At the BJFC committee meeting held on Monday 13th November 2006, a decision was taken to introduce player grading from the U13 age group and above. The committee is aware that many players, parents and coaches hold strong views about the pros and cons of player grading. This is also true for members of the committee and there was considerable discussion before a vote was
taken to introduce grading.
Player grading has been an unresolved issue for a few years, as the club has increasingly been under pressure to field two teams at the same age level. The committee does not believe it is necessary to introduce grading for the U9 to U12 age groups. For these age groups BJFC will continue with the current practice of fielding 2 teams of similar skill levels.
As a committee, we think it’s important to emphasize that the overwhelming reason for introducing grading is to enable players to be competitive within their own team (i.e. to group players of a reasonably similar skill level so that everyone gets a kick and therefore enjoys the game). It was felt that ensuring each player enjoys their football experience will improve retention, particularly from the U13 age group, which seems to be the point where players begin to leave the club
or the sport.
Process for grading
Below is a brief overview of the process we propose to use for grading players. Please note that this approach allows a level of “self-selection” by players who want to play for our club, but may prefer not to take part in a competitive selection process.
- All registered players in an age group train together for pre-season, e.g. the U13 squad of up to 48 players.
- During pre-season training, players may elect to “try out” for the higher division team for that age group. There is no compulsion to “try out”.
- Where players have elected to “try out”, selection into the higher division team will be based on ability and skill.
- The coaches for that age group will work co-operatively with the BJFC Coaching Committee to select the teams.
- Where necessary, the BJFC Coaching Committee will have the final say in selection decisions.
Over the next few months, we will be updating the BJFC Operating Guidelines to reflect the above process and to provide implementation details, of which there are many yet to be finalized.
By publicising the process we want to ensure parents and players are fully aware on how the club is intending to approach grading in 2007. This also gives members an opportunity to provide comment before the season. We would welcome your views; please contact any of the Committee members if you would like to have your input considered. We will keep you posted via the web site as we further develop our policy.
Trevor Byrne
BJFC President
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