Youth System

[CF1989]

Lads, just wondering what ye think about how important a good youth system is in the club. there are good players around the town, county and surrounding counties well able to step upto the grade in a few years. facilities need to be better at a club like ours for youth teams, to make these players want to play for sligo rovers. the likes of derry, castlebar, salthill devon, mervue have great facilities, and these teams all do well in the A league and u20. with mervue progressing into the LOI with a young side, with many of their players being with the club for a number of years with the youth sides.

i know money at the club is hard to come by, but investing in youth facilities is great for the long term.

alot of clubs have set up youth team commitees, and this helps raise funds for teams, improve facilities and all round feel around the youth team. maybe its time for something like this to happen with rovers

i don't know would anyone on here have any interest in coming together to maybe set up something like this, but i think its an important step for the club to make sooner rather than later, or even having some existing committee members take this on board instead of just focusing on the first team, theres nothing better than seeing the likes of o'grady, feeney, cretaro etc playing for the club. we could have plenty more players like this in the years to come if the youth system is given more care off the field
:ball:

[rovers100%]

dont think the club will or able to make the investment. is our under 20 team any good i was chatting a fella from castlerea and he said castlerea played rovers u-20 few saturdays back and they beat us 1-0 but should have won by far more and was very disappointed with sligo.

[CF1989]

dont think the club will or able to make the investment. is our under 20 team any good i was chatting a fella from castlerea and he said castlerea played rovers u-20 few saturdays back and they beat us 1-0 but should have won by far more and was very disappointed with sligo.

because alot of the u20 sqaud were playing the same afternoon for our A team against galway (and won 3-1). 3 players were on holidays, 4 players were injured and 1 working and 7 were playing in the A game during the day. thats 15 players unavailable out of a 22/23 man squad. 6 signed players took part, 5 unsigned ones also

[apo11o]

dont think the club will or able to make the investment. is our under 20 team any good i was chatting a fella from castlerea and he said castlerea played rovers u-20 few saturdays back and they beat us 1-0 but should have won by far more and was very disappointed with sligo.

Castlerea must be top flight to beat a makeshift Rovers 1-0.

There are good players on the u20 panel but some play A as well and are in the 1st team squad, so the u20 squad depends on other fixtures.

You could always go see them for yourself.

[Da Real Rover]

Sure didnt sean connor demolish any form of a youth structure we had, one thing that DOR actually accomplished while at Rovers.
As for last season, from what I was told it was a complete farce with Hutch running it far from professional.

[CF1989]

its just going to save money in the long run, saving transfer fees if theres good enough players coming through to make the first team

u20 team at home to Derry City tomorrow night in the Showgrounds at 7.45pm

[rovers100%]

Castlerea must be top flight to beat a makeshift Rovers 1-0.

There are good players on the u20 panel but some play A as well and are in the 1st team squad, so the u20 squad depends on other fixtures.

You could always go see them for yourself.


only stating what i was told from an observer of the game and i work weekends and only transfered from dublin to home 5 weeks ago. it costs me 250 euros to come down to sligo on saturdays im due on so watching u-20 a bit award for me apo11o. maybe im just a bad supporter !!!

[brianw82]

only stating what i was told from an observer of the game and i work weekends and only transfered from dublin to home 5 weeks ago. it costs me 250 euros to come down to sligo on saturdays im due on so watching u-20 a bit award for me apo11o. maybe im just a bad supporter !!!

Are you taking one of The Monk's limos or something?! :confused: Train costs around 40e, less than that on the bus.....

[avvenalaf]

Are you taking one of The Monk's limos or something?! :confused: Train costs around 40e, less than that on the bus.....

Arrah, read the feckin thing again and cop on.

[CF1989]

game off tonight

[rovers100%]

have to pay someone to do my days work for me brian !!! im not tryin to win supporter of the year just apo11o was being bitchy and trying to show him we would all love to watch every game senior and junior but its not possible for some people.

