Clubs in strife

[Robb_Stark]

it would be better for all of us to be working on answers rather then defend your own club if the strong survive in the current situatuion then juniors and seniors will get worse .........we probably have 5 years from now to try and fix things before you see the SAAFL go from 7 main divs to probably 5 divs or start to cut total teams in each comp.......i can see more and more clubs folding each year the writting is on the wall i can name another 4-5 clubs who are in serious trouble in the next 2-3 years in both juniors and seniors..........

[Phantom Gossiper]

While we're at it should we place a cap on the number of senior teams that should be allowed to be fielded by an individual club?

This has more merit than capping juniors..

[jo172]

While we're at it should we place a cap on the number of senior teams that should be allowed to be fielded by an individual club?

This has more merit than capping juniors..

Why?

[Pag]

Our fees are $200 for senior players, $100 for Under 18s. No merchandies involved but players receive a $30 bar voucher if paid-up in full by Round 1.

If not paid in full by the June Long Weekend, not eligible for selection after until paid up.

[TEX07]

do you want me to name all the clubs last year who 2 or more teams in the same age bracket and while im at it do i put postcodes in as examples to see just where these kids are coming from to play at certain clubs in the northern areas.......these clubs only care for themselves and not the overall comp......this is the problem 65 clubs none give a shit about the other and all want whats best for that club at the expense of other clubs rather then work together to promote the game and make sure the players are spread around

Why should stronger clubs facilitate the passage of juniors to weaker clubs (within reason)?

By all means if they're carrying squads of 30+ and kids are missing out on a game that's poor form, but if they have the numbers to fill two (or more) sides in an age group why on earth should they shut the door on kids who want to play at their footy club?

There's a reason the strong clubs are strong and it's not through coincidence or junior poaching. It's because they have longstanding committees who work incredibly hard on the juniors and are filled with tremendous amounts of volunteers which lead to better facilities.

I suspect if for example Tea Tree Gully said thanks but we're not allowed more than one team to children the children's experiences at less well run clubs would be far inferior to those playing in a second squad at Tea Tree Gully.



While we're at it should we place a cap on the number of senior teams that should be allowed to be fielded by an individual club?

We are really fortunate at ggfc that we have a massive amount of junior teams, our club was founded in 1995 and only had juniors for the first two years. To have grown to around 16 junior sides, an under18s and 4 senior sides in a really short time has been through a large amount of hard work by everyone involved over the past 17 years so if we have kids wanting to play at out club then we will do what we can to accommodate. Location has helped as Modbury and ttg would be in a similar position. Capping junior sides wouldn't fix anything, if my lad couldn't play at ggfc because their was too many sides, he would probably play soccer.

[marbles]

my kid wanted to play for morphett vale, if they were full he would hav gone to hackham simple

when i played under 15s i tried out for seaton rams, they kicked me out, so i went woody south. in round 1 i kicked 4 goals on the rams hahar

4 senior teams per club, and 2 teams maximum per age group in the juniors. done.

[Yank Man]

Footy Chick started this to determine why clubs get in strife. So sticking to the point, from a Mitchell Park perspective when I came to the club in 2010 we identified recruitment. Being close to so many SAAFL clubs we looked outside the square and went south. The SFL has many good players who struggle to play A's but can be highly competitive in Div 7 (where we were at the time). We got good players, some 22, over 2 years and promised them a premiership if they were prepared to do the hard yards. Unfortunately that was a career highlight for them and mission accomplished. Now they would rather suck tinnies and revel in the glory rather than put in again and be competitive at a higher level. Some have gone south again, some have other agendas and the die hard oldies have families and achieved a lifetime dream. There is no formula to keep your club up and about other than a successful junior programme. Money don't buy love, promises don't buy love, but a kid who has played 50 to 100 games in the juniors??))) Most of them love you forever and don't expect to get paid, maybe except for one who is very good and being chased by other clubs. In that case then of course you do what you can to accommodate him. Frankly I'm staggered that 4 of our best players, in a struggling Div 6 club, have been offered between $200 and $450 a game to desert us. Thank God they remain loyal.

[TEX07]

my kid wanted to play for morphett vale, if they were full he would hav gone to hackham simple

when i played under 15s i tried out for seaton rams, they kicked me out, so i went woody south. in round 1 i kicked 4 goals on the rams hahar

4 senior teams per club, and 2 teams maximum per age group in the juniors. done.

Most of the stronger clubs would already be well within this range though, don't think we have any more than two junior sides per age group and only have four senior sides. There is on,y two sides in the SAAFL with more than 4 senior sides, uni and Modbury this year, unless shoc still have a fifth but uni and shoc don't field juniors either.

