Poor first touch

Under 21 has never been strong in Ayrshire. Generally, up until recently, at 18/19 year old if you wanted to continue playing, you played either junior or amateur.

Just a suggestion but....... As things stand just now a senior club would have to release a young player to play in amateur football, should they want to introduce him to playing against adults. After he is released the senior club loses any control over that player returning to them should they excel at amateur level. That player would then be free to move to a senior rival in the future with the senior club losing the opportunity for a development fee. A loan system would prevent this. Let Senior clubs have a prerequisite number (say eight) Under 21 players contracted to them on amateur forms. Those players can be kept on the books of the senior (parent) club but loaned out to amateur teams for a season. While loaned out they cannot play for their parent club in competitive games but they should be allowed to play for them in friendlies. A parent club who has an 18/19/20 year old player who they want to keep an eye on but don't believe to be ready for senior football - at that moment in time - have a way of introducing him to adult football. Should the player 'develop' to the required standard, his parent club can recall him and promote him into their first team the following season . If after a season in amateur they are not deemed to be good enough to step up to senior level, there is no harm done with the lad able to continue playing football in a competitive environment that suits his ability. The amateur level also gets enhanced with the short term introduction of players with bright futures destined for a higher level. The coaches who currently run Under 20 teams should also be encouraged to get involved at amateur level. Again this is an opportunity for young managers to get blooded into football management at a competitive level, dealing with adults and not just youth footballers.

In Ayrshire the WoSFL development teams are having a negative effect in getting youngsters into amateur football. Historically Ayrshire youth football (with a few exceptions) stopped at Under 18 and then more recently 19 level but we now have Under 20 development teams in towns like Auchinleck, Girvan, Ardrossan, Dalry and Maybole. All of these towns no longer have amateur teams. Add in other 20s teams from Kilwinning, Irvine, Stevenston (Ardeer started a team at the start of last season who have since folded), Ayr (Whitletts), Kilmarnock (Bonnyton), Cumnock, Troon and Darvel and there are a significant number of boys who previously would have found a game in a competitive amateur league now playing on a Friday night. Now, with a reduction in the number of amateur teams these lads, should they want to, are limited in places to play when they turn 20. You also have to throw in the fact that they get into the habit of a Friday night out and Saturday afternoon off. The amateur associations need to push hard for dual contracts that will allow these senior teams to, rather than field teams in under 20 youth football, have loan players in the amateur leagues (particularly relevant for teams in the lower divisions of WOSFL). As well as hopefully having people to run amateur teams - the lure of coaching at Saturday amateur level doesn’t appear to be as appealing as wearing an ex junior team tracksuit on a Friday night - it will also get boys into the amateur leagues at 19 and used to playing at a competitive and more realistic level. Currently boys play development football and chase a dream of playing senior football at 19/20/21 - which statistics prove ends in disappointment for many. The majority of these lads no longer eligible to play development football could ultimately be lost to playing the game. A link between senior clubs with the amateur leagues however, still gives young lads hope that if their ability matches their ambitions they could one day step up rather than the current model which requires 19 and 20 year old lads to make a (perceived) step down. As well as the camaraderie of playing in team football into their 20s, 30s and in some cases their 40s, amateur football has so much to offer a lot of these lads. There is much more opportunity for them to be competitive at this level than in the lower levels of the WOSFL, EOSFL, etc. The amateur level offers those that excel the opportunity to; Represent Scotland in UEFA Regions cup Play at Hampden in a national final to compete in local leagues and cups Would a specific/limited number of season long loans between senior and amateur clubs, in lieu of development squads for the WoSFL clubs work? We need to do something as established amateur clubs are folding on a weekly basis. If Friday night development team committee, managers, coaches and players were introduced into Saturday afternoon football it might have a chance Although I accept that there are other reasons why amateur clubs fold, the impact from 20 year old ex-senior players not seeing the step down to amateur level as a viable option increases the risk of them being lost to Parkhead, Ibrox or Wetherspoons on a Saturday afternoon when their development years are behind them. It has always been widely noted that the Scottish Amateur Cup is the biggest participation sporting event in Scotland. We need to protect this before it loses it’s appeal and gradually disappears. The SFA, WoSFL, SAFA and all other associations - at all levels - need to start working together if REAL grassroots football is to be protected.