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Francis Davis
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Aisling-Annacotty Underage Coaching & Structures Sub-Committee Report Members; Ken O Connor, Tim Davern, Liam Holmes and Brendan McAteer FINAL DRAFT Core Belief The over-riding

Up to and including Under-10. When the children are 10 and under, the club advises that the children should not play at a competitive level.

o With the facilities available to Aisling-Annacotty all teams from the same age group should train at the same time and there should be rotation between all the coaches.

o From Under-7 onwards no player should train with teams outside his/her own age group unless this is in addition to training with his/her own group.

1 Aisling-Annacotty Underage Coaching & Structures Sub-Committee Report Members; Ken O Connor, Tim Davern, Liam Holmes and Brendan McAteer FINAL DRAFT Core Belief The over-riding principle of Aisling-Annacotty is one of soccer for all. We are a community-based organisation striving to promote soccer for all our children regardless of their abilities. Up to and including Under-10. When the children are 10 and under, the club advises that the children should not play at a competitive level. They should up to this stage be solely focussed on having fun and improving their skills. o With the facilities available to Aisling-Annacotty all teams from the same age group should train at the same time and there should be rotation between all the coaches. o There should be no grading of players up to Under-10 and each team in as much as it can be done, should be of equal standard. o From Under-7 onwards no player should train with teams outside his/her own age group unless this is in addition to training with his/her own group. This is to ensure that no player is disadvantaged by playing in an older group. o Each coach should have attained the Kick-Start one qualification. All coaches towards the end of this cycle should be looking to achieve the Kick-Start two qualification in order to prepare for the next cycle. o Each coach should aspire to teaching the basic core skills of soccer to his/her group, i.e. passing, shooting, tackling, heading, support, etc.

2 o As the children commence playing soccer, the guiding principles for each team should be those of keeping the ball, passing, movement and not Route One football. Each player in this age group when playing in a non-competitive blitz should wear club jersey, club shorts and club socks, all of which are available from the Club Shop. From Under 11 to Under 14 At Under 11 the structures of the SFAI, LDSL and LWSSL push us towards a competitive structure. Even though it is early in their careers the graded schoolboy/girl leagues and National Cups propel us towards a competitive structure. This means that grading must be done at this stage: o All coaches in this age bracket should ensure that they have attained Kick-Start two as early as possible. o The coaches should organise a transparent and open way of grading the players including a series of games/trials/skills testing. o The persons best suited to deal with the grading are the coaches of the relevant games. o Allocation of players to each team should reflect the standard of the leagues in which they compete. o The coaches should pick an A team consisting of 16 players most suited to forming a team to compete in the Premier division. o The balance of the remaining players should be split in to two squads. These need not be split on strict lines of ability but the majority of the B team should be stronger. o At Under 11, this B team should enter Division 2 of the league. o At Under 11, this C team should enter Division 3 of the league.

3 Open dialogue and discussion between the coaches is vital and necessary to ensure a smooth transition to competitive structures. No one expects perfection, but if the coaches approach the transition with an open mind then any changes necessary can be rectified at Under 12. In the event that in a particular year that the coaches cannot agree the grading process among themselves, they must approach the committee at an early stage. The committee will organise persons to help with the grading process in conjunction with the age coaches. At these age groups, jerseys for matches will be held by the coaches and the players will wear club shorts and club socks, both of which are black in colour, for all matches. Under 15 to Under 18 As children reach Under 15 level it is considered that ideally, Aisling-Annacotty would have coaches in place for the A team that would not be parents of children playing in that year. This is not the situation at present but is considered to be the best practice as this will help prevent coach/player fatigue. It is a fact of life that children have to make choices on the numbers of different sports they play and this becomes particularly acute as they approach Junior Cert. The number of players that remain in each particular year will dictate the number of teams that participate in the league. The early engagement of coaches with their teams is vital in ensuring that we have: o At least one team in each of the age groups from Under 15 to Under 18. o That where there are sufficient numbers that we enter a B and C team.

4 o Coaches should at this level have Youth Cert or an aspiration to do so in the near future. o Support structures should be in place to ensure that the main coach is not burdened by administrative issues, rather that the main coach in each year is concentrated on coaching and improving the skills of the players in each team within his/her year. o It is envisaged that this support would be provided by parents/guardians of the children in that particular year. At these age groups, jerseys for matches will be held by the coaches and the players will wear club shorts and club socks, both of which are black in colour, for all matches. General Aisling-Annacotty whilst mindful of the fact that our children play other sports must be realistic and realise that we are in competition with other sports for the hearts and minds of the players. With this in mind, special attention needs to be given to players whose main sport is soccer. This should be especially borne in mind when marginal calls are being made between soccer first players and those whose first preferences are either GAA, rugby or other sports. Priority should be given to players whose first choice is soccer. This is also important when players are asked to fill in temporarily at an older age group. In relation to grading of players in each year, there should be flexibility from year to year. While acknowledging it is difficult for children to move from their friends, it does no player a service to have them as perennial substitutes. It should be the norm that there is movement between teams and this fluidity should be a regular feature from year to year. At the start of the year, each age group starts with a panel of players. Coaches in that age group decide on their respective panels. No player has a prior right of playing for any team. The allocation of players to their respective teams is on a year-to-year basis.

5 Players should be encouraged to move up and down to either test themselves at the higher level or to get more soccer at a different level. It is recognised that this will require flexibility from the coaches and a large element of goodwill. On one part, the B or C coach may be losing some of his/her better players but on the other, should be getting players in to his team from the higher division. The well being of the players should always be paramount in the decisions made. The benefits of this type of difficult decision will be felt by the players getting more game time / getting an opportunity to test themselves at a higher level. Having a good player as substitute getting little or no game time does nothing for the player nor does it improve the squad. Coaches should be conscious of the players on the substitute s bench and the need for all players to get game time. In the event that players do not get game time the manager should ensure that the players are aware why this has happened. The coaches should encourage the movement of players between teams, and it is recognised that the decision to move is one that should only be made by the coach following consultation with other coaches and the parent/guardian. In relation to entry for a National Cup, a B team may enter if they are playing at a high enough standard but their entry would have to be authorised at Committee level. As the children progress from year to year, the guiding principles for each team should be those of keeping the ball, passing, movement and not Route One football. Each coaching team should have a full medical kit, water bottles, match balls, pump, and have at least one coach to have done the appropriate level of Kick Start Ideally all the coaches in any age group should have done the appropriate Kick-start coaching certificate. Each team playing at competitive levels should train at least once a week. Aisling-Annacotty is committed to promoting good sportsmanship rather than a win at all costs mentality. It is recognised that this document is an evolving document and will require amendment a number of times in the future.

Naas GAA. Draft Boys Juvenile Football Policy 2016

Naas GAA. Draft Boys Juvenile Football Policy 2016 Draft Boys Juvenile Football Policy 2016 Introduction The focus & objective of Juvenile Football is to create an environment in which all our players experience a sense of Fun, Achievement, and Fair Play,