Front & Centre wrote:Dutchy are you talking about a coach standing between the Under 8s or Under 10s games?
When my lad played Under 8s the coach was on the ground with them
This is their explanation below, trying to justify the major issue..more volunteers required -
It is believed that this will mean more players on the ground, and more players being more involved in the game. The volunteer issue was one of the first raised by the SFL when the new junior policies were released. To address this the SFL are asking for clubs when they nominate teams to indicate which teams are virtualy a split of one team into two and will require shared resources. These games will be programmed at the same location throughout the season. With smaller oval sizes all ovals will be capable of holding 2 under 8 games, or an under 8 and an under 10 game at the same time. Clubs will only be required to supply one co-ordinator and one trainer per location, not per team. The SANFL will supply free to each club a minimum of one new set of goalposts to enable them to host multiple games. Most teams at the moment will have a coach and an assistant coach. If that team breaks into 2 teams next season they can still train as one squad and with the games being at the same location the coach can coach one game and the assistant coach the other. It will also be less daunting for a new coach to come in and look after 12 players rather than 18. One team manager can also look after both games. The reason for the change is to give the players a better experience in football at the beginning. There has been multiple feedbacks from the 9 a side pilot of players who on a good day touch the ball once in an 18 a side game, but were getting 4-5 possessions per quarter in the 9 a side. A better football experience leads to a much greater chance that that player will stay in football rather than try something else from the wide range of activities available these days.