This talk of Academies for football is

[Muadib]

yuh nuh hear me explain what a clog up di ting.. how yuh fi tek wheh Manning Cup glory from certain School.. and Old Boyz association ???

[Paul Marin]

Paul, I think the correct statement would be "the rest of the footballing world has not relied on high schools only to develop talent".

...and that is as it should be in Jamaica. Any talk of ignoring the assets found in the 'school system' is mere barking up the wrong tree.

I won't speak for the "rest of the world" but I will say this about what I *think* could happen in Jamaica, but first - we have to acknowledge that the major footballing super powers do not develop their players through high school systems. Period. That is fact. Second, we also have to acknowledge that Jamaica has a high school sports culture that runs very deep and very strong; high school pride is more ingrained than any other allegiance that I know of (second perhaps only to being Jamaican). So it is natural that boys will embrace that tradition and want to play for their schools with great commitment. That is a fantastic energy source that we can capitalise on. Thirdly, for historical and other reasons, the high school system has been an integral part of player development in Jamaica and won’t easily be substituted.

With that said, when I said “coexist” I meant the academy/club system and high school systems can be “coordinated”, but I honestly don't think it’s realistic to establish in Jamaica an academy or youth club system without factoring in those points above. Therefore, such a system would have to be “synchronized” in such a way to uphold traditions while not detracting from player development. It will be difficult because more than likely, we will be using a paradigm that won't be well understood by many stakeholders (players, parents, Uncle Joe, Granny etc.) which will make adaptation a challenge.

I personally think that the high school system can augment player development, but by itself, it is woefully inadequate for player development for a host of reasons including
1) player development starts at age 6, not 11 - high schools have no jurisdiction over 6-11 year old boys
2) the best high school athletes play more than one sport which takes their focus off football - by age 12, footballers should be "retiring" from cricket, basketball, track etc. and focused ONLY on football
3) even for those players that are committed to football, high school sports go through cycles from one sport to another, there is no year round training for any one sport which is what the club/academy system brings to the table
4) high schools simply don’t have the required resources and
5) concentration of talent (where the best are training with the best) cannot happen in high schools; you can’t have a top striker from JC training with a top striker (to push him) from KC inside the school system. For schools like Campion, (which has no football talent), there is no issue, but for great schools like JC, (with an over-abundance of talent of the likes the world has never seen), our best will not be given the attention needed. (Sorry Jangle – I couldn’t help myself ).


What I *think* would work best was an academy and/or club system focused on bringing the BEST players we can find to play togehter from a very young age. As they get to high school age, the competition between them will get more intense and will fuel high school rivalries, which is good for football and the schools. But while they can still play for their schools, their focus still has to be on the training they get in clubs/academy. Schedules and training programs would therefore have to be coordinated, but that is done elsewhere in the world successfully so I don’t see that as a problem.

Now I may be wrong on this, but as I see it, the only way that high schools could possibly be a substitute for an academy/club system is if we had a year round program in the high schools and only if high schools were affiliated with some other form of feeder system for the younger set. Unfortunately, this is highly unlikely as the schools have to put resources into other sports as well as footbal. Think back to your high school days in Jamaica, how many of our top athletes played BOTH cricket and football, or also "ran track". The year was broken into "football season", "cricket season" and "track season". That can't work for developing a footballer - he has to play football year round. So unless the high schools are willing to make that switch, I can't see them being a developmental route for footballing talent - and again - they have to have some connection to some kind of feeder system.

That said, there is no question we can *identify* talent in high schools, but development will require a different system than currently exists.

[Muadib]

wow... unnuh ah cling on hard..

Choose wheh unnuh want.. JC as Manning Cup champ or Reggaeboyz as perennial WC qualifier..

Is a maturity ting.. schools like Campion get dem priorities in ordah lang time..
Campion is an Education Academy.. training the best and brighest minds

The level of high school football is so low and dilution so high however that up to 5th Form these same students are competitve in Football and Cricket (that is a matter of record).. Qualification for 6th Form is so difficult that you rarely get matriculation of Football Talent so the drop off at Manning Cup level.. interestingly enough Cricket does not suffer much.. attracts more cerebral athletes ??

The ability of a Academic oriented school like Campion to compete up to the 5th Form level in High School football is proof positive of the failure of the current model.

KC, JC, Calaber etc and THEIR self-interest to preserve the status quo has been the anchor holding back Jamaican Football development.

So endeth the lesson.

[Willi]

We already have a football youth academy.

It name St Jawges Kollej. LoL

[Jangle]

Paul, I enjoyed laughing at your ignorance long enough. I attended to Calabar.

You hit the nail right on the head with your article. High school football and academy/club system can co-exist, if the two are synchronised. This call for the abollishment of high school football is ridiculous and is only being advocated by no-good footballing schools like the Campionites. Jamaican football can only benefit if more qualified coaches are placed within our high schools which would act as feeders to an academy. How else would these young boys (and girls) be indentified? We can't even get ONE academy built much less deal with the logistics after ONE is built - number of available spots, accommodation, staffing, academic curriculum, criteria for selection etc...etc. Can you imagine convincing a parent that her/his 11 year old son/daughter, that shows some football talent, living in St. Elizabeth, is better off going to a football academy in Kingston than staying home going to STETHS. High school football and sports in general cannot be abadoned, but just like T & F, it can easily co-exist with an academy.

[Bricktop]

You hit the nail right on the head with your article. High school football and academy/club system can co-exist, if the two are synchronised. This call for the abollishment of high school football is ridiculous and is only being advocated by no-good footballing schools like the Campionites.

