TOPIC:

There has been some healthy discussion on the C2 thread on this subject and quite rightly it was suggested we start a thread. I believe its in the best interests of all Clubs to be proactive in this area.

Thanks Dingo.
I think that this is a summary of the discussion on the other thread:

WAFC just published a report into retention issues. www.wafootball.com.au/news/11854/youth-f...all-a-focus-for-wafc
The link to the recommendations is in the article.

Some general ideas:
1. If you build a culture at your club that attracts and retains the colts they’ll stay and success will follow.
2. Clubs need to embrace the colts and not think that it's all about the league side.
3. The older blokes at clubs who quote when I was younger you played at the highest level might have a valid point in some cases but you don't tell this generation what to do. You might as well hold the door open for them to leave.
4. The Colts Coach has the most important role at the footy club and is vital to attract and retain colts (and it has nothing to do with win loss ratio). Appoint quality, youth appropriate coaches for the Colts sides. The wrong choice here can decimate your list.
5. Giving the colts players choice is how you retain them. Let them stay in colts for as long as they want but give them the chance to play thirds, 2s or league if they have the ability and desire.
6. Make it fun and they'll stay. The kids play where they are happiest.
7. Try to cater for a number of different types of players – eg those that want to play with their mates from juniors, those who are on a WAFL colts list but are not playing WAFL regularly and those who are wanting to play competitively with club in their own community
8. A direct link to your JFC is vital. Make the natural progression be from JFC to Senior club and then make it as easy as possible to continue on that pathway.
9. Respect the JFC and their place in developing the juniors and let them keep the kids in the JFC for as long as possible;
10. Clearly co-operation between clubs is needed here as we all work together to keep the young lads playing and to ensure the future of the game and the competition.

Some suggestions for things that clubs can do:
A. Appoint a development officer who is on your committee and is 100% dedicated to attracting and retaining colts.
B. Arrange some joint training sessions with the JFC yr 11 or yr 12 team and your colts team.
C. Get your colts coach to offer to give the JFC coaches a hand every now and then.
D. Have a formal arrangement with the JFC to give out some awards - practical stuff like shorts or a training singlet that the kids can use if they join the colts team the next year. (Promotes the Senior club and makes it easier to play there).

Some ideas about competition rules etc (up for discussion):
(i) Keep flexibility around the age of colts (20 and under is probably better for the WAAFL than the WAFL age bracket);
(ii) Reduce the team size (eg 15 or 16 per side)
(iii) Change the game times (maybe Saturday morning isn't the best time for Colts) and make games shorter in some grades
(iv) Introduce a “no colts in the thirds (or lower)” rule as a way of keeping the colts comp number s up
(v) If a club has more than one Colts side could players not selected to play be granted a permit only to another club to play locally? In a lower grade perhaps or a struggling club number wise?
(vi) explore a permit system but make sure that clubs who let players out on permit don’t risk losing players;
(vii) Make a flexible on-line system that lets colts aged players shift where numbers are needed to keep the comp viable
(viii) Should there be a limit of one colts side per club?

If you have ideas lets talk about it and get them on the table?
Over to you?

How does reducing team sizes increase retainment of players? Means more people sitting on the bench.

I think the major factor is $$$$ and Families.
Make it cheaper for the kids to play then they will continue to play, unfortunately tho the more we bend over backwards for every kid developing into the ammos the worse off senior footy will be in the future!

Kids already have a sense of entitlement amd expect everything done to make themhappy. We continue to do that then these kids ply colts footy for 3 yrs cos they are best in that comp or treated like royalty. Soon as the move into senior footy this attention is dropped and kids arent the main 'men' anymore meaning they dont go on with their footy.

If a kid cones from a good family with parents that have brought them up well then generally they have the resilience to play colts footy and are prepared to be pushed. If their home life is shit chances are they are the hard kids to deal with at colts level

If their home life is shit as freo puts it then they need the footy club even moreso. That's what I thought footy clubs were about. The "extended" family scenario. Community input etc. As for $ being an issue I agree with freo.
I firmly believe that the relationship between the senior and junior clubs is crucial. For both the players and the parents of prospective colts coming thru.

