Technical Working Group Summary June 2010

Trials

• The trials over two days on the weekends were a much better option that midweek, after hours trials

• Option to have additional trial days a positive thing

• The way that the trials were run seemed to work well and should be retained

• Coach Assessment of players, observation during previous season and the trials themselves form the basis for good selections.

• Need to make it simpler for coaches to complete the coach assessments - simplify form to look at basic skills only and try to avoid giving scores out of 10 for those skills. Comments are better than scores. Don't ask coaches to assess physiological ability to play up - most couldn't do this anyway.

• Trial assessors need to know what to look for and before the trials each year, TDC should run through what to look for.

• Those involved in trials found it hard to pick out the final few for Div 1 because of all of the Div 1 players from previous season taking their attention

• Suggest not having div 1 players from the previous year at the first trial. Reasonable to assume that they will be Div 1 or Div 2. Select a number of players (say 10 to 12) to trial with last year's 1 players - this group will form Div 1 and Div 2

• Issue with selections raised by coaches is that they are given players selected without consideration of team make up. At least one group ended up with 10 players who played the game the same way (all midfielders). Suggestion:

Selectors to choose a number of players equal to the number of players allowed on the field for that age group who will be definite Div 1. Selectors also provide additional players equal to the number of subs allowed plus 3. Div 1 coach takes the selected players and is allowed to select the final few. 3 players drop back to Div 2. This gives the coach some influence on how the team is set up.

Playing Up

• General agreement with the policy that a player must trial in their own age group if they want to trial in an older age group. However that doesn't work for under 10 who don't trial.

• Players who want to trial up should be allowed to trial up but only if they have agreement in the form of a letter from their parents.

• Players who trial up can only play in the older age group if they are selected in the top squad in the older age group - otherwise they play in their own age group. Note - no restriction on being in the top 3 or starting 11 in the older age group, just in the top squad.

• Like the process of identifying players the season before by roving assessors. Would like this to happen in the under 9 age group to identify likely under 10 players form the next season as well as the under 10 age group looking for under 11 players for next season.

Under 10 Age group

• Seem to be losing players and in some cases families in the transition year (under 10s) who aren't turning up for under 11s - need to address this.

• Would like to have one open team and one girls team nominated in the Northside comp rather than all play in intra-club. These teams should be roughly graded as 'red' teams so we get our better players playing together in under 10s. Benefit is that it may reduce the number of players wanting to play up.

• Support for the Development Squads introduced this year in under 10s - would like to see this extended to summer opportunities in under 9s to help with under 10 rough grading.