Definitely
it was designed for progressive football minds and for the success achieved,
Edward Abankwa, the Director of AFEX 2014 should be congratulated. It was
expected that at least SA print media would provide coverage of this important
event especially considering that the lack of diversified content is relegating
football stories in newspapers and magazines to the bottom of media market.
No
such coverage was provided. Regarding the presentations on technical issues the
following conclusions are of major significance:
1.
No youth development program can succeed in fulfilling talent if is not based on
a specific football philosophy. The natural attributes – THE STRENGTHS – of
young players must be reflected in the process of their development for maximum
performance. (Conclusion supported by Ashley Kotzin, CEO, FORWARDZONE and other
experts).
Strangely,
Dr. Robin Petersen, CEO of SAFA’s Development Agency and acting technical
director Fran Hilton-Smith were not present when this critical aspect was
discussed! The sad reality is that SA youth coaches are working without direction
and the effects of this confusion will, for sure, harm the much needed
production of high quality players. The question asked by many is, who is
responsible for this predicament?
2.
It is imperative that SA coaches are equipped with indigenously produced,
relevant training solutions. The irrational acceptance to train and coach the
unique SA talent with methods used in England, Germany, Holland, Portugal, etc…
must stop.
The
so-called SA football experts who are clueless about the true nature of African
players have managed to misguide SAFA president Danny Jordaan and his Executive
in allowing the multi-national coaching chaos to distort the valuable potential
of local players. Vast resources and sponsorship are wasted on this fictitious
policy. Who is accountable for it?
3.
The investment should be directed towards providing high standards of coach
education – quality before quantity – and the retribution of youth coaches
(Ashley Kotzin’s presentation).
4.
The remarkable contribution made by Shakes Mashaba in regard to Maximal
Training cannot be omitted. His request that MT should be urgently applied to
‘reduce the quality and performance gap between SA football and more advanced
nations’ was very well received while indicating the unanimous appreciation for
the methodology and its advanced features.
5.
More interest on this important event should have been shown by all SAFA
departments, PSL and the media. The culture of learning in SA football is key
for the future.
By Ted Dumitru