[CF1989]

yeah its not easy to get to all games, especially underage ones, but if anyones ever around and doing nothing come in for a look. alot of young locals playing and always the odd first teamer there aswell for the A team, or the likes of turner/marshall for the u20, usually any first team players that dont play on a friday/saturday night and arnt injured would line out for the A team the next day if theres a game so its a good chance to have a look at some of the fringe players too

[apo11o]

have to pay someone to do my days work for me brian !!! im not tryin to win supporter of the year just apo11o was being bitchy and trying to show him we would all love to watch every game senior and junior but its not possible for some people.

That wasn t bitchy, you shouldn t dismiss the team without seeing them for yourself. Maybe your in the wrong gaame.

[rovers100%]

learn to read, i did not dismiss the team i passed on info as to what a supporter at the game told me, how can i dismiss the team by clearly asking is our u-20 team any good :eek: your talking sh1te:rolleyes: mate

[srfc1928]

http://www.fotosearch.com/bthumb/CSP/CSP075/k0759977.jpg

[rovers100%]

:D good one !!! sorry not gonna bother argueing the point anymore let apo11o be right ;)

[apo11o]

Anyone know when Castlerea are playing again.:)

[unclekev]

I think a strong youth system is important for the club.

[rovers100%]

surely rovers should be entering teams from u-12 up and trying to get the best young players playing for the club together from a young age. surely this cant be too much effort or cost for a club that calls itself professional. sadly the club is paying and signing contracts as pros but it acts as if part time in many respects. its hard to understand how sligo can produce so many good school, underage and senior teams yet so little breakthrough into the first team.

[Rovers1]

surely rovers should be entering teams from u-12 up and trying to get the best young players playing for the club together from a young age..........

Haven't the budget. You need to pay coaches, rent facilities etc.

[rovers100%]

i know what your saying but no under 10.12,14,16,18s coaches are paid in sligo leitrim and mervilles pitch stright across the road. can a deal not be done with them to use it. how does all the under age teams do it as they dont have big budgets its all done on sponsership and peoples free time.

[SligoBrewer]

Haven't the budget. You need to pay coaches, rent facilities etc.

And all the junior football clubs would go ape-****.

[srfc1928]

And all the junior football clubs would go ape-****.
Exactly,
Rovers would take all the best players in the league,
making it uncompetitive and would benefit no one.
It works in bigger population centres like Dublin but not in the Sligo Leitrim.
Rovers need to work closer with the local leagues.
There was a lot of talk about a link up a couple of seasons ago,
Dont know what happened, maybe someone on here might know more ?

[sligo23]

maybe rovers should take more of an interest in the sligo/leitrim u16 and u18 team??

[CF1989]

no reason why rovers can't be a representative side for younger teams, instead of having to sign for a season just play for your club and train and play with a rovers representative side like you would a Sligo Leitrim team?

[apo11o]

maybe rovers should take more of an interest in the sligo/leitrim u16 and u18 team??

This could be a start, the best players in the league go to the Kennedy cup every year. the following years they dont have a proper league, they play in a knock out comp.

Maybe a connaught league?

[CF1989]

the under 18 sligo/leitrim league is non exsistent really

[roverandout]

I don't think that a club such as Sligo Rovers should get involved in schoolboy football. That is the preserve of the local youth leagues. It would be much better for the powers that be to scrap the U-20 league, and to orgainise a National U-18 league, making it mandatory for all LOI clubs to compete. Realistically if a young playing is not showing first team potential at seventeen or eighteen years of age, is there any point in persevering with him for a further two years?

I would suggest allowing local schoolboy leagues to run football up and until the age of U-16 with the better players progressing to LOI club's after that. Under the present system senior clubs only antagonise schoolboy clubs by cherry picking their best players and failing to develop them accordingly.

[Redie]

Sligo Rovers played in the u16 and u18 Sligo-Leitrim League a few years back and it just didn't work for a number of reasons but the main one being a lot of local clubs were somewhat resentful that players they had invested a lot of time and money in coaching since the age of ten were gone to another club and then playing against them with Rovers and denying them a chance to win the league.

