The structure and approach to one-day tournaments must change–for the good of football in the Philippines.
One-day, small-sided football tournaments are the most common football tournaments in the Philippines. They offer a fun day for young players and parents. And while the country needs these tournaments, there are challenges that need to be addressed.
Courtesy: LeagueRepublic
First, the win-at-all-costs mentality is pervasive, often manifested through self-promotion by sharing photos on social media.
Second, there is unbridled parental involvement. It’s not unusual to have ten or twenty parents shout instructions to players during a game.
And, third, playing small-sided has a negative impact on players’ ability to adjust to football played with the normal squad constitution of eleven players. Many tournament teams play what’s called “Philippines style.” I asked somebody what that means. “Long balls,” he said.
Long balls? Fields are smaller and time is shorter in seven-or eight-aside competitions. “Long balls” to a target man and direct kicks to the goal represent a common playing style. And that’s NOT a style conducive to learning the game.
While all of this may seem minor to some, there’s the issue of why our national teams struggle in international competition. One reason is that grassroots football isn’t as strong as it needs to be. The current format of, and approach to, one-day tournaments contribute to the problem.
We need to implement rules that help young players develop. And parents should be prohibited from interfering during games.
Let’s give our coaches a chance to do their job–to teach young people to play this beautiful game the right way!
It’s win at all costs for some coaches as well. Expect to play like professionals by training 2x a week for 2hours each session. Even parents expect their kids to play like super stars by training once or twice a week. Even for 1on1training, they expect after 2-3 sessions that the kids will play like international superstars already. A lot still expect that football training should be free. Plus if ever kids train, it should be light and easy but should win every tournament.
First of all I could not possibly agree with you more.
I was broughtup this way. SMH. By Fate, I found a coach that is unconventional and lowkey when it comes to how he trains his players, if you ask me he’s the archetype for what an ideal football coach should be, and guys like him you only see in action movies, to sum it up, I am going to paint a picture, He personally trains individual player, he only trains 1-3 individual players at any given time, for the most part we are trained and mentored very closely far from prying eyes, 8 out of 10 times we do it in the confined 12X13m. backyard as if the place was not small enough we have to share the limited space with his other “hopefuls”- the 15-20 something gamecocks he kept as a hobby and alternate source of income…we do the same routine for weeks on end mever advancing unless we master the technique. And sometimes he wreak of locall-sourced jungle wine courtesy of Manang Lourdes from the kanto. The way he trains us, albeit at times difficult to perform or mentally process, is somewhat meaningful, first week he teaches us compassion, all we ever did was just pass/kick the ball towards the person next to you and VV, a lot of times our huddle is like a two-way radio, he speaks we listen, we speak he listens, our inputs are important to him just as his input is to us, everyone had say, but his is the final word, he oftentimes takes half of his pay to buy us food or tae us out to pasyal2 just simply saying “you deserve it”. We did not ask nor question his ways, until one time this impatient richkid had enuf it and stormed “Coach R” and demanded explanation as to why he’s been doing the same thing for 3 whole weeks, and the coach’s answer proved golden even to this day, he said “If you don’t know the basics, you will never know or master advanced skills, all skills or execution be it simple or complex is just The Basics or variation of it with minor additions, and to become a good player, the only one whom you should be worried about is yourself, not anyone from the otherside or your side, I can’t teach you, if your heart is not wearing the same jersey as your mind and body, all parts of your being must work together as one. Good coaches/managers based their strategy/gameplay based on the conditions his players are in and their performance during training/practice games. Bad coaches base their strategies based on presumptions and false confidence. Discipline, discipline my dear boy is the most important thing that you should master,to reach the top noone starts in the middle of the stairs they all start at the bottom. The outcome of the game and/or your career is determined by your attitude during training or practice. There is a reason why I never locked the gate to this yard, it is meant for people like you to have an easy exit.” the boy was humbled, he stayed with coach K till his sophie year in college, after graduating,he then went to tryouts with different 2nd Div. Junior French footbal club, surprisingly out of the four he tried out, 3 phoned him, all in just under a week. To this day he is still on that club and lately the club have enjoyed massive success and started to move up the ranks. In short, we were trained kinda like Jackie Chan’s character in Drunken master. The repetitive motions not only honed our skills but also our attitude towards the sport. His unconventional method of training/coaching have produced 5 U18 RP team, 2 Azkals, 17 then-UFL players, 2 FIFA intl Refs, 4 young coaches, tobname a few,all his students were enrolled in diffferent institutions around the country (and two abroad) under different football scholarships thanks to his contribution in building our character not only as a player but as a responsible member of the community. When we were young, the true essence of this wonderful sport eluded us, not knowing what great value this sport has in store, our coach will always be criticized for his weird ways, but we will always be grateful to him for all that he has done and especially those that we failed to notice. His words will forever live on in our hearts and mind, on and off the pitch. He said “Don’t let the promise of fame get in between your feet and the ground, in this sport, traction is key to performing properly, fame and notoriety is a double edge sword, it can also do u harm equally as it does you good. An unchecked ego is like an unlaced shoe, sooner or later you or someone myt step on it resulting to harm and/or injury not only to yourself but also to anyone around you.”
All of this, he did in spite of the “horrendous” way local coaches have taught/trained their football players. He set out to make a difference, and make an example out of it. He succeded despite waves of criticisms and complaints. What he set out to do, the entire nation benefitted one way or another.
And I intend to carry on his legacy. With the Help pf God. God will provide.
TY