Club Competition
At all age groups fixtures are co-ordinated and scheduled according to the clubs philosophy.
Philosophy on competition
The club recognises that other sports and distractions play a part in young players lives but, to be able to take players through to Under 18 level (and to be able to feed further to the open-age team), a core team and squad need to be developed.
On no account should the club coaches “poach” other players from existing teams. If a team is disbanding or struggling and likely to disband, an approach through the clubs secretary to their club is required (refer to player transfers process).
Introduction to playing
Children should not play any more than the FA recommended game time in a given day. There should also be a minimum 48hrs between any fixtures to allow sufficient rest time for players.
- U7’s and below: Training only / develop individual skills / slowly introduce matches / inclusive selection
- U8’s – U10’s: Regular matches / introduce teamwork and positional play / rotate positions / fair playing time / reward performance and effort over winning
- U11’s upwards: Regular matches / develop strong team ethic / competitive team selection policy / fair playing time
Playing times
No player shall be permitted to play (on a given day) more than one game or, in the event the competition allows for a double-header, a maximum of;
- 40 minutes (U7’s – U8’s)
- 60 minutes (U9’s – U10’s)
- 80 minutes (U11’s – U12’s)
- 100 minutes (U13’s – U16’s)
- 120 minutes (U17’s – U18’s)
More info…