[scottroo]

jesus, which 4 is thatyankman

[Yank Man]

jesus, which 4 is thatyankman

Hahaha, nice, you should know you've had a crack at a couple.

[TEX07]

Footy Chick started this to determine why clubs get in strife. So sticking to the point, from a Mitchell Park perspective when I came to the club in 2010 we identified recruitment. Being close to so many SAAFL clubs we looked outside the square and went south. The SFL has many good players who struggle to play A's but can be highly competitive in Div 7 (where we were at the time). We got good players, some 22, over 2 years and promised them a premiership if they were prepared to do the hard yards. Unfortunately that was a career highlight for them and mission accomplished. Now they would rather suck tinnies and revel in the glory rather than put in again and be competitive at a higher level. Some have gone south again, some have other agendas and the die hard oldies have families and achieved a lifetime dream. There is no formula to keep your club up and about other than a successful junior programme. Money don't buy love, promises don't buy love, but a kid who has played 50 to 100 games in the juniors??))) Most of them love you forever and don't expect to get paid, maybe except for one who is very good and being chased by other clubs. In that case then of course you do what you can to accommodate him. Frankly I'm staggered that 4 of our best players, in a struggling Div 6 club, have been offered between $200 and $450 a game to desert us. Thank God they remain loyal.

I think juniors is a large part of why clubs struggle, my lad plays under 7s and I think his rego was $150 per season at a discount because I am also still attempting to play, there is around 20 players in his team and we have around the 16 teams I mentioned, do the math but good juniors = good money. Add to this each kid normally has two parents who may become a social member ($30 at ggfc) and most juniors pay their subs. Of course juniors isn't the be all and end all but they certainly help, if you have money in the bank, generally you survive.

[Yank Man]

my kid wanted to play for morphett vale, if they were full he would hav gone to hackham simple

when i played under 15s i tried out for seaton rams, they kicked me out, so i went woody south. in round 1 i kicked 4 goals on the rams hahar

4 senior teams per club, and 2 teams maximum per age group in the juniors. done.

Bollocks, if your club has something to offer, people will come. Players want to go to strong clubs, done.

[Yank Man]

Footy Chick started this to determine why clubs get in strife. So sticking to the point, from a Mitchell Park perspective when I came to the club in 2010 we identified recruitment. Being close to so many SAAFL clubs we looked outside the square and went south. The SFL has many good players who struggle to play A's but can be highly competitive in Div 7 (where we were at the time). We got good players, some 22, over 2 years and promised them a premiership if they were prepared to do the hard yards. Unfortunately that was a career highlight for them and mission accomplished. Now they would rather suck tinnies and revel in the glory rather than put in again and be competitive at a higher level. Some have gone south again, some have other agendas and the die hard oldies have families and achieved a lifetime dream. There is no formula to keep your club up and about other than a successful junior programme. Money don't buy love, promises don't buy love, but a kid who has played 50 to 100 games in the juniors??))) Most of them love you forever and don't expect to get paid, maybe except for one who is very good and being chased by other clubs. In that case then of course you do what you can to accommodate him. Frankly I'm staggered that 4 of our best players, in a struggling Div 6 club, have been offered between $200 and $450 a game to desert us. Thank God they remain loyal.

I think juniors is a large part of why clubs struggle, my lad plays under 7s and I think his rego was $150 per season at a discount because I am also still attempting to play, there is around 20 players in his team and we have around the 16 teams I mentioned, do the math but good juniors = good money. Add to this each kid normally has two parents who may become a social member ($30 at ggfc) and most juniors pay their subs. Of course juniors isn't the be all and end all but they certainly help, if you have money in the bank, generally you survive.

We charge our juniors $60 for subs. That's why they're growing nicely. Plus they bring in more income through the canteen and bbq etc etc than the seniors.

[scottroo]

jesus, which 4 is thatyankman

Hahaha, nice, you should know you've had a crack at a couple.

news to me, I must not be in the know

[TEX07]

Footy Chick started this to determine why clubs get in strife. So sticking to the point, from a Mitchell Park perspective when I came to the club in 2010 we identified recruitment. Being close to so many SAAFL clubs we looked outside the square and went south. The SFL has many good players who struggle to play A's but can be highly competitive in Div 7 (where we were at the time). We got good players, some 22, over 2 years and promised them a premiership if they were prepared to do the hard yards. Unfortunately that was a career highlight for them and mission accomplished. Now they would rather suck tinnies and revel in the glory rather than put in again and be competitive at a higher level. Some have gone south again, some have other agendas and the die hard oldies have families and achieved a lifetime dream. There is no formula to keep your club up and about other than a successful junior programme. Money don't buy love, promises don't buy love, but a kid who has played 50 to 100 games in the juniors??))) Most of them love you forever and don't expect to get paid, maybe except for one who is very good and being chased by other clubs. In that case then of course you do what you can to accommodate him. Frankly I'm staggered that 4 of our best players, in a struggling Div 6 club, have been offered between $200 and $450 a game to desert us. Thank God they remain loyal.

