Scottish Youth Development

[Alex MacLeod]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36523042?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Interesting article though not sure what Willie Miller is saying here

Inverness Caley Thistle can't afford a development programme let alone employ someone to manage that programme.

If that's the case then what are the positions of Charlie Christie, Duncan Shearer et al? Also what is the situation with Highland Academy?

[caleyboy]

So WTF is our Willie Miller on about here?

From BBC Website - Willie Miller: "The SFA charge for coaching courses. Why not drop that if you're attached to a club? Scottish football can't afford to employ coaches at development level. Celtic can and Rangers could. Inverness Caley Thistle can't afford a development programme let alone employ someone to manage that programme. With Aberdeen, I had two centres, one in Edinburgh and one in Dundee, that I had to close because we couldn't afford it and we had only one full-time coach. I don't think we can compare ourselves with Germany, with a population of 80m people and funds coming out their ears. We should be looking at Iceland."

I'm sure Charlie Christie has something about this!

[old caley girl]

What is he going on about? The club now employ Danny MacDonald and a few of the first team players help out with the youth teams.

Such ignorance.

[Scotty]

Interesting article. 

I read the comments of Tommy Wilson with interest as it pertains to MLS but its really chalk and cheese. There is a requirement for all MLS teams to have an academy and these form part of the 'must have' items when any new team pays its $100m fee to be awarded an MLS franchise. The financial numbers in MLS, with every team backed by big owners, are colossal in comparison to the SPFL but the stated aim is the same - to develop the game in the USA to a point where they are perpetual powerhouses in the Copa America and World Cup. Canada - by default - may benefit from this because Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto also have academies with a focus on developing Canadian talent and both Edmonton and Ottawa have emerged from the lower leagues to be potential MLS candidates in coming years too. Not sure about the youth academies in Montreal and Vancouver but the Toronto one is regarded as being world class and has seen a conveyor belt of players come through into the first team over the last 10 years and recent Canadian squads have had a total of 17 - mostly U23 - players (out of 32 used) who play their football domestically for one of the three Canadian MLS teams. Interesting times ahead in 5-10 years I think.

I know from speaking with a few folk around the club on my recent trip that ICT realise how important youth is and I think we will definitely see some movement on this front but its a hard sell to a lot of other folk. We dont have a lot of money, but you do need money to develop youth. youth will not impact the team instantly so in some eyes its not money well spent. The challenge seems to be persuading some folk that a long term 5-10 year strategy is worth it and how to balance that with budgets elsewhere. Its a huge juggling act when you are operating a business that by default makes a loss every year without cup runs and cash windfalls but once its up and running then it has the potential to be a conveyor belt like some other clubs have.  

It was also interesting to read Willie Miller mention Iceland and Scot Gemmill minimise them saying we beat them recently (and therefore inferring we must be better) as thats puts both sides of the argument in a nutshell for me. I dont think I have ever said this before but I agree with Willie Miller and Scot Gemmill reminds me of the old duffers at Park Gardens in Ernie Walker's day who believed Scotland were a world power who would always be that without effort !!! Iceland is a good example of football on the rise and the scale is comparable to Scotland. In fact, they only have 325,000 inhabitants so what they have achieved in the last few years is nothing short of remarkable and a testament to the plan they set out to achieve. The FIFA rankings also dont lie (much) ... Iceland has climbed from 110 to 33 in the last 5 years and are running out at Euro 2016, whereas Scotland have typically hovered in the 45-55 range and haven't qualified for a major tournament since France 98. Another good article to read is this one: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/jan/30/volcano-iceland-national-football-team . We stopped in Iceland for 5 days on our way back from our recent trip and to say they are fanatical about their football is an understatement. The national stadium holds only 15000 fans (and only 9800 seated) but there are stadia all over the place. We had lunch in a small town called Grindavik (pop 3000) and it has a tidy looking 1700 capacity single stand stadium. There are 4 divisions of 12-12-12-10 and 4 more provincial/regional leagues of 7-7-7-6 clubs for a total of 73 teams !!! They know they have their limitations, but as they do in life, they also set out to overcome those limitations in sport and it seems to have met with an element of success. I am going to be cheering them on later today as they face up to the challenge of Portugal !    

     

[Scotty]

merged two topics started around same time. 

[caleyboy]

26 minutes ago, old caley girl said:

What is he going on about? The club now employ Danny MacDonald and a few of the first team players help out with the youth teams.

Such ignorance.

Not sure what Danny MacDonald's remit is to be honest but our Head of Youth Development is Charlie Christie, a post he has held since a number of years. I do believe however that Danny MacDonald is assisting Duncan Shearer with the U20 squad next season.

[PerfICT]

WM is talking sense for some of this article, but his knowledge of ICT's youth policy is off the mark. That is not to say that we have a fantastic youth system (CC would be the first to acknowledge that) and it isn't even called an academy, but on a very tight budget, we do OK. After all,the proof in the pudding is in the products that come out of it and Christie, Polworth and Nick Ross are recent examples of strong successes.

The Highland football Academy is a farce - the astro pitch at Charleston is outdated, bumpy and not accredited by SFA, so can no longer be used for games at any level. So, that's the Inverness end of things - the dingwall indoor facility is quite clearly thought of by Ross County as theirs - our boys treck up there during the winter, but only as a gesture to remind RC that it is supposed to be for both clubs! In saying that, the new outside astro at Dingwall (which I believe does belong to RC) is exactly what we need in Inverness!

