendance rate was constantly very high. The coaches a technical directors had 5 months to select the top 15 players.

The JPL and JSL teams where announced just before the season started and the two teams split as JSL and JPL with 2x individual coaches.
In my opinion they selected the right top 15 for the JPL team.
Two weeks into the season the coaching staff with the Technical directors decided to swap 3 - 4 players between JSL/JPL. What the??

Whilst this move provided a morale boost for the players moving from JSL to JPL what does it do for the morale of the players that have taken a big step backwards moving from JPL to JSL?

Having 5 months to trial certainly gives a more thorough evaluation, but still the Technical Directors found 3-4 players to change two weeks into the season. I think if they continued to review players during the competitive season (April to Sept) they would identify further player changes.

In terms of morale and dropping players I don't think there can be any general assumption about how a player will respond. It depends on the player. Some players may become completely deflated and not try so hard, some may quit, some change clubs or some may try harder to regain their spot in the JPL.

Maybe do some analysis of players that used to be in the JPL that may have been dropped in previous years from the end of season trials and check where they are now. I'd guess most if they continue in the JSL would put in less effort in the JSL, due to being dropped and the lower intensity of most JSL teams.

The players I've seen dropped in the past have just lowered their efforts slightly and the odd one leave their club completely to play somewhere else in the JPL. I don't think any player has been completely distraught and most would have anticipated the decision. Parents talk all year round about players performance and who should be in the JPL team. Players are aware of what is being said, probably from their parents telling them to try harder or you'll lose your spot (or that type of comment).

On the other hand if players don't get promoted or aren't confident the clubs will promote them into the JPL they may leave at season end anyway. Would clubs rather keep players that don't deserve to be in the JPL (not up to the required standard) or those that will play definitely JPL elsewhere because they have more potential going forward into the older age groups and especially when progressing up to Under 18s?

[Laces thru the ball]

Thanks to all for some very valuable input.
Just sounding the alarm bells as I predict this "30 man squad" system will be making its way into many clubs.
i.e. Announce the "30 man squad" at the end of trials but not announce the JPL and JSL teams until season start.
Its the clubs way of retaining high end JSL players at the club.
This "30 man squad" system advantages the club only as it provides depth for the JPL team at the expense of the fringe JPL/JSL players.
We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.
Holding a player in a JSL team who could easily make a JPL team at another club is hugely detrimental to their development.
Dropping a JPL player into the JSL team is also hugely detrimental to their development.

This "30 man squad" system has been implemented at U13 age group!
12 year old, skin and bone, pre-puberty kids.
Many of which are going through enough external social pressures with starting yr8 high school etc. etc.
How the kids get notified of being dropped to the JSL is another topic (post) in itself.

[Ginger Pele]

Thanks to all for some very valuable input.
Just sounding the alarm bells as I predict this "30 man squad" system will be making its way into many clubs.
i.e. Announce the "30 man squad" at the end of trials but not announce the JPL and JSL teams until season start.
Its the clubs way of retaining high end JSL players at the club.
This "30 man squad" system advantages the club only as it provides depth for the JPL team at the expense of the fringe JPL/JSL players.
We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.
Holding a player in a JSL team who could easily make a JPL team at another club is hugely detrimental to their development.
Dropping a JPL player into the JSL team is also hugely detrimental to their development.

This "30 man squad" system has been implemented at U13 age group!
12 year old, skin and bone, pre-puberty kids.
Many of which are going through enough external social pressures with starting yr8 high school etc. etc.
How the kids get notified of being dropped to the JSL is another topic (post) in itself.

Then book extra games in during the season midweek and on weeks off and shuffle the pack. How hard is it to have extra games and give those players a taste of playing at a 'higher level' and I use that term loosely. Clubs and/or coaches don't seem to want to book extra games for whatever reason to them. You can easily book a Midweek game and give 4,5,6? JSL or younger potential players game time to see first hand how they are going.

Book extra games, give opportunity, communicate it in the right way to families from the start, monitor and look after the kids,(i.e-Growth Spurts and Workloads) and let the kids play.

[Stich This]

Thanks to all for some very valuable input.
Just sounding the alarm bells as I predict this "30 man squad" system will be making its way into many clubs.
i.e. Announce the "30 man squad" at the end of trials but not announce the JPL and JSL teams until season start.
Its the clubs way of retaining high end JSL players at the club.
This "30 man squad" system advantages the club only as it provides depth for the JPL team at the expense of the fringe JPL/JSL players.
We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.
Holding a player in a JSL team who could easily make a JPL team at another club is hugely detrimental to their development.
Dropping a JPL player into the JSL team is also hugely detrimental to their development.

This "30 man squad" system has been implemented at U13 age group!
12 year old, skin and bone, pre-puberty kids.
Many of which are going through enough external social pressures with starting yr8 high school etc. etc.
How the kids get notified of being dropped to the JSL is another topic (post) in itself.

