Player Development and National Team Progress

[azazel]

Facilities have got to play a part. Specifically, indoor facilities. I know there are a few places like Ravenscraig and Toryglen around the country but there aren't enough for a country with our climate. I coach 2017s and u8 girls and it's mental that we ask these kids to be outdoors in Scotland for 90% of the year, or if we can get indoors its generally in gym with a wooden floor, so less than ideal. How much can it really cost to throw up a big byre and lay a decent artificial pitch?

I was speaking to a parent who grew up in Peru and he says that literally every village there has an indoor facility. He reckoned that communities basically built these things themselves, with materials being donated by businesses and work being done by the community. I can imagine planning and building control over here might have something to say about that but surely if football being our national sport is anything other than a meaningless line in a newspaper report it shouldn't be beyond us as a country to be able to do similar?

[Bad Wolf]

2 hours ago, Dan Electro said:

Yes, I was born there myself. However, bands actually rehearsing in the town included The Vaselines, The Soup Dragons, Teenage Fanclub, The BMX Bandits and Captain America/Eugenious sued by Marvel Comics. A disproportionate amount from, in a global perspective, a small town.

I grew up in Ayrshire, yet half the kids at my school were also born in Bellshill. More recently, my mate and I found ourselves reminiscing about Bandits gigs at the Hattonrig on the way back from the (now rather indicative) Norn Iron clusterfuck. 

[BB_Bino]

3 hours ago, Bing.McCrosby said:

Weirdly I think mobile phones have alot to do with young kids drinking less, In our day you could get drunk and make a total arse of yourself and it was quickly forgotten. These days everything's filmed so kids don't want to get out of control and have it recorded for everyone.

That's actually a fair point, and one that I haven't considered.  

1 hour ago, azazel said:

Facilities have got to play a part. Specifically, indoor facilities. I know there are a few places like Ravenscraig and Toryglen around the country but there aren't enough for a country with our climate.

It's bonkers that we only have 3 or 4 of these type of complexes about. It's my view that every big town should have 1 of these, and that our big cities should at least have a couple. It's embarrassing that places such as Stirling, Dunfermline, Airdrie, Dundee, Perth etc etc do not have an Oriam/Ravenscriag/Toryglen type complex on their doorstep.

[lubo_blaha]

4 minutes ago, BB_Bino said:

That's actually a fair point, and one that I haven't considered.  

It's bonkers that we only have 3 or 4 of these type of complexes about. It's my view that every big town should have 1 of these, and that our big cities should at least have a couple. It's embarrassing that places such as Stirling, Dunfermline, Airdrie, Dundee, Perth etc etc do not have an Oriam/Ravenscriag/Toryglen type complex on their doorstep.

As well as the ones you’ve said, you’ve got full size ones in Dundee and Aberdeen and smaller sized ones in Glenrothes, Irvine, Dingwall, Lerwick and Stornoway off the top of my head. Could be more that I’m not thinking of.

Could definitely use more though. 

[Scary Bear]

1 hour ago, azazel said:

Facilities have got to play a part. Specifically, indoor facilities. I know there are a few places like Ravenscraig and Toryglen around the country but there aren't enough for a country with our climate. I coach 2017s and u8 girls and it's mental that we ask these kids to be outdoors in Scotland for 90% of the year, or if we can get indoors its generally in gym with a wooden floor, so less than ideal. How much can it really cost to throw up a big byre and lay a decent artificial pitch?

 

I was speaking to a parent who grew up in Peru and he says that literally every village there has an indoor facility. He reckoned that communities basically built these things themselves, with materials being donated by businesses and work being done by the community. I can imagine planning and building control over here might have something to say about that but surely if football being our national sport is anything other than a meaningless line in a newspaper report it shouldn't be beyond us as a country to be able to do similar?

 

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/fife/380796/ready-for-kick-off-construction-to-start-on-glenrothes-football-academy/
 

Approx. £2.3 million back in 2017. We use that one in Glenrothes for friendly games over the winter and it’s excellent. 

More indoor pitches is definitely the way forward in a country with Scotland’s climate.

Edited Friday at 12:57 by Scary Bear

[Dan Electro]

On 26/06/2024 at 12:00, Piehutt said:

 

Scotland squad fails the eye test in terms of having no exciting attacking players OR any depth whatsoever.

Apologies for a late response on this. David Turnbull was absolute dynamite for Motherwell; his statistics point to this. 

