School Footy

This thread is intended to showcase the good and the bad from anything that you guys see from the school footy system.

For those og you that follow your lads around the various schools of Adelaide or anywhere else, then tell us what you see.

I have watched many stars of the future in this crucible of competition.

So item 1, saw the best umpiring spectacle for 6 years today, Yr10B competition at Rostrevor College v St Michaels

Rostrevor is arguable the strongest College football team going around. You'd proabably get an argument on that statement from Sacred Heart College.

But in my time watching under age teams, I'd rate Rostrevor #1.
They have a very impressive indigenous program. Nearly every team features at least 2 aboriginal kids.
You just have to rate what they are doing with this.

I think PAC and St Peters have fallen a tad behind these 2 in recent years.

Like all competitions there things to like about the school system just as there are things to dislike.

A few of these in terms of Good Call / Bad call are
- Bad call - Some smaller college schools undervalue their sides, when they can only field one team and want to play B grade. They obviously have strong teams, but seem to think flogging other B grade teams by 15 goals each week stimulates character building in their kids. My call. One team schools play A's - two team schools play A's and B's. an aisde to this is ROCS and SHC who have 2 and 3 B grade teams.

- Good call - Encourgaing kids at an underage level to play for the school. Schools now have a different take on the play for school first ethos, when it is obvious they are dealing with someone who is likely to make footy a career. Viz a Viz Jack Trengove last year. PAC (to their credit) did not stand in the lads way to play at the highest level with Sturt league team. They wanted him to play in the intercollegiate game v St Peters, but left it is to his call. He chose to play one last time with his mates, and good on him for that. Needless to say he missed for the Blues that week. Schools have gotten much smarter about this stuff in recent years.

- Good Call - the Blokes that come back to the school to coach (as old scholars) putting back into the system that developed them. My lad is lucky enough to have such a person coaching his team.

- Good Call - The school footy system should be first and foremost a cauldron established to promote the positive sides of footy in terms of;
*character building of individuals
*encouraging team work
*rewarding selfless acts and the 1% things that often go unnoticed
*promoting sportsmanship, an often forgotten trait in kids sport these days
*promoting programs aimed at developing excellence in sporting preparation (nutrition, health, physical development etc)
Unfortunately there is an imbalance between schools on what they have resources to offer in this area.

So, to any of you out there, I am interested in debating your take on school footy. This may even dwell on the balance between school v club footy, but that is a worthwhile debate to throw into this mix.

Won't say where, but saw the most partial exhibition of umpiring on the weekend in school footy competition in all of my time watching school sport.

Honestly, why would you bother putting your hand up for this, if you are not going to umpire fairly.

In school sport there is no premiership, so all you do is short change the kids enjoyment of a system that is designed primarily to build character.

However, some of the reported "trash talk" by an affluent school toward their opponents would seem to indicate that "building character" is not a highly prized asset. Perhaps building empires is?