by norwood8 » Fri Jul 25, 2014 4:15 pm
In regards to the rule changes/modifications in the subbies and all the negativity surrounding it at the meeting, it appears a lot of people are stuck in the 1980s. Unfortunately the participation rates in soccer within Australia are huge and are going to continue growing in the near future. There are many reasons to why this is happening, too many to list here.
As a PE teacher I can give you guys a hands on perspective, especially in regards to what kids want out of sport. Personally, I do everything within my powers to promote our great game and I have to admit the SANFL provide excellent resources and initiatives (much better than the FFSA). The small sided games that are in the plans, have been developed through research and observation of other sports from around the world, we don't want to be left behind.
As most would know, a lot of children like to get everything they want and many parents give in to this. Not knowing how to win or lose (a valuable life skill) is fast becoming a trait observed in many children. Now to my main point, children like it or not, want to be engaged nearly 100% of the time and therefore want to touch the ball or be involved in the play as much as possible, with 18 a side games this is clearly not going to be the case. If children are not interested, they will quickly walk away and find another sport/activity that accommodates for this.
Today I have asked all my middle school classes who plays what, and why the sport appeals to them. The answers were pretty straight forward, they want to touch the ball as much as possible and have greater time near the main play. For the good of our great game, it is vital that we adapt to what a growing proportion of society deems as important and relevant in relation to providing exercise and leisure for children.
I can understand there are going to be negatives, such as more volunteers required (if more teams are rolled out). Will the league cap the number of teams per club is another question to find out. How each club responds to these different/extra needs will be vastly different, so will the outcome for each club.
Like it or not, these small sided games are the way of the future, they provide the game with an avenue in maintaining its relevance to modern day society.