Could you provide an example of a top footballing nation where academy/club system & high school football coexist? Start with the top 15 ranked nations. Thanks in advance.

[Bricktop]

This call for the abollishment of high school football is ridiculous and is only being advocated by no-good footballing schools like the Campionites.

Who is calling for abolishing high school football? How does implementing academy/club system equate to abolishing high school football? Those identified as talented 8 year olds are drafted into academy/club system...those not selected can play high school football...even when unnuh go a farrin unnuh continue with the patty shop mentality...

[Bricktop]

Dem head tuff baba...

[Bricktop]

Can you imagine convincing a parent that her/his 11 year old son/daughter, that shows some football talent, living in St. Elizabeth, is better off going to a football academy in Kingston than staying home going to STETHS

Show dem Balotelli pay slip and see if dem doh mek yuh all adopt di pickney...

[Bricktop]

"there is no reason why the two can't coexist in Jamaica, as they do here in America." .....and the rest of the top footballing world

Who wrote this? Yuh spinning till yuh all a mek yuhself dazed and confused...yuh incoherent now man...

[Paul Marin]

Paul, I enjoyed laughing at your ignorance long enough. I attended to Calabar.

You hit the nail right on the head with your article. High school football and academy/club system can co-exist, if the two are synchronised. This call for the abollishment of high school football is ridiculous and is only being advocated by no-good footballing schools like the Campionites. Jamaican football can only benefit if more qualified coaches are placed within our high schools which would act as feeders to an academy. How else would these young boys (and girls) be indentified? We can't even get ONE academy built much less deal with the logistics after ONE is built - number of available spots, accommodation, staffing, academic curriculum, criteria for selection etc...etc. Can you imagine convincing a parent that her/his 11 year old son/daughter, that shows some football talent, living in St. Elizabeth, is better off going to a football academy in Kingston than staying home going to STETHS. High school football and sports in general cannot be abadoned, but just like T & F, it can easily co-exist with an academy.

You went to Calabar? So how come you so dyam fool-fool? Another alum of that illustrious school is Peter R., but him MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHH bryta dan you. Anyway, I don't know why people can't see this for what it is. I think it is going to be very very difficult to implement an academy as it requires a new mentality. You also introduced an important point on boarding. That would be a necessity if it is to work on any big scale. I think we need to figure out a youth club system first, and have a very limited academy set up that is ultra elite. No question, it is a tough problem to solve, maybe we need a Campionite named peashead to help us. You and me not bright enough (well, mostly you)

[Karl]

Good post.

...but how do you get here

we have to acknowledge that the major footballing super powers do not develop their players through high school systems.

from this

"the rest of the footballing world has not relied on high schools only to develop talent".

???

I think Bricktop has led you down the incorrect path of believing I said that the HIGH schools are the path to development?

1. I never mentioned high schools to the detriment of ignoring the other schools.

2. ...and I never said the schools were the only development path.

I have been advocating for many, many years that:
a) education (football education) in our schools be improved;

b) using the schools for devopment - mini-academies - should be done. ...and I have been using already proven value derived by T&F athletes and other sports as example;

c) it makes sense to maximize on the vast resources - captive talent pool i.e. the kids, physical plants and those available to teach/coach;

d) and it would be silly to not use the coverage provided by schools in allowing for discovery of the kids with highest potential in light of need for all-country coverage to ensure any kid falling within 'best potential grouping' is not missed and replace with kid having mere 'good potential'.

Clearly 'a', 'b' and 'c' above all dovetail into this 'd'.

The last notion Bricktop is trying to sell is I am against academies - specialist football school(s) - as not being in our national interest. That I have never said. As fact I have supported the founding of academies. The results academies (more so well run academies) begat is there for all to see...there is every reason to believe they shall continue to beget great results. There is no doubt that we need such.

...but if the aim is not just to get some kids with good potential into these academies but to get our kids with greatest potential into the academies...then there must be a pathway that allows for finding of all those with greatest potential.

Our school system can provide and as fact is currently the only 'entity' providing that all-island coverage that allows for early development of kids with best potential - i.e. first place the kids are seen/can be 'discovered'/comparison of level potential determined.

...turning a blind eye to that 'school system' or underdevelopment of that school system to hinder the unearthing of our best of the best, is in my opinion, 'nonsense policy/act'.

Further, it cannot be a mere coexistence of the school system and academies it must be about symbiotic relationship...'a partnership' where each 'entity' (school system & systems of academies) considers improvement within each of vital importance to life of both.

[Bricktop]

Could you indicate which top footballing nations use High School football to develop players for their national teams in addition to academy/club setup...I have been waiting patiently on your response but you continue to evade the question...

[Bricktop]

...but if the aim is not just to get some kids with good potential into these academies but to get our kids with greatest potential into the academies...then there must be a pathway that allows for finding of all those with greatest potential. Our school system can provide and as fact is currently the only 'entity' providing that island coverage that allows for early development of kids with best potential - i.e. first place the kids are seen/can be 'discovered'. ...turning a blind eye to that 'school system' or underdevelop that school system to unearth our best of the best, is in my opinion, 'nonsense policy/act'. It cannot be a mere coexistence of the school system and academies it must be about symbiotic relationship...'a partnership' where each 'entity' (school system & systems of academies) considers improvement within each of vital importance to life of both.

Which 8 year-old you ever seen in high school? Get the point now Karl? If you are waiting for a kid to reach high school to unearth his talent you have already lost...

[Karl]

Could you indicate which top footballing nations use High School football to develop players for their national teams in addition to academy/club setup...I have been waiting patiently on your response but you continue to evade the question...

You are asking a question based on either deliberate or inadvertent misconstruing of what I said.