Cork Schoolboys League: Win At All Costs

[Happyhonkaman]

Is this accessible to someone like me? If it was I'd definitely use it to ensure the opponents are eligible. I'm not trying to get an edge, just a fair game for the boys.

Yes, it definitely is as a manager Hamish. I cant check it because i am not listed as a coach.

I'll ask my youngfellas coach for you, but I know it is there for the DDSL anyway as I have to update his profile every year with a new photo and signature so they can compare that if there is a dispute!



edit: I asked his manager - you can request at half or full time that the ref check up to 3 players. They take their dates of birth and signatures on the pitch to stop a coach interfering, and go and check those against the data base, then come back to you to confirm all ok or that there was a problem

I just remembered that I signed my youngfellas form because I did his registration from work.. if he is queried it could cause a hassle, time to teach him some forgery



Stick with the coaching, I completely understand your frustration. In GAA you dont need to lock the kids in to the A, B, C team etc until U15 so you can drift players between the groups. We do this to try develop the group and bring players up a level as opposed to the other way around, but it definitely relies on people being honest and not stacking the weaker teams. Match times tend to be close together so players cant be in 2 places at once so most weeks it is not an issue, but I do remember about 2 years ago our B team losing a league because they got hammered in the last match against bottom of the table who went and played half of their A team to avoid relegation themselves. It's shit but it's rare enough.

 

[BettyDoesMallow]

I know of one club who put their strongest players of one age group into the bottom division, one year up for their confidence and shooting practice. Hockey every team, but when league found out, they kicked them out.

Often see B/C/D teams loaded with star players from a year below, and the players of that age getting benched and only getting 5 mins at the end.

Can be easier to spot illegal players these days as lots of teams put their team photo up on social media, so can use AI to find identical faces, although not concrete proof.
Another terrible idea, putting up scorelines like 11-0 on social media.

I coach soccer as well, and I go by a few rules:
- every player gets a minimum of 50% gametime every match
- if you come to 2 games in a row (and attend training), you'll start at least one of those games
- underage players playing up, never start ahead of a player of the actual age.

Gametime and starts so important to players. It has stayed with me when I saw three local lads kicking around and I asked where do they play: one said midfield, one said striker and one said "I'm a Sub". Thought it was so sad, to have that identity because of some prick of a coach.

I find the biggest thrill is when players who were very weak one year, become vital players 12-18 months later, and can't do that without gametime

 

[fed up]

Shocked to read some of the input here....

Elite players? at such a young age?

Is it any wonder the game is gone to shit.

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

 

[Rebel CNC]

Shocked to read some of the input here....

Elite players? at such a young age?

Is it any wonder the game is gone to shit.

The lunatics have taken over the asylum.

Definitely. There are Pep or Klopp wannabes at every club who put their own ego above that of the kids wellbeing .
As mentioned above, one well known club in Cork actively "poaching" boys they perceive as "best in class" at u8/u9 level.

I believe CSL are trying to clamp down on fielding overage players after accusations of cheating were openly made a year or two ago against one club who won fairly high profile cup or league with couple of older lads fielded for crucial games. Got fairly heated but the "honest mistake" defence was fairly porous - one of the ringer kids was son of one of the coaches! CSL bottled the big decision though and let offending club off with "don't let it happen again"!

You get it at GAA too - Cork played u16 tournament recently and gave every player on the squad equal game time (unlimited subs were allowed) as this was one of the core principles behind this particular tournament but even allowing for this, some counties insisted on playing strongest 15 with 10-12 lads kitted out getting no game time whatsoever, saying the "equal game time" edict was just a suggestion.

 

[Hamish]

I'll stick with the coaching as long as my son sticks with the soccer. He'll be going into secondary school next year (as will his team mates) so who knows what'll happen then. Maybe the school has a team, or boys will go to clubs of their new classmates/new friends. If he moves elsewhere or drops soccer, I'll move on myself after a short transition.

I'm aware of one big wealthy city club that poached two of the best players from a smaller club on the outskirts of the city.
Any they're also playing a boy from Limerick. Taxi-ing him to/from training and matches. Promises of a star future.
These boys are still in primary school.

I dunno how many people are involved in the CSL. I get the impression it's a one man show but I may be wrong. As long as the money keeps coming in, and the top two divisions are operating to a reasonable standard, the CSL aren't going to punish anyone.

There's little doubt our team will be relegated, this is what I'm hoping for. In theory we'll get more competitive matches. However, the curse of the ringer is unlikely to disappear.

 

[corkcityfcpoolie]

During my involvement, Bantry joined CSL for one year only. Not one player lived in Bantry. They had players from as far away as Ballincollig, or possibly further.

 

[don]

Only the supreme athletes will have a chance of making it to even LoI level. It is understandable but I think soccer loses out to GAA with this carryon. The Bantry thing for example, means they cannot build a proper community club. In Dublin you have Home Farm who were famous (among others) for harvesting the best talent. A mile away from Home Farm's ground you have Vincents and a mile in the other direction you have Na Fianna, both of which have been built up into fantastic community clubs with boys and girls of all ages and abilities. HF who replaced Drumcondra in the LoI around 50 years ago didnt last long there.

 

[El Guapo]

Only the supreme athletes will have a chance of making it to even LoI level.

No such thing as a 10 year old supreme athlete

 

[fed up]

LOI is a joke, senior league teams wouldn't be far behind them if they trained like pro's everyday.

As for 10 year old supreme athletes lol, what a load of bull.

I've seen kids walk in the gate with great balance and natural ability that aren't long being passed out by slow burners.

Let them enjoy the game until they're 16 before putting pressure on them.

 

[Midcorkgael]

During my involvement, Bantry joined CSL for one year only. Not one player lived in Bantry. They had players from as far away as Ballincollig, or possibly further.

To be fair that team was the west cork Kennedy cup team and the manager wanted to keep them together. Think they reached a national cup final.