I currently coach a junior soccer team (U12) and for some reason the Competition 'delegates' have voted against playing finals in the U12 to U17 age groups. The season is a series of home and away games, with the Premiers being the team with most points after the last round.
This system inherently favours junior teams with players that have previously played together, and/or have had plenty of training and/or trial games prior to the season starting. Some clubs don't have the resources (or coaches) readily available to organise this across all age groups and divisions.
In juniors it often takes quite a few games for new players (and coaches) to 'gell', and by then they are so far behind on the table that even if they improve enough by the end of the season to beat the team running first, they can't catch them up.
All senior mainstream competitive sports in Australia (including soccer) have finals. It is part of the culture of modern sport. Even the state cricket (Pura/Sheffield Shield) now has a final that reflects the modern era. To my knowledge, junior soccer in my region (U12s to U17s) is the only competitive junior team sport in the region that has no finals, and I want to change this.
I believe that playing in finals is something that junior players need to experience (and play weekly for the opportunity to do so) and if good enough it is something that they enjoy. Win or lose, playing in a Grand Final (or a Plate Final) is something special that both develops them and stays with them (and their parents/coaches etc) for life. This is what competitive junior sport is all about – developing and improving the players.
Could I ask for responses with argument on why junior players (any sport) would benefit from playing in finals - or indeed why not. I am proposing that for the last round of competition (next year), that 1st plays 2nd for the Grand Final, and that 3rd plays 4th for the Plate Final (teams 5th and beyond miss out on one game, or a series of other 'minor finals' could be organised).
PS - our team has won every game played so far this season. My motivation for this exists because they deserve the chance to play in a Grand Final (or Plate Final) before they are 18.
This system inherently favours junior teams with players that have previously played together, and/or have had plenty of training and/or trial games prior to the season starting. Some clubs don't have the resources (or coaches) readily available to organise this across all age groups and divisions.
In juniors it often takes quite a few games for new players (and coaches) to 'gell', and by then they are so far behind on the table that even if they improve enough by the end of the season to beat the team running first, they can't catch them up.
All senior mainstream competitive sports in Australia (including soccer) have finals. It is part of the culture of modern sport. Even the state cricket (Pura/Sheffield Shield) now has a final that reflects the modern era. To my knowledge, junior soccer in my region (U12s to U17s) is the only competitive junior team sport in the region that has no finals, and I want to change this.
I believe that playing in finals is something that junior players need to experience (and play weekly for the opportunity to do so) and if good enough it is something that they enjoy. Win or lose, playing in a Grand Final (or a Plate Final) is something special that both develops them and stays with them (and their parents/coaches etc) for life. This is what competitive junior sport is all about – developing and improving the players.
Could I ask for responses with argument on why junior players (any sport) would benefit from playing in finals - or indeed why not. I am proposing that for the last round of competition (next year), that 1st plays 2nd for the Grand Final, and that 3rd plays 4th for the Plate Final (teams 5th and beyond miss out on one game, or a series of other 'minor finals' could be organised).
PS - our team has won every game played so far this season. My motivation for this exists because they deserve the chance to play in a Grand Final (or Plate Final) before they are 18.
