Adver News: Storey 'could play at top level'

[pauld]

Weirdly he's just not interested.  Not because of the team just because hes a kid and doesnt want to make big decisions like that in his life. 

Nothing weird about that at all, read arriba's post above, he's bang on right. If he's good enough, he'll still be good enough in a couple of years. (Your nephew, not arriba)

[Arriba]

I must add that the they will still be good enough if they don't join young is not necessarily true. The local kids leagues are poor imo with many so called coaches that frankly know nothing and teach bad habits.
There isn't a right or wrong answer in the right age to join. I would never tell a 7 year old not to sign as he may love it(the vast majority of trialists dont get signed anyway regardless of age)
My lad has no regrets and will always look back fondly. He just ran out of steam and didn't want to chase it anymore.

[pauld]

That's fair comment arriba, but there's a balance to be struck between playing in a local club side with your mates versus the better quality coaching you get at pro club centres of excellence/academies etc. I was more thinking of the signing kids to contracts at 8/9 so they can no longer play with their mates, already under pressure etc etc. Just seems a bit too young to me. As you say though the experience will be different for each individual

[Arriba]

That's fair comment arriba, but there's a balance to be struck between playing in a local club side with your mates versus the better quality coaching you get at pro club centres of excellence/academies etc. I was more thinking of the signing kids to contracts at 8/9 so they can no longer play with their mates, already under pressure etc etc. Just seems a bit too young to me. As you say though the experience will be different for each individual

You are right as the kids have to commit to their academy and it is alot to ask. They can still play for their schools though,Swindon boys and down the park etc. Missing out on local football is no real loss imo as the general standard is terrible. it's the not playing with their mates that is the hard bit but new friends are made and footballers moving is part and parcel of the game.

[pauld]

Yeah, it is, just think 8/9 years old is a bit young to be asking them to do that. Thanks for the insight though, really interesting to hear about your lad's experience. I guess as fans we don't think about the possibility that young players may get fed up and just not want to do it any more.

[Tails]

Swindon let my nephew play for his local side for quite a while when he was younger but the difference in class was ridiculous even at that age, and the abuse he got was horrendous. I suppose its natural to be envious and spiteful to someone who is better than you but I was fuming at the things I heard.

He's doing really well though, we've got high hopes for him but his head is screwed on and he's chasing a few other hobbies so if it doesnt work out it wont be the end of the world. I think a lot of lads his age (15 / 16) need to make sure they have something else, but that might be down to the parents. Pressure to succeed can overwhelm anyone!

[pauld]

Swindon let my nephew play for his local side for quite a while when he was younger but the difference in class was ridiculous even at that age, and the abuse he got was horrendous. I suppose its natural to be envious and spiteful to someone who is better than you but I was fuming at the things I heard.

What age was that Tails? Assuming it was players dishing it out, surprised the coaches didn't put a stop to it

Back on topic, seems the pressure of stepping into the limelight might be getting to Miles if this recent photoshoot for the club website is anything to go by:

[url width=350 height=515]http://midddigital.middlebury.edu/SharingVTHistory/BooksPamphlets/HAC/images/miles_storey.jpg[/url]

[Tails]

He was 9 / 10 and the abuse was mainly from parents who berated him for being better and told their kids to take him out. There was no chance as he was twice the size of most of them and far too quick!

but he's U16's now and they're all mouthy little shits!

[jonny72]

The local kids leagues are poor imo with many so called coaches that frankly know nothing and teach bad habits.

From what I've seen of the local youth (under 10's) football the only thing that has changed since I players as a kid is a smaller pitch and less players. Everything else is the same; the bigger / stronger kids dominating, all about winning, scoring more important than defending, basic skills not being taught properly. Though bizarrely, a few weeks back I saw a girl put in an excellent performance at left back - was like watching a professional (sort of).

To be fair to the coaches I imagine they put in a lot of time and effort with little or no reward. It's a pity that more of the money the game generates isn't put in to grass roots coaching - would free training (especially for the certificates) for youth coaches really be too costly for the FA and PL to support?

[leefer]

In my view the coaching is just a very small part of a youngsters success or lack of it.

Ability.injuries, fate and desire make up around 90% of how far a young one will go in my opinion.

You cannot coach any of them.