So, given the budget, being able to field teams for u11-u17 is a pretty good effort, even if the coaching qualifications are not regarded by the SFA as sufficient for our lads to compete at all these levels against the likes of Celtic and DUFC. The number of players making it to full time football over recent years is comparable to any club and the fee for Christie alone justifies the investment.

Edited June 14, 2016 by PerfICT

[caleyboy]

1 hour ago, Alex MacLeod said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36523042?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Interesting article though not sure what Willie Miller is saying here

Inverness Caley Thistle can't afford a development programme let alone employ someone to manage that programme.

If that's the case then what are the positions of Charlie Christie, Duncan Shearer et al? Also what is the situation with Highland Academy?

Must have come across the same article at the same time Alex. CC is Head of Youth Development, Duncan Shearer is U20 coach (not classified as youth for some reason) and Highland Academy is a facility.

[CaleyD]

Danny MacDonald is the "Strategic Development Executive" and now has overall responsibility for progressing Community, Youth & Football Development Departments.

The heads of each of those departments under Danny's remit are Craig Masterton, Charlie Christie & Duncan Shearer.

This was covered off in the brochure sent to Season Ticket holders with renewals and can be viewed online at https://indd.adobe.com/view/5c1d6b2c-4ed6-4785-8ba0-4e6296dba9fc 

Pages 8 & 9 give a brief overview of Youth Dept. Pages 10 & 11 cover Community.

[Renegade]

To be fair to Willie Miller if you listen to the programme, he actually comes into defend ICT.  It was during a discussion about youth academies and he highlighted that financial constraints meant for us, establishing such an establishment is very difficult.  Granted he might not have quite correct in what he was saying, but those looking at this as some sort of attack on ICT on his part are incorrect.

[+DoofersDad]

I was interested to read Duncan Shearer being quoted in "The Inverness Courier" yesterday as saying "I think in the past couple of years, the development side has been lost somewhere along the way."  The sale of Christie and the contribution Polworth made to the side last season clearly demonstrates how integral youth development needs to be in the management of the club.  I sense with Foran's appointment, appropriate prioritisation will be given to developing the youngsters.

[caleyboy]

3 hours ago, DoofersDad said:

I was interested to read Duncan Shearer being quoted in "The Inverness Courier" yesterday as saying "I think in the past couple of years, the development side has been lost somewhere along the way."  The sale of Christie and the contribution Polworth made to the side last season clearly demonstrates how integral youth development needs to be in the management of the club.  I sense with Foran's appointment, appropriate prioritisation will be given to developing the youngsters.

Who knows, Foran's main priority is the first team but I hope he will give a chance to anyone showing the ability to play at the higher level. These kids do however need first class coaching from the likes of Duncan who has done it all at the highest level.

[Council Juice]

Hopefully recent first team graduates Ali Sutherland and Jason Brown can get a few opportunities this season coming. I imagine Ritchie will be assessing their readiness in pre season. 

Having a good youth program can only benefit the club in terms of potential sell ons and I imagine great effort is made in this regard. 

As a young club in terms of national recognition, it'll only probably be from now that youngsters brought up solely as ICT fans will be striving to fulfil their dream of playing for their boyhood club. 

[ictfcsince94]

12 hours ago, iamthecaptain1 said:

As a young club in terms of national recognition, it'll only probably be from now that youngsters brought up solely as ICT fans will be striving to fulfil their dream of playing for their boyhood club. 

The clubs engagement with children of school age is excellent.  They have been running their hot-shots programme for 'ever' now, and this WILL prove beneficial going forward.  Some investment from the government etc with regards to youth development would be beneficial for clubs and communities across Scotland.   The %age of youth playing football professionally that come from 'deprived' areas has dropped dramatically in recent years, so extra funding would help it become available to all, either by subsidising the club so they can charge less or paying for transport etc.

it's a shame there's no wealthy businessmen on this side of the bridge with deep pockets.  I'd rather see inward investment in this area than someone bank-rolling a first team that have no desire other than chasing the wage.  I quite like the club being used a shop window - it ensures players give there all.

[Council Juice]

I reckon we'd do well to set up a link with a Dublin boys club or such. We've fast established a link with the city though signings such as Doran, Hayes, Foran, Rooney and now young Jake Mulraney and perhaps having a local link allowing us to scout the local talent would see young Dubliners with potential find their way into the pro game via Caley Thistle. 

[caleyboy]

The first thing we have to do is re-establish a good working relationship with schools in the region.

[Scarlet Pimple]

I share IamtheCaptain's views on the Irish Link.

With an Irish Manager in place at Inverness and young lads in Ireland with tongues hanging out waiting to be seen and recognised and actually signed by a British Club (i.e ICT in this case) it's a terrific starting point for an enduring and very productive future relationship that makes all kinds of sense.

Let's face it, the stature of our club has increased over the years and any ambitious young man can be made to see the opportunity for prominence in the pond of Scottish football as opposed to the much larger and diverse English pond as being of greater advantage to the furtherance of their careers. 

The lack of funds in the club, to allow us to sign established  local players, is not necessarily a bad thing if, and when, we foster a very strong bond with a good overseas connection like that in Ireland. Then, as our roster of Irish , hand-picked youngsters grows, we can perhaps blood the more experienced  up and coming boys in the first team more and more frequently. It will require hard work for the officials of Caley Thistle but the end results and rewards can be excellent for both connections, here in Inverness and also in Dublin.

At the same time, not forgetting the home-grown players, that extra edge of competition can also spur them on so that the opportunities  for advancement increase as their work rate and enthusiasm is fostered rather than stifled.