That is not to say that there cannot be more co-operation between Senior clubs and Youth soccer and Dermot Kelly is already beginning to set those wheels in motion. The most important thing is that local clubs interests are not steamrolled by any Senior club.

[apo11o]

Sligo Rovers u20 homeless.
The u20 home games v Derry last week and v Finn Harps this week were called off.

Youth System lol.

[northwestexile]

Every club needs a youth structure as its the lifeblood of any club be it junior or senior.
I think Rovers should work with the local clubs a lot more as underage football in Sligo has produced some quality players i.e Cawley, Rossiter, Martyn, O'Grady and Cretaro.
If Rovers say got every club to send in one coach and their best 3 players in certain age groups to a training camp held over a few weekends both sides would benefit.
The club coach would get to see how to set up a good training session for a particular age group and Rovers would get to run the rule over the best players in the Sligo/Leitrim.
I dont think the club should be entering teams in the local underage divisions but should maybe look at putting teams into the national underage competitions and maybe the Foyle Cup and Milk Cup in the North.

[srfc1928]

Taken from The Sligo Weekender 26/06/07

Youth soccer set to flourish with new plans

A “GREAT initiative and an unique achievement” was how Sligo Rovers Football Club chairman, Michael Toolan, described the formal link up between the club and the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League which was announced at a press conference held in the Radisson Hotel last Wednesday night.


He also complemented the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League on the great work that they have done at underage level.

Toolan said that he believed a strong Youth soccer system is important to Sligo Rovers in terms of player development and that he hopes this link will help create an atmosphere that will help bring on young players.

He also said that he feels that this relationship fits in with the work currently being done in underage football by the FAI through their ‘Technical Development Plan’ and the ‘Emerging Talent Programme’.

He outlined that his long-term vision for The Showgrounds would be to have it as a regional centre of excellence.

He finished by saying that this is a connection that Sligo Rovers needed to have and he stated that all local Sligo-Leitrim Youth soccer finals should be played in The Showgrounds.

These sentiments were echoed by the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League chairman, Niall Davey, who said that the document was the result of 18 months’ consultation with Sligo Rovers and he praised the efforts of all involved in the talks.

Davey said that the aim is to develop clear pathways for players into higher levels of soccer via The Showgrounds.

He gave tribute to the work carried out by Sligo Rovers in terms of developing The Showgrounds and said how it was great to have all the recent underage finals played there, as it meant a lot to the players.

He also referred to the recent comments made by FAI official Fran Gavin, the eircom League of Ireland Director, who said that Sligo Rovers were “out of touch with the community,” and he called for Gavin to see how involved they [Sligo Rovers FC] actually are at local level.

Davey maintained that this link was a great starting point and that it would be under constant review. He finished by praising the work of all involved from both parties, who helped draw up the policy document.

The press conference was also addressed by Sligo Rovers FC Youth Committee chairman, Brendan Byrne, and the secretary of the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League, Paul Hynes.

The new arrangement will see the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League have the use of the excellent facilities in The Showgrounds - all Sligo-Leitrim club finals will be played there and the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League representative sides will also train there.

Sligo Rovers will take up a greater role in the coaching of these representative sides so they can identify play-ers at a younger age and they will be doing more coaching sessions with the clubs in the Sligo-Leitrim region.
Sligo Rovers also hope to enter U-16 and U-18 sides in proposed provincial competitions. Should Sligo Rovers enter these competitions, they will only be allowed to sign two players from each club in the Sligo-Leitrim Youth, Schoolboys & Schoolgirls League - anything after that would require the permission of the club involved.

