Grassroots Development : a call to arms

[teddyandtimmysdad]

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book OUTLIERS, alludes to something called the 10,000 hour rule.

www.gladwell.com/outliers/outliers_excerpt1.html

Based upon his study of a wide variety of successful people across all walks of life, he has derived a rule that indicates that a person must practice/play/study/work at something for 10,000 hours, to become a master at that skill.

Here in the philippines, it seems most soccer "programs" or "camps" provide around 2 hours of training maybe twice a week, after shelling out p4k to 6k for two months worth of fees. using gladwell's rule, it means that following the existing "programs" that we have out there (at least in the metro manila area), my kid after starting at 4 years old, would become a master about the time he turns 100 years old! even if malcolm is off by a factor of 2, my kid would only master the sport when he is around 50 years old. maybe this approach is ok for parents that want their kids to just go out, get a bit of exercise, and have fun. but we should not delude ourselves as a nation... this approach will never put us on a similar standing to the top countries in the world.

Clearly, the existing "programs" out there which are available to the relatively wealthy population, have no hope of being able to develop advanced skills on their own. they all have an important role to play in stimulating interest and growth, but alone will not be enough. what more for the poorer families who may actually have more gifted athletic kids, but cannot afford the cost of a commercial program? these programs alone cannot be considered sufficient to develop skills for advanced players. they are important parts of the equation, but not enough. hopeful moms and dads who really have no benchmark with which to measure (in an absolute sense) their child's development should be aware of the limitations of these programs and not expect too much.

so what to do? subscribe your kids to multiple programs to increase the training hours? not in my household. we just can't afford it, and i believe we are relatively affluent.

clearly there needs to be a call to arms for grassroots football development here in the philippines. there has to be a number of fundamental changes here that become "game changers". stepwise improvements will not suffice, as the progress would be too slow without much impact. so, what could we do?

I am no expert, but it seems to me there must be strengthening of existing approaches, as well as additional options created for all kids here in the philippines which expands their opportunities to play, which supplements and augments the programs...

1) the general commercial programs
i would like to suggest that the commercial programs shift their focus somewhat from being purely money machines to placing additional focus upon being talent machines. this means more contact hours. how can they do this while still managing costs? most programs my kids have been to, all run the same way : 1.5 hours training, 0.5 hours play. why not provide additional time for play? provide additional sessions with no coaching, just play. separate attending kids into competing teams and stage a mini competition each time. perhaps this could be managed with fewer coaches? again i am no expert here, but clearly we cannot rely solely upon these programs the way they are run now because they are too expensive and provide too few contact hours.

2) schools
elementary and secondary schools have always been breeding ground for talent. i have seen much effort underway by deped, including corporate assistance and assistance from some of the programs like the younghusband football academy. yfa has been conducting training and broad based exposure for school educators, coaches, and others involved at the grassroots level. this is to be applauded and encouraged on a wider basis. the schools have a long way to go, but they are perhaps the most important piece in the puzzle to getting the grassroots effort vitalized.

3) facilities
at a grassroots level, kids need a space to play. this is perhaps the most difficult issue. when i was growing up, we just grabbed a ball and played. and played. and played.... tick, tick, tick, and you are moving ever along towards the 10,000 hour rule. problem is, there just aren't that many fields available in the cities. FUTKAL is to be applauded for their efforts here, propagating the game to the cities thriugh their concept of "futbol sa kalye!", helping to bring the game to inner city youth. schools, universities, and others with fields often times lock them up "after sessions" instead of keeping them open and available. this is a shame. when i was growing up in the usa, fields were not locked up, they were there for kids to use. we should do the same here.

4) Officialdom
FIFA is the global regulating body, as represented here by the PFF. Money is being made available to the PFF for all sorts of developmental efforts along many different dimensions. I don't mean to be critical, because every element and effort is important and helps to move us forward. however, as the main body with funds available, i believe that we as the public should understand their vision and programs that they are putting in place to drive all of this forward. There are lots of efforts underway with the little azkals, etc etc, but I just feel we are lacking in a coherant "big picture" view of what we are doing. Sadly this reflects upon the leadership of the PFF, and risks people concluding that the PFF is great at implementing stuff, but very weak in LEADING.