At the risk of being red dotted, I'm unsure whether Celtic 'broke him' or not. I simply don't follow that club. He won both Young Player of the Years; media and peers, either side of his transfer.

Whilst lurking, few here were advocating Turnbull for a call up to the squad. (From memory, one of the BBC pundits had him listed).

I'm of the age where I recall Norman Whiteside being, at the time, the second youngest player to appear in a World Cup finals, after Pele; 17. Whilst through, again, claret and amber tinted glasses, why Max Johnston wasn't in Germany, seems, in hindsight, somewhat short-sighted. Outside the Celtic crowd, whom else gained a champion's medal last season?

In other words, if you're good enough, you're old enough.....

 

 

 

 

 

[2426255]

I've been doing a hell of a lot of driving in Scotland over the weekend and the number of flags in windows and kids wearing Scotland shirts is something I've not really seen in my lifetime. In all areas really.

[ArabFC]

On 28/06/2024 at 11:58, azazel said:

Facilities have got to play a part. Specifically, indoor facilities. I know there are a few places like Ravenscraig and Toryglen around the country but there aren't enough for a country with our climate. I coach 2017s and u8 girls and it's mental that we ask these kids to be outdoors in Scotland for 90% of the year, or if we can get indoors its generally in gym with a wooden floor, so less than ideal. How much can it really cost to throw up a big byre and lay a decent artificial pitch?

It's mental to ask kids to play outside?

I can't be that much of a dinosaur as I'm still playing myself, but I've never played on an indoor 3G pitch in my puff and it didn't diminish my love for the game.

There must be around a dozen modern artificial pitches in Dundee now, and I doubt any of youth teams have any trouble accessing them for training and games. If a little rain is going to put them off I doubt they were going to be the next King Kenny.

Edited Sunday at 22:48 by ArabFC

[ahemps]

8 hours ago, ArabFC said:

It's mental to ask kids to play outside?

I can't be that much of a dinosaur as I'm still playing myself, but I've never played on an indoor 3G pitch in my puff and it didn't diminish my love for the game.

There must be around a dozen modern artificial pitches in Dundee now, and I doubt any of youth teams have any trouble accessing them for training and games. If a little rain is going to put them off I doubt they were going to be the next King Kenny.

I would say it is more that training/games get called off so there is less time spent playing. My 5yr old had training called off about 7 times during the winter and there were plenty sessions when the weather was utterly miserable so we tended to get them into a game a lot quicker than we normally would (as that was more fun for them than any drills) and we were even calling it 10-20 minutes early at times. If they were teenagers you would stick it out but if they could train indoors more often the training would largely be unaffected.

 

[Scary Bear]

9 hours ago, ArabFC said:

It's mental to ask kids to play outside?

I can't be that much of a dinosaur as I'm still playing myself, but I've never played on an indoor 3G pitch in my puff and it didn't diminish my love for the game.

There must be around a dozen modern artificial pitches in Dundee now, and I doubt any of youth teams have any trouble accessing them for training and games. If a little rain is going to put them off I doubt they were going to be the next King Kenny.

On training nights the cones are being blown away some nights. Sometimes it’s windy, sometimes it’s wet (sometimes torrential), sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it’s snowing. It’s not pleasant for coaches or kids and it’s maybe not the best learning environment.

The artificial pitches are a big improvement on waterlogged and/or worn tufty winter grass pitches, but that doesn’t change the environment. It just changes the surface you train on.

Indoor pitches would make a big difference to training in the winter months.

The kids (2014s) season is March to June then August to the start of December. So indoor pitches aren’t needed for that. It’s more for the winter friendlies and winter training. Saying that, when you get to November/December, indoor pitches would be the business. Also for March/April some years. Scotland doesn’t have great weather. 

Edited yesterday at 08:22 by Scary Bear

[adamntg]

I’m pretty sure the SFA have said that more indoor pitches is their priority for spending money, rather than using money earned from tournaments etc to fund rebuilding Hampden.  Hope everyone remembers that next time they’re complaining about the view from Row D behind the goals. 

[Alert Mongoose]

On 28/06/2024 at 13:21, BB_Bino said:

 It's embarrassing that places such as Stirling, Dunfermline, Airdrie, Dundee, Perth etc etc do not have an Oriam/Ravenscriag/Toryglen type complex on their doorstep.

Dundee does have one?

[adamntg]

6 hours ago, Alert Mongoose said:

Dundee does have one?

There’s one in Kilmarnock as well.