06/2007

http://archives.tcm.ie/sligoweekender/2007/06/26/story33077.asp

[srfc1928]

From the Sligo Weekender 07/08/03

We seem to be going backwards instead of progressing

Rovers benefit from Foyle Cup experience

Last week Sligo Rovers entered a side for the first time in the Foyle Cup, a prestigious underage competition hosted by Derry.
Other sides who competed were Paris Saint Germain (France), Brescia (Italy), Blackburn Rovers and a host of other clubs from Ireland, England and across Europe.
The Showgrounds side were drawn in a group alongside Danish team Aalberg, and two other Republic of Ireland sides, Dundalk and Crumlin United.
Rovers’ preparations were hindered by the fact that the Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys U-16 League overran its schedule and this meant that it was hard to get the squad together for training.
Coaches Mickey Feeney and Leo Tierney selected a squad which comprised of members of the Sligo Rovers U-16 panel and players from the Sligo-Leitrim Youth & Schoolboys U-15 squad which is set to compete in this summer’s Holland Cup.
Sligo’s first game was last Tuesday against Aalberg. The Danish side won 3-0 and Mickey Feeney said that they were an excellent team, who were one of the clear ‘favourites’ for the competition’s overall honours.
Aalberg have a fully professional set-up and all of their players were on full-time contracts, with the club also providing for their schooling.
Feeney remarked that their technical skills were good and that there wasn’t one of them with a “bad first touch”.
Rovers’ second game, which also took place last Tuesday, was against Dundalk.
They lost 4-2 with David Rooney (left) and David O’Mahoney scoring for Rovers.
This was a poor game and one that Rovers could have won. They started well with Real Tubber’s Gary Curran hitting the post early on.
However, the game turned in Dundalk’s favour when Rovers’ Brian Murphy was harshly sent-off with the game level at 1-1.
In their final group game, played on Wednesday, Rovers lost 3-2 to Crumlin United. Gary Curran and David Rooney were the scorers.
Like the Dundalk game, this was a fixture that was there for Rovers to win. They led 2-1 at half time but two penalties conceded handed victory to Crumlin.
Mickey Feeney, the squad’s joint-coach, expressed his opinion that, given the time to prepare properly, participation in the Foyle Cup is of tremendous benefit.
He believes it is a competition which could be as good – if not better – than the Kennedy Cup.
It was good for Sligo Rovers to be involved in such competitions as part of their ongoing Youth policy.
For those Sligo-Leitrim players travelling to Holland later this summer, last week’s competition gave them great experience as they played against three very good sides

[Redie]

Every club needs a youth structure as its the lifeblood of any club be it junior or senior.
I think Rovers should work with the local clubs a lot more as underage football in Sligo has produced some quality players i.e Cawley, Rossiter, Martyn, O'Grady and Cretaro.
If Rovers say got every club to send in one coach and their best 3 players in certain age groups to a training camp held over a few weekends both sides would benefit.
The club coach would get to see how to set up a good training session for a particular age group and Rovers would get to run the rule over the best players in the Sligo/Leitrim.I dont think the club should be entering teams in the local underage divisions but should maybe look at putting teams into the national underage competitions and maybe the Foyle Cup and Milk Cup in the North.


Incredibly patronising if not downright insulting to local youth team coaches, the majority of who have completed numerous coaching courses and who are probably better positioned to 'set up a good training session for a particular age group' than most coaches involved with senior soccer clubs.

[CF1989]

the under 20's were forced to play up in ballymote yesterday as they wernt allowed on showgrounds pitch, yet there was a friendly played there yesterday for the guards or something

[northwestexile]

Incredibly patronising if not downright insulting to local youth team coaches, the majority of who have completed numerous coaching courses and who are probably better positioned to 'set up a good training session for a particular age group' than most coaches involved with senior soccer clubs.

It was ment to be neither patronising nor insulting. I'm sure the Sligo Leitrim League has some very good coaches but I don't think all coaches are going to be at the same level and it would be a chance for them to learn off each other and pick up ideas. It was ment to be a suggestion as to how both sides could benefit from a process and that Rovers would not be seen to be just signing a clubs better players without giving anything back to the clubs.

[apo11o]

3 u20 in Setanta Cup squad.

[CF1989]

the under 20 team play at home to group leaders Derry City in the Showgrounds tomorrow night at 8pm