Kid's football - pitch sizes

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peil said:
I'd be checking the terms of association and the club rules they provided you with - sounds like they are at it.
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I cannot find anything obvious.

Even so, I can't see why an adult can't send an email to whoever they want to.

The secretary of the league could have just replied to me saying that I needed to follow the correct communication channels within the club.

It might be best for me to keep my gob shut so as not to spoil things for my kid.

I can't believe how seriously some people take kid's footy. I know that they need to be organised but some of the people are on an ego trip.
 


Stevie Freestein II said:
I cannot find anything obvious.

Even so, I can't see why an adult can't send an email to whoever they want to.

The secretary of the league could have just replied to me saying that I needed to follow the correct communication channels within the club.

It might be best for me to keep my gob shut so as not to spoil things for my kid.

I can't believe how seriously some people take kid's footy. I know that they need to be organised but some of the people are on an ego trip.
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A-f***ing-men
I had a set to with the 'manager' of my sons team his method of motivating players appears to be telling them everything they are doing wrong, compared to the other two coaches who try and motivate them. I pointed out where he might want to reign it in a bit and he was getting well out his pram, so much so that he was reminded in front of the other parents that if he spoke to me like that in my workplace i'd be looking elsewhere for work and he'd be on his arse.
 
Pell said:
can u not just send one anonymously ?
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In hindsight yes I should have but I mentioned that I was a parent.

I might wait a few weeks and then send the email again from another account. This is all I sent:

---

Dear Mr. Junior League Secretary,

On Sunday 7 September my son was a member of the Kid's team that played in the Junior League U13 Division 2 fixture versus Other Kid's team.

The children appeared to be playing on an adult-sized pitch with fully-sized goals and this did not seem to be beneficial to the development of their individual or team skills. There were clearly some talented and skilful children playing yesterday but far too often they were overcome either by physically larger opponents or the large dimensions of the pitch. In particular the goalkeeper of Kid's team suffered (as proven by the number of goals conceded) even though his positioning and handling skills were adequate. I fear that in the longer term the confidence of some players will be affected when they are comprehensively beaten by opponents who are not technically superior, only that the playing environment is unsuitable for them. To their credit the coaches and players of both teams mainly attempted to play an attractive style of football, but the option of kicking the football as far as possible to the largest player in the team was often more successful than attempting to work the ball through the team to create a goal-scoring opportunity.

Many observers now appreciate that the English game has suffered at many levels due to a lack of technical skills and comfort whilst in possession of the football, and I cannot see this changing until junior players are given the opportunity to display their ball skills during a match rather than rely on physical superiority. As far as I am aware, Football Association guidelines are for smaller sized pitches to be used until the Under-13 age group. Is there a possibility that this policy could be reviewed so that 9-a-side teams would play on smaller pitches until the players reach the age and/or level of physical development to make this more practical?

I am not being critical of the coaches, players or organisation of the Junior League in any way as I appreciate the commitment of everyone involved who enable local children to play the game that they enjoy. But I feel that I cannot be the first person who has noticed how the players could benefit from playing on smaller sized pitches until they are older.

Yours sincerely,

Freestein.
 
yeah just send one similar but obv re-word it a bit :lol:
sounds daft that you have to even do that mind but if theyre being arsey...
 
I found this re: pitch and goal dimensions as recommended by the FA:

I'll take my tape measure next week.

http://www.bjfl.uk.net/shopping/images/Download/Pitch and Goalpost MASTER.pdf

Under 13/14:

The FA Recommended Pitch Sizes

Recommended size without runoff: 90 x 55. Length x width (yards)

Recommended size including runoff: 96 x 51
(safety area around pitch)
Recommended size of goal posts: Height x width (ft). 7 x 21


*If a pitch is to be provided forU13/14 itis recommended that 7 x 21 goalposts are provided.However, it should
be noted that 8 x 24 would also be acceptable as not all sites will be able to provide specifically for this age group.
 
Seems a reasonably polite letter, somebody has let power rush to the head, I think.

Is U-13 the last recommended year of 9-v-9 there? It tends to be the first year of full 11-v-11 here - U-12 is a bit of a transition year, the lower, recreational leagues are 9-v-9, the more elite leagues where there's some travel involved play 11-v-11 but with a size 4 ball. Younger ages are kept really small, in the local system U-7 is 4-v-4 on a 50x25 pitch, they don't get to 9-v-9 until U-10.
 
I Claudio said:
Seems a reasonably polite letter, somebody has let power rush to the head, I think.

Is U-13 the last recommended year of 9-v-9 there? It tends to be the first year of full 11-v-11 here - U-12 is a bit of a transition year, the lower, recreational leagues are 9-v-9, the more elite leagues where there's some travel involved play 11-v-11 but with a size 4 ball. Younger ages are kept really small, in the local system U-7 is 4-v-4 on a 50x25 pitch, they don't get to 9-v-9 until U-10.
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U-13 is the first year of 11-v-11 on what I thought was near enough a full size pitch. Which was why I thought it might be an idea to extend the 9-v-9 for another year group. I'd have received less hassle if I'd have head-butted the ref and shagged the chairman's Mrs I reckon.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
I sent an email to the secretary of the league as that was the only email contact I could find.

Later I received an email from the club Chairman that was basically a warning to me:

ANY communication from parent to league is strictly forbidden and would result in termination of your registration with us if it were to be repeated.

And a veiled threat (?)

I'm sorry if any of this seems a bit hard Freestein but I think the world of Freestein Jr. and wouldn't want to risk any misunderstandings that may result in you having to leave the Club.

