by CP Gull » 20 Jan 2018, 11:06
SBP wrote: 20 Jan 2018, 10:08
Totally agree with your post Merse.
I m part of a local Pioneer league team. We have played TUFC twice and beaten them both times. In fact we played them in a tournament and i dont think they won a game. We have boys who play for TUFC in the JPL league on a Saturday and they are being well beaten constantly. They then turn up on a Sunday for their team and they are fatigued and low in morale. When i ask them what kind of training they are doing they tell me that our training is far better. You then ask yourself why they are playing. Its the usual parent thing again hoping that their son is going to make it professionally.
TUFC are light years behind Exeter and Plymouth's academy.
To be fair and to give a bit of balance to this argument, I fully understand that some age groups are not particularly strong and/or well coached even - although I cannot say that is the case as I wouldn’t know personally. But what I can say is that my son plays in the under 14 age group and their coach is a guy called Richard Cherry (an ex semi pro for Grays Athletic and former YTFC Youth Academy Coach) who is excellent both in terms of coaching - he has just taken and passed the next level of his professional coaching badges (at not inconsiderable personal expense to him!) - but also in the way he treats the boys. He is frustrated at the minimal time given (1.5 hours a week) to training but in reality a lot of the boys he trains also have their local club commitments and school matches to play - so very little scope to increase that unless they drop their club football.
As for the standard, again totally different experience to the above, we have comfortably beaten (twice) the best team in the Pioneer Youth League at this age level, Bovey Tracey, as it happens, 7-3 in a pre season friendly and 4-0 in a training game recently. We have also comfortably beaten Saints South West and drawn (but should have beaten) the “Chelsea Academy” aka South Dartmoor - which is what they have entered the Junior Premier League as.
They (the under 14s) have also won their way through to the last sixteen of the JPL Cup (as opposed to the Trophy and the Plate competitions - for those who have been less successful) and are actually away at Cirencester today trying to progress further - a very tough call given the set up they have there - but a fine achievement anyway to have got this far. The group have only lost three games - two of which were very narrow defeats to the same team, both of which were away and on their 3G surface.
When matches are called off Richard has, where possible, arranged training days at Seale Hayne - but as we all know that is often unavailable due to how wet it is.
What I will say is that I have been unimpressed with the way that the JPL has been run - but that is not the fault of TUFC.
So, although I’m sure that for some the experience has not been a positive one - that is not to say that it hasn’t been for others. As in any “proper” football Academy, there are always going to be stronger and better age groups, others not quite so - likewise with the standard of coaching too I’m afraid.
[quote=SBP post_id=219262 time=1516442892 user_id=19401]
Totally agree with your post Merse.
I m part of a local Pioneer league team. We have played TUFC twice and beaten them both times. In fact we played them in a tournament and i dont think they won a game. We have boys who play for TUFC in the JPL league on a Saturday and they are being well beaten constantly. They then turn up on a Sunday for their team and they are fatigued and low in morale. When i ask them what kind of training they are doing they tell me that our training is far better. You then ask yourself why they are playing. Its the usual parent thing again hoping that their son is going to make it professionally.
TUFC are light years behind Exeter and Plymouth's academy.
[/quote]
To be fair and to give a bit of balance to this argument, I fully understand that some age groups are not particularly strong and/or well coached even - although I cannot say that is the case as I wouldn’t know personally. But what I can say is that my son plays in the under 14 age group and their coach is a guy called Richard Cherry (an ex semi pro for Grays Athletic and former YTFC Youth Academy Coach) who is excellent both in terms of coaching - he has just taken and passed the next level of his professional coaching badges (at not inconsiderable personal expense to him!) - but also in the way he treats the boys. He is frustrated at the minimal time given (1.5 hours a week) to training but in reality a lot of the boys he trains also have their local club commitments and school matches to play - so very little scope to increase that unless they drop their club football.
As for the standard, again totally different experience to the above, we have comfortably beaten (twice) the best team in the Pioneer Youth League at this age level, Bovey Tracey, as it happens, 7-3 in a pre season friendly and 4-0 in a training game recently. We have also comfortably beaten Saints South West and drawn (but should have beaten) the “Chelsea Academy” aka South Dartmoor - which is what they have entered the Junior Premier League as.
They (the under 14s) have also won their way through to the last sixteen of the JPL Cup (as opposed to the Trophy and the Plate competitions - for those who have been less successful) and are actually away at Cirencester today trying to progress further - a very tough call given the set up they have there - but a fine achievement anyway to have got this far. The group have only lost three games - two of which were very narrow defeats to the same team, both of which were away and on their 3G surface.
When matches are called off Richard has, where possible, arranged training days at Seale Hayne - but as we all know that is often unavailable due to how wet it is.
What I will say is that I have been unimpressed with the way that the JPL has been run - but that is not the fault of TUFC.
So, although I’m sure that for some the experience has not been a positive one - that is not to say that it hasn’t been for others. As in any “proper” football Academy, there are always going to be stronger and better age groups, others not quite so - likewise with the standard of coaching too I’m afraid.
