Michael Murphy, last year’s SA U17M third team assistant coach adds his two cents. Murph reckons many of the kids in the development teams make the better teams later. Which is true. But is it because they played that extra tournament when they were bottom age? Or is it because being good enough to make the team the year after comes with having the mindset of wanting to play earlier given the chance? Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc – “after this, therefore because of this” – it’s important not to confuse correlation with causation
When I had Murph’s job in 2005, the first player I picked was 14-year-old Michael McEwen, because I knew he had the best passing technique out there. We also picked Nic Rodger who was the same age and a skilled all-rounder, having been taught well by his mum, Sue Rodger (Mike and Nic both played in my Div 2 boys team the year before. They’re in the photo kneeling in front of McHuge). They were always going to make U16s, U17s etc. They were just young at the time and not quite strong enough yet. Playing in my team didn’t ensure their future success. I’d bet the farm that if we didn’t have the team that year, they would have made subsequent selections when their time came.
One of Murph’s kids who made the U16s this year was Jade Walsh, who I coached from when he was 11, and I could tell from an early age that he had a good chance of making these teams when his time came. The common thing that makes these kids good players is the fact that they’re willing to take every opportunity out there. But if some of those opportunities weren’t there, would they still be good enough to make it anyway?
And as for what gets players into the AIS – who knows? The AIS works in mysterious ways…
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Hi Huy,
As a coach of the U17 Boys 3rd team last year, I have a biased, and somewhat sentimental view of the teams we should take along to Nationals. I do think, without doubt, that we should only take one team at u19 and u21 levels, at the age of these players, they are developed enough to be playing reserves/league volleyball. However, the U17 are not always ready to be placed into as high a level competition as that. With Junior League being so weak here, good/great players of age 14-16 have to look at State Teams for elite volleyball, especially if they are from non-volleyball schools.
I think that there is reason behind the SECOND team should be scrapped from u17, leaving a 17’s team which is preparing athletes for u17’s top team the following year, or perhaps with the exception of SASI TID athletes who would benefit and fit into the 19’s team the year after.
Last year we took a squad of 10 in the 3rd team. This year, 1 will make the top 17’s team, 3 have made the 16’s team, 1 has made the 2nd 17’s team, 2 are trialling today for the 19’s, 2 are playing for their Open sides at high school but are no longer state athletes.
Last year the 2nd team also took away 10 players, 2 will make the 2nd 17’s team, the 3 will make the top 19’s team and the rest will play for their schools and no longer be able to travel into the obscurity of excessive state teams.
What is my point here? Well, we could have taken one team containing the five from the third team, and the five from the 2nd team. Generally speaking, we would have a better team that goes far better in the u17 age group, and also prepares 100% of athletes for future competitions, rather than the 50% we seem to be getting at the moment.
Another thing to think about is following Victoria’s current scheme of playing an u17 city team and an u17 country team. With plans for the development of SASI centres in Whyalla and Mawson lakes, as well as the current squad from the South, we could be pressing, in the mid-term, to have a team based from regional areas, and one from the city.
One thing we do need to think about though is this…A lot of the yellow teams have won so very few games, yet they still produce AIS athletes. Should we scrap something that produces these kind of athletes (not results)? I don’t think so, but I do like the way that we are taking fewer teams this year, but I don’t like the way that there is little foresight into the use of the second team. After watching the trials, it doesn’t look like being a development squad, but rather a ‘best of the rest’ squad. We should be sitting down, picking the 10 best players for the top team, and the 10 players who, with the right grooming, could be stars.
McHuge mentioned something I couldn’t believe, in saying that the 2nd/3rd team coaches were unmotivated and didn’t really care all that much about development, and I think more thought needs to go into the development squad’s coaching appointments. I for one was extremely passionate about my team and wanted them to develop their game as much as possible, and it was very rewarding to see one of the players being outstanding at trials, and hearing about the selection of another few into other teams.
Simply put…
Cutting teams is a part of the answer. The other parts are; more thought out selection processes (maybe even invitational…) for the development teams and more deliberate coaching appointments for the teams that, at this stage, seem to be producing the most AIS athletes : non AIS athletes ratio overall.
March 2, 2008 at 3:10 am |
Huy,
Most certainly there was some over simplification on my part there…
But I have spoken to a few of the athletes I mentioned last time, and they all agree, without hesitation, that they are better volleyballers due to the experience of playing in Sydney. Rory Welsh is one such player, who excelled like you would not believe in Sydney, he then went onto win an MVP award in melbourne. He told me that his time in Sydney helped every aspect of his game, as well as giving him the confidence and experience in tournament play. Jade arrived at the trials not looking like the player you mention…But boy did he grow throughout the training sessions and in Sydney he stepped up exceptionally.
Another one to think about is a young lad called Jordan Maslen, who last during trainings was otherwise focussed, he was always wanting to go out and play footy…After the trip to Sydney, I spoke to him and his Father, and they both agree, he’s a volleyballer now. He has the bug, he wants to play 21s one day. Another lad in my team last year David had a pretty good tournament, he was a TID athlete who was just kind of playing because he was at SASI…After the State program he told me how he loved the sport, as soon as the tournament finished his Dad was on the phone to Brighton, seeing if he could enroll in the school. He regrets not starting playing earlier (perhaps as a 14 year old in a State team….)
There are many little stories like this…Sure they players might have achieved the same thing if they were not a part of a development squad, but you cannot argue with the testimony of athletes telling you that you have either helped them become a better player and set them up for future tournaments, or given them the passion to love the sport.
Murph