.Pro -Youth
Below is an article taken from the web site of ROSSVALE BOYS CLUB
As club chairman of kildrum United I have read through the article and think it would be of intrest to kildrum parents I would be interested in what you think of this article.
Please feel free and let me know what your thoughts are.
Perils of the Pro-Youth
At the start of this season, one of our players was approached by Partick Thistle to sign pro-youth for them. Recently (February) I had a call from the player, advising me that he had been released in January. What is annoying is that Partick Thistle could not even hold onto the boy until the end of the season, and then let him go at a more appropriate time.
We now have a player who has no team, as most teams have their squads in place, and feel loyalty to their players that they should see them through to the end of the season. This boy is now totally disillusioned with football in general. In future I will be seriously advising parents now that the Pro-Youth run by lesser Clubs such as Partick Thistle should be given a great deal of consideration due to the treatment of this boy, which is a disgrace in my opinion.
These Clubs are abusing the Boys Clubs set ups and are only in this for the gain of their own Club, and are not interested in the boys. I think that all parents should take note from this lesson, and be aware of the situation to ensure that this does not happen again. We all realise that boys may be released at the end of the season, but in January is totally unfair.
Brian Gray
Review from the Chairman
Brian has stated a feeling which is generally felt by a lot of coaches, that Senior Clubs are abusing the system, and the feelings of both the boys and parents. Many parents jump at the opportunity fearing that it may be their son’s one and only chance at stepping up to the next level.
The advice I would give to a player should they get an opportunity to step up to Pro youth is this
Is your son going to play every week, and by this I mean is he going to be the mainstay of that pro youth team. If not then the chances are he could be what is generally known as a shirt filler. These boys are brought in to make up the numbers so that the pro youth team has a squad, to supplement the boys they are really interested in. This doesn’t happen with all Clubs, but does happen a lot.
Is the Pro youth team just starting up, if so they could have quite a high turn over of players I a short period while they try to build a team.
Not every Club is a bad Club and guilty of this, but please be realistic about your son’s ability, if you don’t think he has the ability to step up, leave him where he is and let him enjoy his football.
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Warning about Scouts
I am writing to make you aware about Scouts from Professional Clubs and what you should expect. As a Club we actively promote that Senior Clubs speak to our players, whilst ourselves being present, introducing them to the parents or giving them permission to speak to parents. They are by rights supposed to contact the team manager to ask if they can approach a player. As a lot of the coaches either know or get to know them it is easy for them to communicate with us.
However, there are scouts who do not follow that policy and may approach you as a parent, or even as a player direct. We never refuse access to scouts to speak to parents and most Clubs know this, therefore it shows you the quality of the scout that he doesn't approach us. Secondly if they do this please make sure that they show you an identity badge for the Club they claim to represent.
The reason why the SFA, SPL and SFL have told Clubs they must contact the coaches of the boys Club is that it provides a buffer for us to be able to monitor people who are not scouts, and may have other motives to want to contact young boys. Having been coaching for twenty years I know a lot of scouts or have at least know of them, as youth football is quite a close knit community, and if I have doubts about someone's credentials I can always contact someone to have them verified.
We are delighted when a player moves on to a higher standard, and we want to ensure that your son is treated correctly.
"T" (Training) Forms
With the recent upsurge in Professional Clubs taking boys under the age of thirteen, there is now a bit of a dogfight between them to firstly get hold of the best talent between 7 and 12, and them hold them. They have now devised a form to be signed by the boys and the parents, which has not been sanctioned by the SFA and are not valid/legal documents. There are only two forms sanctioned by the SFA and they are the "D" (Development) Form to be signed for one year, or the "S" (Schoolboy) Form, which keeps them until they are sixteen. These two forms can only be signed when the boys are thirteen and not before.
Please do not be fooled into thinking that the Clubs have a responsibility to your son once he signs this "T" form as they can let him go whenever they want. It also means that you can walk away whenever you want also.
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