It has to be agreed that underage football in Ireland is too competitive. I have attended many underage soccer matches over the years and there has being a pretty strong emphasis on winning instead of development, some games can be pretty parochial. There is an emphasis to "not mess with the ball and get rid of it" which makes kids considerably less technically sophisticated, while they are encouraged to use brawn and physique in their games. It is a well known fact that rural clubs prefer to boot the ball down the pitch rather than kids working on their technique, and it is a style that has a vague resemblance to Gaelic football. Movement off the ball is not particularly fluent as the system that the players play under does not allow for it. There is ABSOLUTELY NO NEED FOR COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL UP TO UNDER 14S. Another angle that needs to be changed is the Community Games. The movement have been excellent to kids across Ireland but they need to do away with the under 12 football. Kids should not be under any pressure to be winning All Ireland soccer medals at that age group. Under 16s or under 17s should be the competitive age in that competition. This would mean the scrapping of the Norton and Troy Cup competitions and the Kennedy Cup should be moved to under 15s, irrespective of English attitudes. It is high time for everyone involved in underage football to ask themselves what are they in it for? The answer would be to assist in the coaching and development of a footballer to realise his full potential through encouragement and understanding and to ensure that all children wanting to play football is given a chance. No kid should be discarded because of ability, the kids could be encouraged to learn a bit on refereeing, simple coaching tips and to set up their own (supervised) committees, so they can learn some basics on club administration. Football is a very inclusive game and each club should be willing to assist all kids in their endeavours.
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