ARU Junior Gold Cup - National Junior Championships

[Boof]

Sounds like state champs

No points, no titles,trophies or crowns = Gala day, other wise yes like state champs. Maybe a after match function thrown in for all to attend.

 

[Top Cat]

Yes I do know the player and his mother personally, regardless of his personal experience it dose not reflect the whole team experience. My point is if the problem is so great speak with the coach,manager,centre coordinator or the ARU directly. ( I know she has spoken to the coach without success ) . Everyone was given the opportunity to withdraw pre Christmas if you could not committ to ALL games, this was in writing via email. Don't get me wrong I feel for the boy he was superb in game 4 and his replacement in game 5 not so. I just don't think it should be a reflection of the entire program.

I have never said that the boy's personal experience reflected the whole teams experience and of course it doesn't. You certainly aren't going to get the players that played the majority of the game time jumping up and down and complaining. Well I hope not.

His mother took the problem higher without success and I certainly hope that she now goes directly to the ARU.

As for withdrawing from the squad before Christmas. Her son was invited into the squad knowing full well he was still recovering from surgery (as was my son) and his mother having concerns with him being fit in time. He was declared fit by his doctor before the first game but his physio wanted extra time and that why he was unavailable to play.

Thank you for your positive comments on the boys performance in the 4th game because they are aligned to mine. I believe he had a superb game especially having come back from injury and having to regain his confidence. Unfortunately, it seems what we saw others didn't because his mother was told the reason he wasn't playing in the 5th game was, and I quote, 'we have five wingers, four are up there at this level and your son is down there'.

That is one reason I video games, because it shows everything, and even though people can believe what they think they see, the camera doesn't lie. I still can't believe it isn't used as a tool by the majority of coaches.

I have never ever said that what happened to this boy is a reflection of the entire program.

In my son's case it has been mostly positive as there were many aspects of the program that helped him especially the S&C and the lifestyle programs. Unfortunately, with my support, he withdrew before the last game for career reasons and it will be another 2 1/2 years before he pulls the jersey on a again.

 

[S'UP]

I have boys in two different squads (which has proved a challenge) and I can say that the experience across the two venues has been completely different. That includes coaching, S&C, management, information shared etc etc.
I understand that coaches will have different approaches but the aim of the JGC should be the same across all venues. I know the ARU directive was for all boys to have one starting and one game off the bench. Which seems fair but then the ARU said pick your best team. A bit of a mixed message.
IMO for anyone to suggest that the competition shouldn't be competitive and was for player development is living in lala land. Put the coaches and managers in place and they would be all about winning end of store, they would be about winning if it was a training run. There is no such thing as player development anymore, everyone wants to win. Just look at the team stacking around finals time at SJRU. SJRU spend half their time creating rules to stop people manipulating the system so their 14D's (insert any team) will win the comp.

 

[Boof]

Well done S'Up on 2 boys in 2 squads, couldn't even begin to imagine how I would get that done. Unfortunatly your on the money with coaches and the whole competition issue, nature of the beast I suppose.

 

[I like to watch]

I have boys in two different squads (which has proved a challenge) and I can say that the experience across the two venues has been completely different. That includes coaching, S&C, management, information shared etc etc.
I understand that coaches will have different approaches but the aim of the JGC should be the same across all venues. I know the ARU directive was for all boys to have one starting and one game off the bench. Which seems fair but then the ARU said pick your best team. A bit of a mixed message.
IMO for anyone to suggest that the competition shouldn't be competitive and was for player development is living in lala land. Put the coaches and managers in place and they would be all about winning end of store, they would be about winning if it was a training run. There is no such thing as player development anymore, everyone wants to win. Just look at the team stacking around finals time at SJRU. SJRU spend half their time creating rules to stop people manipulating the system so their 14D's (insert any team) will win the comp.

Interesting comments.
Did both centres do some things better than the other, or was one centre just better in all respects?
Not having any idea which centres are involved,was the better experience the local one,or the more distant one?

 

[hollowman]

It cost us $400-$500 per player to attend country or state championships. More if they made a state team so JGC didn't seem unreasonable.

 

[Fat Cat]

All Sydney teams playing at the one venue this weekend. I assume so all the boys can be watched by the powers that be.
In some teams it will be interesting to see if the school you go to and not performance has an influence on being in the starting team or game time. I fear it will.

 

[Boof]

It cost us $400-$500 per player to attend country or state championships. More if they made a state team so JGC didn't seem unreasonable.

More than $500 for us , Just for zone rep last year we had 3 days in Sydney at state champs our zone levy did not cover the accommodation for our son and as parents we also had to pay accommodation, lunches and dinners, plus another 2 nights away at the Country Champs although player travel and accom are covered in the $300 rep player levy which doesn't include extra kit such as bags, track suit extra playing shorts etc, not forgetting the cost of travel to 3-4 trial matches, which were mostly at least a couple of hours drive and finally the twice weekly training on top of all other for 6 months.
BUT he loved it, we had a ball and we have certainly gained more than we lost. Kinda makes JGC a walk in the park, with the exception of no finacial assistance by way of being able to make installments.

 

[Shane Smeltz]

All Sydney teams playing at the one venue this weekend. I assume so all the boys can be watched by the powers that be.
In some teams it will be interesting to see if the school you go to and not performance has an influence on being in the starting team or game time. I fear it will.