THE CALL TO ARMS
Time is passing, and it waits for no man. these are just a few scribbled thoughts, I invite you to add your own ideas to what must be done to vitalize the grassroots effort.

FINALLY, I INVITE THE PFF TO DEMONSTRATE THEIR LEADERSHIP AND LET US KNOW WHAT THEIR VISION IS. Perhaps an official website would be a good venue to make this known?

[narko]

In addition to the PFF, I think another key player in this matter that we somehow seem to overlook are our regional/provincial football associations. It would be interesting to know how well they work with the PFF, how integrated are their programs and vision with that of the PFF, do their activities and plans complement the over-all vision and roadmap of the PFF, etc...

These football associations are in much closer contact with their respective communities and local officials. They can make things happen with the support of the PFF and on their own such as tapping local businesses to support the program, lobbying local officials to build parks where kids can play, partner with schools and charitable organizations to establish community football programs for out of school youths, encourage the growth of football clubs by providing opportunities to compete, etc...

The over-all key to all this of course is that the whole effort must be integrated into one common direction, complementing each other from the national down to the provincial level.

For all we know, this might be happening already. As teddyandtimmysdad has noted, an official website would be a good idea to make all these efforts and vision known.

[teddyandtimmysdad]

hey narco, great comments and imho you are hitting many nails on the head by talking about the associations and how well they integrate with the pff. i have done a bit of research and found some interesting news on a blogsite by bonnie ladrido, a tireless volunteer for the pff and (i think) treasurer of the organization. stl:

ladrido.net/2011/05/08/beyond-the-azkals-the-way-forward-for-pilipinas-futbol-the-view-behind-the-scenes/

this is a good discussion about what is going on at the pff, it seems a lot is happening.

[stellarboy]

Thanks teddyandtimmysdad for this insight.

I saw you on another forum with a healthy discussion about the PFF's approach to youth development, or lack thereof.

www.azkals.com/topic/pff-approach-to-youth-development-lacking

Yes, it will be quite difficult what approach to use to detect local talents here as many of our local coaches and players don't yet fall to the standard that the South Americans have in finding talent in the streets. Also, the lack of facilities has been the key factor of the downfall of many youth academies of local clubs, which follows the European style of finding talent.

Problematic neighbourhoods, the "basketball lang ang pwede dito" mentality, and lack of funding and strategies will be the major setbacks in promoting grassroots development here in the PI.

[buddha]

teddyandtimmysdad:

You had me at Malcolm Gladwell.

You are absolutely right when citing SCHOOLS (and we're talking private and public institutions) as the key piece of the puzzle. While the others are important - commercial programs, facilities, the PFF - they are just peripherals compared to the immense possibilities of educational institutions. Our children's lives are focused on school and school activities regardless of, and this is the crux of the matter, economic standing.

I'd say focus on schools. What can the PFF and its stakeholders do to help schools breed the next generation of footballers?

I lecture at a private school and on the side I coach both the college and high school teams but I greatly admire how a rival school has gone about their football program. For the last 17 or so years this rival school has really built up their football program to the extent that you won't find a single basketball court on their campus! It's all green fields and soccer goals glistening under the sun. It may sound a bit extreme but their players have gone on to play for big universities around the country. This year they have a student who has made it to the national U-16 team.

Again, the educational system is the key.
Start them young and start then NOW.

...by young I'm thinking of futsal courts in day-care centers. Hehehe!


--------------
stellarboy

I don't mean to be persnickety but I'd like to share my opinion.