I think juniors is a large part of why clubs struggle, my lad plays under 7s and I think his rego was $150 per season at a discount because I am also still attempting to play, there is around 20 players in his team and we have around the 16 teams I mentioned, do the math but good juniors = good money. Add to this each kid normally has two parents who may become a social member ($30 at ggfc) and most juniors pay their subs. Of course juniors isn't the be all and end all but they certainly help, if you have money in the bank, generally you survive.

We charge our juniors $60 for subs. That's why they're growing nicely. Plus they bring in more income through the canteen and bbq etc etc than the seniors.

BBQ on junior days are huge hey! Each side runs it one week each during the season and its nuts how busy it gets! Btw I only think our kids pay $150 the boss keeps track of the $$$s!

[The Rooster]

I can tell you one thing that has changed in recent times is that Junior teams (and i can only speak of the NEMJFA) are actively recruiting other kids they have identified by luring parents over with the promise of their kid/s playing at a club that has produced other talent in the past. It is a dynamite idea. If you have a genuine gun junior player, who stands out as he plays for a team that is battling, Suddenly his folks get the phone call to move to this other club, he does and goes from strength to strength, then spends some time at SANFL clubs and if he doesn't make it, comes back a very handy player with lots of mates who he now has from the new club, whereas the old club is still battling.

The big clubs get bigger and the teams without juniors will find it tough to field sides in any grade.

Also another alarming trend is that some players think if they don't get an A-Grade game they will go to a lower division Team!! Fair enough if they are being recruited that is one thing, but players who are are battling to get a regular spot need to work harder not squib off to other clubs where it might be easier to get a kick!! Money is one thing, but the lack of genuine loyalty from players who are not yet consistent A-Grade quality is a concern.

[marbles]

there seems to be a massive confidence in these must have juniors theories, where every junior goes on to become a senior at the club

if your under 18s side has 12 players set to graduate to seniors each season, i doubt any more than 5 of them would continue on into the senior ranks. the prodigies scatter in my experience

[Footy Chick]

S Demon would have a better idea of exact numbers but over the past 2-3 years, the majority of our 18's have gone onto seniors, except the ones that went to SANFL. I understand we're probably the exception as opposed to the rule though.

[X Runna]

there seems to be a massive confidence in these must have juniors theories, where every junior goes on to become a senior at the club

if your under 18s side has 12 players set to graduate to seniors each season, i doubt any more than 5 of them would continue on into the senior ranks. the prodigies scatter in my experience

You've lost them again.

Those odds are fantastic you clown.......

[Cohiba]

probably 3-4 things that stand out

1.seems lot more people are quitting the game due to age/work/family
2.most Junior clubs have had a drop in numbers overall (yes we all know about the super clubs they are not effected)
3.clubs are a stone throw away from each other around the north that i know of so we all after the same people
4.parents dont want there kids playing football as they think it is to rough

its a big issue the power house clubs dont help the situation one bit trying to take every single kid to there club and stuff the rest......i personally can see in the future north clubs will either fold or merge as the numbers drop of while we all love our club lot are just so near each other that it creates huge problems

Your points are very valid. I know of several kids who have given it away over the years purely because they weren't able to get a regular game and Mum & Dad didn't like it so pulled them out. Maybe time for the junior associations to set a limit on the number of kids clubs can have in their respective age groups so they do head off to another club for a game.

How exactly would Clubs be "taking" every single kid to there Club so as to "stuff" the rest. Infrastructure, Volunteers, Environment, Coaches, Coercion, Door Knock appeal.....offering $$$ perhaps....

And the setting of a cap on the number of kids who live in proximity of Club or those wanting to go tryout at a specific Club because of mates there, to then be told sorry, we have our quota, but there other Clubs in other suburbs you can try out at.....providing they haven't also reached the cap level. I'm not sure how that would work....or how parents would react. Pretty sure I know how I would.....but then I might be in the minority....

do you want me to name all the clubs last year who 2 or more teams in the same age bracket and while im at it do i put postcodes in as examples to see just where these kids are coming from to play at certain clubs in the northern areas.......these clubs only care for themselves and not the overall comp......this is the problem 65 clubs none give a shit about the other and all want whats best for that club at the expense of other clubs rather then work together to promote the game and make sure the players are spread around

You still didn't answer the question............How exactly are these super Clubs "taking" every single kid!!!!!!!