Thanks FFTF. 15/16 a side lets you have more teams in the comp. 34 available players fills 2 teams if you reduce the numbers rather than 1 team with no one to play if you must have 18 on the ground. Also, the research shows each player gets more touches and it is hopefully less congested.

You and Postman raise an excellent point about the purpose of WAAFL Clubs. While I agree with Postman about what that should be, clubs exist for different reasons for their members. But even if a club exists solely to win flags I think it will not be able to sustain that unless it bring kids in and keeps them.

Postman - how do you create that "extended family scenario" at clubs?

the simple fix will be to remove the WAFL colts and allow a standalone competition not influenced by wafl clubs. A comp with the only goal to develop talent.

Kids that are lured to WAFL clubs as young as 13 and pay for the privilege with no hope of ever playing league will be left to play amateurs. WAFL uses them to generate revenue and at the same time wrecks the 17's & WAAFL colts competitions.

Firstly thanks to Dingo and Factor for moving this discussion into the mainstream and for all the input to date.

A lot of good stuff coming up and getting us talking.

I agree we need to do something over all and the given is develop from within.

Unholy thanks for joining in on this and your views.

Interested in your point on WAFL Colts.

How would you work this one?

Stand alone would be age based therefore the same as WAFL Colts?

Were would the stand alone teams come from?

Be based etc?

Cheers

Disco

I would go with a similar setup to the TAC cup & VFL

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAC_Cup

Under 18s competition showcasing next generation elite footballers. Once they hit 18 and not drafted, head into WAFL Reserves, league or WAAFL.

I would consider the TAC cup a very long term success story. Imagine all those 18,19 & 20 year olds not sitting stagnate in WAFL clubs. Free to go and play at WAAFL.

The biggest crime is the money WAFL clubs get for a drafted player. Some players spend less than 8% of their playing life at a WAFL club. The other 92% has been spent at a local junior club run by volunteers, yet the WAFL club receives 100% of the revenue stream.

Ok a couple of things,
The TAC comp is based on a zone set up including regional.
Some of the clubs are strongly linked into AFL & VFL clubs also.
The benefits are the country kids would be closer to home.
The WAFL Colts is basically the same and clubs such as Perth have made big changes in trying to accomodate training schedules in regions appointing regional coaches etc and using Skype sessions etc to limit travel.
There is always going to be a big cull at all clubs with big numbers trying out.
Would this not be the case at tac.
I can also see the benefits of s stand alone comp but I still think clubs will be strongly linked into WAFL.
A lot of academy's also growing in the Afl.
One thing I personally would like is if kids go into town to play they can't be cleared to another club for their colts career. The exception being their original club has no colts.
Loads of kids get poached at WAFL colts level into higher graded clubs or clubs coaches are aligned to in the lower leagues etc.
I guess nothing will be perfect but if we get enough chat going we might actually get somewhere.
This site gets monitored also.

Thanks everyone.
I'll leave the TAC / WAFL debate to the WAFL thread but there are some things that I think are worth adding to this thread re WAAFL colts participation that relate to the WAFL / WAAFL relationship.
Most of the Metro kids in WAFL Colts programs that I know will play community footy either in the WAAFL or their Youth Conference when they are not selected in the WAFL Colts.
This does cause some problems for individuals having to fit in to 2 teams but spend most time training in the WAFL Colts squad. I think that communication and mentoring between the WAFL/WAAFL/Youth Conference team/club is important and is an area that everyone can get better at. This will reduce the disillusionment that some kids feel if they can't get a game at the WAFL club but can't play well enough in their WAAFL side to justify selection.
Maybe this is a role for the Development officer at the WAAFL club and something that the WAFL club should be more active about.