I don't exactly know what you meant by "finding talent in the streets" but the belief that South America has so many good footballers playing in the streets that they are scouted and recruited into clubs is a myth as Tim Vickery of BBC Sport has pointed out.
Instead, South American football is fueled by a constant stream of players manufactured by football academies, clubs, and yes, educational institutions. The street-footballer-turned-pro myth really grew during the generation of Pele. The best example of the rare story of a "pure" streetballer who was plucked from the streets and thrown into pro football was Pele's teammate, Garrincha.

Today players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Co. are mass produced in the clubs, academies, and schools in that big football factory called South America.

I admire the organizers of FUKAL (Futbol sa Kalye) but I don't think street football solves our grassroots problem. As teddyandtimmysdad points out, the answer lies in educational institutions. More youth are IN schools than OUT of it. Furthermore, those in students learn the mental and social tools needed to succeed at a higher level of football.

We often bemoan the lack of facilities but in truth the schools often have the facilities we need if only they would open it up to the public. Most schools own a field of some sort (and indoor courts) and who knows, it might be as simple as getting schools to put up a few more goals.
Note that when we often talk of the lack of football facilities we refer to football facilities available to the public and we overlook the fact that schools have all the facilities we need!

Don't get me wrong because I really believe that street football has its place and value but it is at best A ROMANTIC ANSWER TO THE GRASSROOTS PROBLEM.
Remember how the Kanto boys from Kanto University made pulutan of our Azkals?

Lastly, if we want to really want to search for a model of grassroots development lets look no further than Japan and Korea who are now regulars at the World Cup.

Just my two centavos, mate! Cheers.

[stellarboy]

Thanks buddha for the reply.

Yes, footballers today worldwide are mass-produced by clubs, academies and schools. Whether you like it or not, this situation should happen to footballers in the Philippines.

Yes, futkal cannot really solve the problem on grassroots development. It must be really the schools that should start it.

Many of the large public schools here in Davao City, especially in the suburbs, have large fields of grass, which are adequate enough to turn it to a makeshift football pitch; just simply put a simple goalpost and it's good to go.

The problem is, from a security point-of-view, these fields are often walled within the periphery of the school and in turn children are not allowed to play in these fields outside school hours. Children are often scolded by security personnel or faculty members for doing such. These kids would then resort to trespass abandoned private plots of land to play there, but unfortunately imposes risks to their safety.

At the social aspect, many of our communities in the country are depressed and underdeveloped. In order to alleviate the situation, the children are either involved in forced labour or in criminal activities to earn money. Also, the "basketball lang ang pwede dito" mentality still prevails in suburbs and rural areas, save for those in football hotbeds in Western Visayas. For instance, in our district, football clinics are often discoruaged by parents because they either would say "magastos maglaro ng football",mahirap laruin 'yan", or "para lang yan sa mga payat." They then either resort their kids to either basketball, volleyball or badminton. It's not bad either but, there must be something to be addressed to eradicate labelling football/soccer as an elitist sport, and make this a form of livelihood and a source of income for these problematic communities.

I actually prospect futsal as a startup for those who want to play the sport. Because we have a proliferation for basketball courts, it is far from impossible to play futsal in these areas. What we just need is a good encouragement from people who want to invest in these kind of programmes. Taiwan (Chinese Taipei), where basketball and volleyball are more popular, started their football program with futsal, and many of their NT players were more involved in futsal than actual football on the pitch. And look how improved are they now. (However, I think they still have to stop doing bad tactics like using the offside trap too often, diving or faking a injury against their opponents. They were an eyesore for me during the Long Teng Cup.)

It's time to break the culture. It's about time we do that.

[narko]

Stellarboy, nice points you raise there. Something that must be addressed by the local FAs and the communities themselves.

Futsal is a good idea to complement the effort, considering the proliferation of basketball courts.

I was in Brasilia for official business in August and of course, one can't help but notice the proliferation of parks and football fields all over the city. One interesting thing I noticed is that in the parks where there were basketball courts, underneath the basketball goalposts there was a small goal for futsal. I think this can be adopted in some of our communities. It won't take much to fashion out a small goal underneath the basketball goalposts.