30 man squad means you don't upset 15 in September, (this happens later). Meanwhile, they don't leave the club in September (as used to happen). Sign the forms, disclaimers, non-refund policy etc, and the bean-counters are happy that 15 @ approx $1000 =$15,000 is safely tucked away in the kitty. Of course , I'm kidding - its all about player development . Economics never enters the equation.

[magnet]

Thanks to all for some very valuable input.
Just sounding the alarm bells as I predict this "30 man squad" system will be making its way into many clubs.
i.e. Announce the "30 man squad" at the end of trials but not announce the JPL and JSL teams until season start.
Its the clubs way of retaining high end JSL players at the club.
This "30 man squad" system advantages the club only as it provides depth for the JPL team at the expense of the fringe JPL/JSL players.
We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.
Holding a player in a JSL team who could easily make a JPL team at another club is hugely detrimental to their development.
Dropping a JPL player into the JSL team is also hugely detrimental to their development.

This "30 man squad" system has been implemented at U13 age group!
12 year old, skin and bone, pre-puberty kids.
Many of which are going through enough external social pressures with starting yr8 high school etc. etc.
How the kids get notified of being dropped to the JSL is another topic (post) in itself.

30 man squad means you don't upset 15 in September, (this happens later). Meanwhile, they don't leave the club in September (as used to happen). Sign the forms, disclaimers, non-refund policy etc, and the bean-counters are happy that 15 @ approx $1000 =$15,000 is safely tucked away in the kitty. Of course , I'm kidding - its all about player development . Economics never enters the equation.

All Junior teams are cash cows. The clubs don't care about JPL teams either, it's just money for the seniors. Advanced squads are where the potential Seniors players are coming from. Identify 4 or 5 players per age group and get them into an additional training night for advanced training. Give these players a pathway from junior to seniors.

[magnet]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

[fball12]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

At our club there isn't a big difference between some players in JSL and the JPL. There may be a big difference between a small number of players, but not all.

The politics of some clubs allow certain players to remain in the JPL side which they shouldn't. Therefore those particular players are definitely not better than those in the JSL. And there are some kids want to play with their mates in the JSL and are probably better than those in the JPL.

[magnet]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

At our club there isn't a big difference between some players in JSL and the JPL. There may be a big difference between a small number of players, but not all.

The politics of some clubs allow certain players to remain in the JPL side which they shouldn't. Therefore those particular players are definitely not better than those in the JSL. And there are some kids want to play with their mates in the JSL and are probably better than those in the JPL.

Same at ours, not a huge difference between some JSL and JPL players

[Stich This]

Thanks to all for some very valuable input.
Just sounding the alarm bells as I predict this "30 man squad" system will be making its way into many clubs.
i.e. Announce the "30 man squad" at the end of trials but not announce the JPL and JSL teams until season start.
Its the clubs way of retaining high end JSL players at the club.
This "30 man squad" system advantages the club only as it provides depth for the JPL team at the expense of the fringe JPL/JSL players.
We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.
Holding a player in a JSL team who could easily make a JPL team at another club is hugely detrimental to their development.
Dropping a JPL player into the JSL team is also hugely detrimental to their development.

This "30 man squad" system has been implemented at U13 age group!
12 year old, skin and bone, pre-puberty kids.
Many of which are going through enough external social pressures with starting yr8 high school etc. etc.
How the kids get notified of being dropped to the JSL is another topic (post) in itself.

30 man squad means you don't upset 15 in September, (this happens later). Meanwhile, they don't leave the club in September (as used to happen). Sign the forms, disclaimers, non-refund policy etc, and the bean-counters are happy that 15 @ approx $1000 =$15,000 is safely tucked away in the kitty. Of course , I'm kidding - its all about player development . Economics never enters the equation.

All Junior teams are cash cows. The clubs don't care about JPL teams either, it's just money for the seniors. Advanced squads are where the potential Seniors players are coming from. Identify 4 or 5 players per age group and get them into an additional training night for advanced training. Give these players a pathway from junior to seniors.

Agree completely on all points.

[Laces thru the ball]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

Very interesting.
At what age group did this occur?

[Pie and Bovril]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

Very interesting.
At what age group did this occur?

What difference would that make?

[magnet]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

Very interesting.
At what age group did this occur?

Last two Seasons, U13 & U14

[magnet]

We all know that the difference between JSL and JPL is gigantic in every way, at every club at every age level.

You are being very dramatic. This is local community football, they are not playing for professional contracts. Just let the kids play with their mates. We had an instance at our club where a player was asked to join the JPL squad but declined because his friends were playing JSL. It's the parents with chips on their shoulders that are the problem.

Very interesting.
At what age group did this occur?

Last two Seasons, U13 & U14