Blog: Youth Development – The need and impact

By Franklyn Malambo

Poor showings at major tournaments have been attributed to a host of reasons by people in different spheres of society including those that have only watched soccer for a combined 90 minutes during their whole life time.

Additionally, In the most recent passed our beautiful game has not really been so ‘beautiful’ as it’s been rocked with both confirmed and unconfirmed cases of age cheating. As long as age cheating goes on, there will always be suggestions of efforts that ought to be employed in order to stop this unfortunate vice. After all considerations I think chief among the possible solutions is realizing the Importance of Youth Development and attaching the desired and required efforts and resources toward the same.

Below are a few benefits that will accrue from having the correct youth structures and guarding them accordingly.

KNOWLEDGE OF THE ART

Football just like music or acting is an art and to that end one needs to perfect it in order to gain sustainable success and much desired firm. The game has a lot of dynamics and in order to reach the top it requires utmost preparation of the individuals that do the business on the pitch and it’s always important to remember that CHAMPIONS are built over a period of time and not during the 90+ minutes on the field or the one month camp before a tournament. ‘Train a child in the way you want him to go and when he is old he will not depart from what you taught him’ is a common statement in certain religious circles and as football enthusiasts we ought to realize the Power within this statement. It is very unfortunate to see basic skills such as trapping, passing and even shooting missing from top level players who are supposed to have very high technical speed (Ball Manipulation). Skills such as these are supposed to be taught or imparted at ages 5-9 but unfortunately most of our players in Africa start to play during their teenage years and as a result miss the basics of the game and remember for one to succeed at the top level, Basics are a must. E.g. if someone didn’t know that 1+1=2 how will they solve the different stages of a quadratic equation?? A top level coach will not waste time to teach a 25 year old how to trap the ball and it’s these small fine margins that cost our players and eventually our teams dearly.

PLAYERS VALUE THEIR TRADE

If I attach no serious value to my work the probability of attaining my targets even when I am very lucky is 1/10. Take away a feeding bottle from a toddler and you will see its reaction. Suggest a pay cut or contract termination for an African player for underperforming, you will most likely get the response of ‘I don’t care’ or ‘I’ll leave the team’. Usually a number of our players have gone in to football simply because there isn’t anything viable that they could do and luckily they get a breakthrough in football at an advanced age and just see it as one of those things that put food on the table without realizing the great power it has to change their lives and those close to them for the better, forever. It’s time we moved from a period of seeing football as one of those things for school drop outs to seeing it as a business and the same way parents express their desire of seeing a son being a successful doctor they should equally yearn to see a child succeed in the sport. Not everyone is blessed with the intellect for a white color job and as such, talent identification ought to be done at tender ages so that boys and girls are brought up in the game and as such they attach the required importance to it and they advance in their careers will realize its importance and wouldn’t want to easily give up or leave what they have prepared for during their entire lifetime. No one wants to demolish a mansion he has build for over 15 years as the long period spent will in itself serve as extra motivation to push on when things go wrong or when the going gets tough.

COMPETITIVENESS /WINNING MENTALITY & MENTAL STRENGTH

When you prepare for battle for two years it’s highly unlikely that you will defeat one that has prepared for ten years. Some of our players have AfCON or even World Cup as the first ever grade ‘a’ international tournament that they play in. The difference with their competitors is that most of them have been playing international under age tournaments and have been to continental and world championships at the various junior levels which always gives them an edge. The idea of competition needs to be introduced at an early age just like one of the laws of the game says ‘play to win’. When one moves with the mentality of ‘play to win’ from an early stage they will always give it extra energy and will always be willing to defy the odds stuck against them. Things that are introduced to someone at a mature age are usually short lived and competition is no different. When one gets into football and from the onset know that they are going into competition they will strive and will always be willing to look at better ways of winning, easier ways of getting results and as such will develop a strong attitude toward success.

Football is a hard thing to understand. Just think of how fans react when their team loses, others even get health complications. This in itself tells you that the heart and headaches are even worse for the actors on the pitch. Football is not for the faint hearted and inasmuch as everyone goes in to win, losses are a possible result as well. To this end, one needs proper psyching in order to be able to handle the disappointments and a strong character is required. Character is not built in a day or two but over a period of time. Handling Pressure at the highest level need preparedness and this preparedness is not done in a day. Games at the top level come with pressure from the first through to the last whistle and pressure always affects performance.

If players can be subjected to pressure at very early ages by the time they get to senior national teams they would have been through a lot that enhances their mental ability and preparedness and as a result they’ll not fumble when it comes to the battle.

SUCCESSFUL SENIOR TEAMS

It is a well-known fact that most teams that have gone on to win major tournaments such as the FIFA world cup ,EURO and even AfCON have player combinations that were established from early ages. E.g. the Class of 2007 that delivered Zambia’s maiden AfCON Trophy in 2012. Success always comes as a result of hard work, planning and Vision over a period and it starts with the first ball that a Stoppila Sunzu kicked at a Schools Copa Coca-Cola tournament and even before that. It’s not so common to find one that never really played from child hood being the main man in a team that wins or comes close to winning the tournament.

POINTERS FOR TO THE FUTURE

• All FAZ Top Teams will have genuine under age sides starting from 9 year olds going upwards.
• Basic Schools will send Sports teachers to get Elementary Coaching courses so that the Sustainable approach can be implemented from primary schools.
• A time when all District Football Associations will run an U15 and U17 league and host Provincial Championships.
• A time when a current U17 crop of players shall not disband after a tournament but will do the transition to U20, U23 and that order going forward.
• A time when huge sums will be invested at the grass roots to avoid the gamble of putting in great sums for teams that are not ready and not prepared for the massive pressure.

Zambia and Africa has immense talent which has produced excellent results when properly managed and sorry results when mismanaged.