That month I also passed by Argentina. I went around the neighborhood of the Boca district where the club Boca Juniors is bassed. It is a low income area/barrio. In areas where there was no field but just a small cemented rectangular square where you could play volleyball or tennis, there was no basketball goal post or goals but what they did was paint on the wall the outline of a goal.

[buddha]

Yes, stellarboy, that was my point: to use our educational institutions as tools in spreading the gospel of football we need them to open up their resources to the public. How? That I don't know.

And I totally agree with you on the use of futsal in underdeveloped communities as there is a premium on space in such communities.

As narko mentioned, it may be as simple as putting small goalposts (not necessarily standard futsal size) under the basketball ring. I lived in Thailand for quite some time and that's what we'd do... goalposts under the basketball ring... futsal under bridges and overpasses.
It may even be as ingenious as what narko observed in Boca, a painted outline of a goal!

Still, I believe the leading actor on this show should be SCHOOLS simply for the fact that they've got the facilities and the kids.

Don't get me wrong, everything else will add up: futsal, commercial training centers (Alaska, Milo, etc.), football clubs, NGO's, etc., but none possess the immense promise there is in schools.

---

One of my players is spending the year as a missionary on a small island near Tawi-Tawi. He was crazy enough to bring his soccer ball and cleats with him. There he found one boy who had gone to a public school in the main island and had learned football there. Together they would play on last available patch of level ground left on the island just several feet across.
Not just a missionary for God but a missionary for football!


Here's a video I'd like to leave you guys with... you'll love it!

[teddyandtimmysdad]

wow some really really great discussion here. I am pleased to see a recurring theme here, that of the importance of schools in the development of the sport. It seems there is some agreement anyway regarding how important the schools are towards moving the sport forward at the grassroots level.

I also want to reinforce another element which has seen some discussion. That is the availability of fields for pickup football. It is a shame when schools/establishments lock up their fields during off-use hours. I hope schools/establishments will develop a more open-minded view towards allowing the general use of their fields...

[narko]

Hmm, looks like I failed to mention it in my post. Just want to also add that I agree with you guys that schools will also be an important part of the grassroots development equation.

[jpmanahan]

We really need to expand the pool.. In addition, we need the willingness and commitment from the schools to assist in development.

[stellarboy]

Someone posted in PinoyExchange about improving our grassroots programs. (yeah, PEx may be "uncivilized" but their poster have good points anyway) He has good points in here:

oca1:

In principle a grassroots football program should be school based.

May makikita tayong continuity sa isang school based sports program compared to a local/ national governement undertaking. Palagay ko di na natin pagtatalunan yan. Ilang dekada na ang NCAA, UAAP, WNCAA, Tiong Lian at iba pang school based sports organizations? Ano-ano naman ang mga sports tournament na pinapatakbo ng national o local gov’t?

Adapt the game to address the non-availability of venues.

Iilan lang ang mga paaralan sa atin na may open areas to serve as a venue for the game. How to bring in these schools without the right facilities into the program will be a challenge. Paano ka maglalaro ng football kung wala kang field? Schools can't take their students out of the campus and bring them to the another place just to play football. Here, we must adapt. Push for the promotion of FUTSAL in the grade school and high school levels. Alam naman natin na bawat paaralan sa atin ay may quadrangle o basketball court. That is enough open space for futsal.

With futsal, we can teach the game to young kids, develop their skills and cultivate their interest and have no problem with venues. Futsal is faster and shorter w/c is an advantage knowing the attention span of the disinterested public.

With limited football fields, we can't have large simultaneous tournaments. But there are enough open spaces the size of a school quadrangle or basketball court that can serve as a venue.

From futsal, the good players will graduate to playing football. Here, they'll be recruited by the big schools. By then, dahan-dahan ng isasala ng programa yung mga maling mula sa di maling.