Yes that is true FC - however I have heard that some boys and their parents, from more than one centre, who haven't had much game time so far, have complained to the ARU.

Result is that some centres have been told that for this 'last' game on Sunday (last for all teams except the 4 Pool winners in each age group) the players who haven't had much game must get at least most of a game.
So there might be some surprises playing on Sunday in front of the 'Powers', and some surprise omissions.

I know one very talented 15s boy has a bad injury - but he is already know, and goes to a GPS school so he is ok. Tick.

Speaking of fair game time: the almighty conquering 15s ACT team have been trophy hunters much the same as anyone else. I overheard an ACT 15s parent complaining the other Sunday that her son (name withheld) had touched the ball once during the whole game and he got plenty of game time that game. I suspect a certain no.13 got more than his fair share of ball handling time at that game - and I suspect all of the other games too.

 

[Ruckhard]

Overall the concept is great I believe - there are flaws no doubt that will be addressed and worked on for the future.
One of the area's I feel needs to addressed is to give the program some merit is, the coaches need to be appointed the season prior i.e. appoint next years coaches now so they have the ability to collectively identify players whom they believe have the ability. i.e. the 4 brisbane head coaches for the u15 region have this season to identify a group of 120 lads. The QRU then takes those 120 and makes 4 teams.
It is very evident in my own sons team the coaches have no faith in some of the cattle they have been given which is a shame for the boy, the squad and the parent.
Really looking forward to watching BNE games this weekend Pink v Purple will be a cracker.

 

[I like to watch]

Most of the coaches of these sides coach senior sides as well.
They will not be spending their winter trying to ID talent for next years development program.

 

[Ruckhard]

Most of the coaches of these sides coach senior sides as well.
They will not be spending their winter trying to ID talent for next years development program.

Maybe, just maybe they haven't got the right guys then as I have seen nothing happening on the training grounds at Brisbane that's to radical.

Too be perfectly honest apart from the gear and the great opportunity to play teams like WA I haven't seen an improvement from the coaching of the BJRU rep program but that is only my opinion.

 

[S'UP]

Interesting comments.
Did both centres do some things better than the other, or was one centre just better in all respects?
Not having any idea which centres are involved,was the better experience the local one,or the more distant one?

They were both different but there were also different age groups involved so that could have had something to do with it. But comparing the two the one further away was the poorer cousin to the one closer to home. I'll save my comments for the ARU, but lets say from the better centre their coaches and S&C should stop contacting people outside the group telling them there forwards are crap and can you bring your boy down and the other group should look at game time, I can understand picking your best team or best core group of player but when you have only won one game you need to change things and that didn't happen.

 

[S'UP]

All Sydney teams playing at the one venue this weekend. I assume so all the boys can be watched by the powers that be.
In some teams it will be interesting to see if the school you go to and not performance has an influence on being in the starting team or game time. I fear it will.

Yes we can watch the elite run round, and then watch the ARU go up and high five the boys they know while ignoring the others, very transparent for everyone else. Unfortunately they just don't get it.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

All Sydney teams playing at the one venue this weekend. I assume so all the boys can be watched by the powers that be.
In some teams it will be interesting to see if the school you go to and not performance has an influence on being in the starting team or game time. I fear it will.

Who are are these powers that be?

 

[Hugh Jarse]

Obviously @Fat Cat is referring to the Clipboards.

IMHO many Clipboards are not from ARU. More seem to be from Clubs and Schools, with the odd Mungo Club, or Player Manager talking to players and their Mums and Dads.

ARU have sacked most of their Clipboards.

 

[Inside Shoulder]

Obviously @Fat Cat is referring to the Clipboards.

IMHO many Clipboards are not from ARU. More seem to be from Clubs and Schools, with the odd Mungo Club, or Player Manager talking to players and their Mums and Dads.

ARU have sacked most of their Clipboards.

Some players were told there would be "NSW selectors" there.
Which NSW team would that be?
There's no U16s, and the 18s are NSWSRU and use the trials at Knox for selection.
Which pathway have I missed? or there a new pathway I've missed? No doubt its paved with good intentions.

 

[Hugh Jarse]

"NSW Selectors". Hmmm. Must be the Under 20's. There is a NSW U20 team this year. Get 'em early.

Could it be selectors from the Tahs? Parents sometimes believe anything.

 

[Brainstrust]

Some players were told there would be "NSW selectors" there.
Which NSW team would that be?
There's no U16s, and the 18s are NSWSRU and use the trials at Knox for selection.
Which pathway have I missed? or there a new pathway I've missed? No doubt its paved with good intentions.

Hugh, the ARU have a network of Talent Identification Scouts. Some are ARU staff, but many aren't. I believe the TID process is being coordinated by Adrian Thomson ( Australian U 20 coach, could be wrong). I have been told the scouts have been allocated to JGC games and then collated feed back is provided back to Thomson et al for collation on the ARU data base. One of my mates who has done a few of these games hasn't had team sheets so the assessments have been done without names, just on jersey numbers and then the names added later once the lists were provided. Once again the the alleged high 5's by the ARU staff and focus just on those boys they know is more ill informed dribble....

 

[swingpass]

the melbourne U15's and 17's continued on their winning ways today, defeating Central West 34 - 0 and 41 - 22 respectively