Moretonville Player Grading
Grading
This short document is to explain for parents the club's approach to having graded teams within the club. The club has a specific approach to grading that we believe is in the best interests of the children who play for the club and enables them to get the most out of their football experience. It is important that parents and boys understand that the way the club approaches grading is something that has been specifically thought about and has not been done without due consideration.
What is grading?
In the context of youth football, grading is the process of grouping players of similar ability into a team, so if there were two teams in an age group this would split the players effectively into an A team and a B team with the A team being stronger than the B team.
When does grading take place?
Grading at Moretonville will take place at the end of a player's Under-9 season and then again at the end of their Under-11 season. The reasons for grading at these points are:
Three teams would grade into an A side and two B sides rather than trying to grade into an A side, a B side and a C side.
The reason for not grading into A, B, C is that at Under-12 the club loses a number of players due to the move to Sunday morning football (most often due to match conflicts with rugby and Church) and the squad size increases due to the move to 11-a-side matches. This normally means that three squads at Under-11 would probably become two squads at Under-12. Experience has shown that re-grading A, B, C nine-a-side squads into just an A and a B squad is more difficult than re-grading an A squad and two B squads.
Why not grade at Under-8 and Under-9?
Under-8 and under-9 football is non-competitive and at this age it is far more important for the players to just be able to enjoy themselves with their friends rather than play competitive fixtures. There are graded under-8 and under-9 teams in the leagues but Moretonville believes this is not the best way to introduce children to football at such a young age.
Why grade at all?
There are a number of reasons why grading is desirable after under-9 but the net is that by grading the players we can provide a better football experience for all the boys in the club specifically because:
Do the A teams get any special treatment or extra training?
No. The club policy is that all teams in Moretonville are treated equally by the club.
How do you grade?
The coaches of all the teams in an age group will rank each player in relation to the position they normally play in a match based on their experience of the players over the years. Position and ability have to be taken into account as there is no point grading in such a way that the A team consists only of centre forwards! Advice and guidance will be provided by the club's Football Development Officer when needed. There may be a need for grading games in order for all the players to be watched together, but that will be at the discretion of the coaches in that year.
What if I think my son should be in the A side and he isn't?
The grading process is necessarily subjective and undoubtedly there will be situations where a parental analysis of the players may differ from a coach's analysis. This should be discussed with the coach who will involve the Football Development Officer as necessary.
There is the potential for players to move between teams during the season through the transfer process and coaches will work together to ensure that players who develop are given the opportunity to play at the highest level they can.
Every effort is made to ensure that the grading process is as thorough and as painless as possible although some upset is almost inevitable at some point. However, experience shows that any initial problems can soon be forgotten once a new squad starts training and playing together. It is important that parents support the grading process and help the boys to settle into new teams and play as well as they can at a level that allows then to get a good, close and rewarding game of football rather than playing at a level that is either too high or too low for them and from which they will gain nothing.
This short document is to explain for parents the club's approach to having graded teams within the club. The club has a specific approach to grading that we believe is in the best interests of the children who play for the club and enables them to get the most out of their football experience. It is important that parents and boys understand that the way the club approaches grading is something that has been specifically thought about and has not been done without due consideration.
What is grading?
In the context of youth football, grading is the process of grouping players of similar ability into a team, so if there were two teams in an age group this would split the players effectively into an A team and a B team with the A team being stronger than the B team.
When does grading take place?
Grading at Moretonville will take place at the end of a player's Under-9 season and then again at the end of their Under-11 season. The reasons for grading at these points are:
- Under-10 is the first season where football is deemed to be competitive and most sides that we play have been graded in some way.
- Under-12 is the first season at 11-a-side football.
- It gives two years of seven a side (ungraded) at Under-8 and under-9, two years of graded 9- a-side and then grading at the beginning of 11 a side. The grading process fits with the change from 7 to 9 to 11 a-side football and also fit a two year lifecycle for team kits rather than wasting team kit after one year.
Three teams would grade into an A side and two B sides rather than trying to grade into an A side, a B side and a C side.
The reason for not grading into A, B, C is that at Under-12 the club loses a number of players due to the move to Sunday morning football (most often due to match conflicts with rugby and Church) and the squad size increases due to the move to 11-a-side matches. This normally means that three squads at Under-11 would probably become two squads at Under-12. Experience has shown that re-grading A, B, C nine-a-side squads into just an A and a B squad is more difficult than re-grading an A squad and two B squads.
Why not grade at Under-8 and Under-9?
Under-8 and under-9 football is non-competitive and at this age it is far more important for the players to just be able to enjoy themselves with their friends rather than play competitive fixtures. There are graded under-8 and under-9 teams in the leagues but Moretonville believes this is not the best way to introduce children to football at such a young age.
Why grade at all?
There are a number of reasons why grading is desirable after under-9 but the net is that by grading the players we can provide a better football experience for all the boys in the club specifically because:
- The difference between abilities becomes more marked. In an ungraded side a player who is at a lower ability level will not be as involved in the game and may well become dissatisfied with their lack of involvement.
- Better players become increasingly frustrated with playing with players of less ability and this will lead to tensions in the team and also cause the better players to continually try to "do it all themselves" rather than involve other players. This can cause problems for the relationships between the players and between parents and coaches.
Do the A teams get any special treatment or extra training?
No. The club policy is that all teams in Moretonville are treated equally by the club.
How do you grade?
The coaches of all the teams in an age group will rank each player in relation to the position they normally play in a match based on their experience of the players over the years. Position and ability have to be taken into account as there is no point grading in such a way that the A team consists only of centre forwards! Advice and guidance will be provided by the club's Football Development Officer when needed. There may be a need for grading games in order for all the players to be watched together, but that will be at the discretion of the coaches in that year.
What if I think my son should be in the A side and he isn't?
The grading process is necessarily subjective and undoubtedly there will be situations where a parental analysis of the players may differ from a coach's analysis. This should be discussed with the coach who will involve the Football Development Officer as necessary.
There is the potential for players to move between teams during the season through the transfer process and coaches will work together to ensure that players who develop are given the opportunity to play at the highest level they can.
Every effort is made to ensure that the grading process is as thorough and as painless as possible although some upset is almost inevitable at some point. However, experience shows that any initial problems can soon be forgotten once a new squad starts training and playing together. It is important that parents support the grading process and help the boys to settle into new teams and play as well as they can at a level that allows then to get a good, close and rewarding game of football rather than playing at a level that is either too high or too low for them and from which they will gain nothing.
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