Currently ongoing at San Beda College in Mendiola is a basketball tournament called the Metro Manila Basketball League (MMBL). This is a second semester tournament for high school that’s been ongoing for the past 25 years, games are played every weekend. It has 4 Divisions with 4 groups per division. One can imagine the number of teams/ schools participating here. Imo, this tournament is a very good model in putting up a grassroots tournament. The 4 Divisions indicate the level of play, allowing as much as 16 teams per division.

MMBL is a NCR based tournament. Small schools who are not part of the NCAA, UAAP, Tiong Lian and other school leagues do compete here. Dahil may leveling represented by the 4 Divisions, small schools have a chance to compete. That’s the best thing about this tournament, small schools can participate and compete—talagang grassroots. Imo, this is even better than the MILO Best SBP and Passarelle tournaments dahil itong MILO Best walang leveling. Isang level lang ang labanan for the well funded programs at P.E. based programs.

Kung may magpupumilit na football mismo dapat ang itulak na grassroots program, ewan kung paano magiging effective yan kung magiging exclusive lang ito sa mga paaralang may football fields. Grassroots program should be inclusive. Futsal will address that.

Ang puntirya dapat ng isang grassroot program ay skills development ng mas maraming bata at i-cultivate ang interest ng mas maraming tao. Pag bata ang naglalaro – hakot na ang pamilya sa weekend games. Mas maraming bata, mas maraming pamilya ang mamumulat sa laro.

www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=540082&page=2

[buddha]

There's a thought festering on my mind.

When we talk about grassroots do we all share the same expectations? My impression is that everybody talks about grassroots football as a solution to the lack of quality in the national team. Meaning, if we have a good grassroots program we will develop good players. Is my impression correct?

I might be thinking out of the box or I'm just plain weird, take your pick, but somehow I see a different goal for grassroots football. I think the real goal of grassroots football is to create lifelong fans.

Ok, I'm going to let that sink in a bit while I go pee...

And I'm back.

So, I don't think by opening football to the public and nourishing it's growth among the local population isn't going to directly result in producing good football players.
Don't get me wrong... good footballers will come after many years of grassroots football BUT not as a direct result of grassroots football.

What grassroots football does is it creates an awareness and passion for the game... it creates a fan base on which a professional league becomes sustainable.
A cycle is then established: The professional league grows, football academies spring up and produce players, players go on to become professional athletes who gather more fans who are willing to pay tickets to a local game, the professional league grows even more, the standard of football improves, more players are developed, more fans come, and so the cycle goes on and on.

----
Some 5 or 6 years ago the U-16 school team I coached was one of three teams invited to play a match against a team from Inter Campus (Thai), the Inter Milan FC academy in Bangkok, at the Rajamangala Stadium. It was a fantastic experience and we beat the other team 14-0 but I think my lads respected the Inter Milan academy team too much and we ended up losing 1-0.

But what struck me most was the conversation I had with the director of the academy who said that only around 2% or 3% of their graduates will actually make it as professionals in the local leagues.
All those kids who dream of playing professionally... sad isn't it?
And to think that Thailand has a clear grassroots program and a thriving pro league!

----

So what is it that we really would like to achieve with a grassroots program? Let me rephrase that... WHAT GOOD IS A GRASSROOTS PROGRAM? What can it do?

If we think a good grassroots program will improve the quality of our football then I'm afraid we're probably too naive or too romantic, or both.
Or maybe we just don't understand it the same way.

---
I'm talking out of my ass again. So much for my new "lie-low-in-this-forum" resolution.
Either i've too much caffeine in my system or I just need sleep.

Maybe sleezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

[teddyandtimmysdad]

budda your most recent post is very interesting. this is a very important point you make - by playing the sport and learning to love it at a young age, we create not only a pool of potential players (although this takes time), BUT we also create a fan base necessary to support the establishment and growth of the sport. i think this point is overlooked too easily but should not be forgotten.

[jandrew87]

An article on the way Ajax develops football players. A great read and very insightful.

www.nytimes.com/2010/06/06/magazine/06Soccer-t.html?pagewanted=all