I'm not sure how to react to be honest. A parent isn't allowed to directly contact the junior league with a polite question/observation?



Size 4 mate.
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How can communication between parents and the league be banned ? How are you supposed to communicate any concerns ? I would go above them if it's possible, maybe the local FA ?
 
Narraback said:
How can communication between parents and the league be banned ? How are you supposed to communicate any concerns ? I would go above them if it's possible, maybe the local FA ?
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I checked the email with a colleague who is an FA qualified coach in Nottinghamshire and who runs an U-12 team and he thought that it was OK.

The league secretary couldn't even afford me a reply - I may have aimed at the wrong person but there's not really much of an option.

http://www.bjfl.uk.net/

I might try the FA but it could just cause more hassle. I could talk in a high pitched voice I s'pose or email from the Mrs' account.

When I read aloud the letter from the chairman I don't know whether to laugh or get angry. I'll paste it on here.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
I sent an email to the secretary of the league as that was the only email contact I could find.

Later I received an email from the club Chairman that was basically a warning to me:

ANY communication from parent to league is strictly forbidden and would result in termination of your registration with us if it were to be repeated.

And a veiled threat (?)

I'm sorry if any of this seems a bit hard Freestein but I think the world of Freestein Jr. and wouldn't want to risk any misunderstandings that may result in you having to leave the Club.

I'm not sure how to react to be honest. A parent isn't allowed to directly contact the junior league with a polite question/observation?



Size 4 mate.
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wtf? that seems mental on every level...
 
Reply from chairman:

----

Freestein,

It has been brought to my intention that you have recently communicated with the General Secretary of the Junior League, Mr. Junior League Secretay. Not only does this go against the Junior League's guidelines but is a serious breach of Kid's Football Club's own Policy. Parents of this Club should know that ANY communication from parent to league is strictly forbidden and would result in termination of your registration with us if it were to be repeated!

I accept that you are still new to our Club, Freestein, and I can only assume were unaware of this Policy?

I have spent years building an infrastructure that is designed to facilitate and encourage parent's opinions and comments - INTERNALLY! You can communicate with your Manager &/or Coach(s), each team should have a Parent Team Spokesperson for those wanting anonymity (unfortunately the Kid's team PTS was promoted to another Kid's team so Kid's Team Manager is currently recruiting a replacement) and the Club has 3 Club Relations Managers who are there to deal with any issues that can't be resolved within your team's structure.

In addition, ANY parent can communicate with me at any time (ideally by text or e-mail) or face-to-face as I'm around at most training venues almost all of the time and am happy to talk to anybody about anything.

I'm sorry if any of this seems a bit hard Freestein but I think the world of Freestein Jr. and wouldn't want to risk any misunderstandings that may result in you having to leave the Club.

Thanks.

Chairman

Kid's Football Club
 
Still sounds a bit too proud of his own self-worth, but I suppose if he's willing to hear you out directly as he claims, it isn't quite so bad to provide the secretary with a little bit of cover.

I do wonder if the last sentence isn't boilerplate that he attaches to EVERY letter of this sort.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
Reply from chairman:

----

Freestein,

It has been brought to my intention that you have recently communicated with the General Secretary of the Junior League, Mr. Junior League Secretay. Not only does this go against the Junior League's guidelines but is a serious breach of Kid's Football Club's own Policy. Parents of this Club should know that ANY communication from parent to league is strictly forbidden and would result in termination of your registration with us if it were to be repeated!

I accept that you are still new to our Club, Freestein, and I can only assume were unaware of this Policy?

I have spent years building an infrastructure that is designed to facilitate and encourage parent's opinions and comments - INTERNALLY! You can communicate with your Manager &/or Coach(s), each team should have a Parent Team Spokesperson for those wanting anonymity (unfortunately the Kid's team PTS was promoted to another Kid's team so Kid's Team Manager is currently recruiting a replacement) and the Club has 3 Club Relations Managers who are there to deal with any issues that can't be resolved within your team's structure.

In addition, ANY parent can communicate with me at any time (ideally by text or e-mail) or face-to-face as I'm around at most training venues almost all of the time and am happy to talk to anybody about anything.

I'm sorry if any of this seems a bit hard Freestein but I think the world of Freestein Jr. and wouldn't want to risk any misunderstandings that may result in you having to leave the Club.

Thanks.

Chairman

Kid's Football Club
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He is right.

Any issues should be dealt with internally and only if you are not happy with how it is dealt with should you can take it elsewhere.
 
I Claudio said:
Still sounds a bit too proud of his own self-worth, but I suppose if he's willing to hear you out directly as he claims, it isn't quite so bad to provide the secretary with a little bit of cover.

I do wonder if the last sentence isn't boilerplate that he attaches to EVERY letter of this sort.
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I had so much subject matter to use for a reply but I don't want to cause any ill feeling.

I'll print the club policy and the FA pitch guide and take it to the next training session.

If I can be arsed I may offer him a critique of his email SHOUTING tendency.

Narraback said:
Someone's on a power trip. I wouldn't leave it at that. Why on earth can a parent not contact the league ? What if you have an issue with the club ?
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Dinnar, it wasn't an issue re: the club anyway just a general question/observation. If I'd not mentioned the club I maybe would have got a different response.

SurreyMackem said:
He is right.

Any issues should be dealt with internally and only if you are not happy with how it is dealt with should you can take it elsewhere.
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Fairy nuff but it wasn't an issue with the club, more the pitch sizes used in the league. I don't really think I need to follow a procedure to ask another adult a question.
 
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