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Cornwall County Youth Trials


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The Cornwall County Youth Team trials dates are now available.

East Trial - Dobwalls FC - Thursday September 4th arrive 6pm.

West Trial - Helston FC - Thursday September 11th arrive 6pm.

The trials are open to all players born on or after September 1st 1990, players must have been born in Cornwall, or currently playing for a club in Cornwall at a level of East Cornwall Premier League, Cornwall Combination League or higher.

All senior clubs have been notified by letter by David Bray, CCFA Youth team Secretary.

Players should bring a training top, boots, socks, shorts, and shin pads. Shirts will be provided.

Would players or club officials please let David Bray know if you are attending ASAP by faxing the details of name, address, DOB, best position, and contact number to the CCFA office on 01726 76174 or by e-mailing David on: davidjbray@onetel.com

Thanks

Tommy Matthews

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I've watched a lot of games already this season and there are a lot of potentially good players out there.

Everyone starts with a clean sheet and we welcome players to inform us that they'll be there and come along and give us their best shot on the nights.

We have players available from last season's squad but they too have to show us the same sort of form that got them there last year.

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Hi Tommy

Just a quick question, why is it the players must be playing senior football to qualify for the County Youth.

Can't remember seeing that in the handbook, and isn't the FA Directive to give all players a chance to play at the highest level possible not worrying about the background or the club you play for.

Surely a player good enough to represent his county should be given a chance never mind what club he chooses to play for.

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Cornwall Youth fixtures

Saturday 18th.October 08 F.A.County Youth Cup (knock.out)

Berks' & Bucks' v Cornwall

Saturday 1st. November 08 SWCC Youth (League)

Cornwall v Somerset

Saturday Decenber 6th.08 SWCC Youth (League)

Wiltshire v Cornwall

Saturday January 17th 09 SWCC Youth (League)

Cornwall v Dorset

copied from the CCFA website.

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Hi Johnnie,

It's got nothing to do with the FA. At the risk of constantly repeating myself it's simply for the following reasons.

Running trials is effectively a weeding out process, and the first stage of that process is to find all the players playing in the best leagues in Cornwall. This helps the trials because it gives the players most likely to go through a better chance to show themselves off.

Players who perhaps feel that they are good enough should already be playing for senior clubs to show that they're hungry to play at the highest standard they can. It's simply not enough to say that they'd rather play down the road with their mates. County Football is a very high standard and is played by many of the players released by professional clubs and these players are all playing for top clubs within their own counties so therefore in order to compete, we must do the same.

I agree that it's our duty to try and get all our players to play the best standards they can, so if you're good enough to play up a level then do so. There are plenty of senior clubs within easy reach of every player.

In order to maintain a standard of football that will ensure they have a chance to compete at county level they need to be playing senior mens football. I don't actually care who a player plays for, I just need to make sure that week in week out he is playing at the top of his game.

I've asked many of the players that have played for us over the years if they think they could have done as well if they had been playing at a lower standard and the answer has always been a resounding "No".

The squad that starts the season is never the same squad that ends, we are constantly checking new talent and the form of current players so that everyone is kept on their toes and everyone is given the same opportunity to represent their county.

Hope this clears up any misunderstanding.

Tommy

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Yes you're quite right, I don't mind though because I'd rather be completely transparent in the way we do things so people know exactly where they stand.

The venues haven't been sorted out yet, they need to fit in around the visiting teams and what grounds are available so that clubs don't have to cancel fixtures to accomodate us.

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At the age of 16+ if you haven't already made it at professional level, you're unlikely to, although there are always exceptions and most of those will be playing at conference level, not the Peninsular League.

Jonny Ludlam and Dan Stevenson both played at Wembley for Truro having come through the ranks. Carlton Farnham and Kevin Lawrence have both represented Cornwall at senior level, Shaun Manley is now captain at Saltash. These are just a few names from recent seasons. Many of the players go on to play at a really good level in Cornwall and some are signed by bigger clubs within the Duchy while they're playing for the youth team because they show great promise.

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Guest Sport Lover

When I help select the County Hockey team I also wont pick players from lower leagues. County sport is generally a higher level than the league most players are playing on a Saturday. This means players are stepping up a level to play. If you pick a player thats 3 or 4 leagues lower than what county level might be then that player will struggle. It then takes that player 3 or 4 games to get use to that step up and by that time the championship is over!

If every player knows they wont be considered unless they are playing a certain level then it should encourage them to improve themselves by joining a senior club and fighting for their place in that team.

So all in all I agree with Tommy.

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Thanks Tommy

I wasn't having a dig or anything just curious, has for the same question every year iamthebest, when your not involved with youngters and then see the county asking asking for playing senior football it is just a question of knowing and asking.

Every year we get more and more new people getting involved in youngsters who wouldn't have bothered asking had they not got involved.

Hope all goes well Tommy with the youngsters and good luck.

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got to disagree with you tom,why make rules when no need to.I played for a very successful "junior" side th at would have beaten most senior sides but because of having to be voted in (remember that rule??)we were,nt allowed in.players on bench for swl sides and playing 40/50 mins a month were playing for county ahead of good promising youngsters learning their trade in tough junior competitions.

Best example i can think of is a certain heavy transport goalie called nigel martyn...remember him??? :c:

also whats that about playing for a cornish club......you,ll be allowing them to play if they,ve holiday,ed in cornwall next :angry2:

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Its a shame to see that young players are missing out on the opportunity to represent their County purely on the basis that they are not playing at Senior level. Surely if a player is good enough he should get his chance.

Q1 Is the Duchy Premier League (Junior level) a lower standard of football than the ECPL DIV 1 (Senior Level), i'm not sure their is a lot of difference in the standard of play, although quite often the facilities are better.

Q2 A 17 year old player is playing football in the Duchy Premier where he is given 90 minutes every week. He is consistently playing well, is ENJOYING HIS FOOTBALL and is showing excellent promise for the future. He is excited by the prospect of representing his County yet he is very happy playing football (for the time being) at this Club where his talent is being expertly nurtured and his confidence is growing by the day.

Why must he leave if he has aspirations to play for his County.

Lets just say he leaves and joins the ECPL DIV 1(supposedly a better standard) where his new manager see's his talent but prefers his more experienced players in most of the matches so he spends most of his time as an observer.

We now have a player who is not playing every week, is losing his confidence and is not enjoying his football, but is at least playing at the required level ?

The County will NEVER field its best team as long as it limits its options in this way.

More importantly it is unfair on the those young players who are missing out just because they are at the wrong Club.

Good luck to Cornwall County Youth for the coming season

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This is an interesting debate - and I can see both sides of the argument.

However, surely at the end of the day, if a 17-year-old is any good, and probably more importantly has the ambition and desire to play as good a football as he can, he'll already be appearing at Senior level, and better then Div One East Cornwall!

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the trouble is when your young you like to play with your mates and with your local club . lets be honest anyone who knows a bit about local football knows that the better junior sides are better than the lower senior sides . for instance portreath last season were a junior club in name only all of their players were senior players and their results proved that . a good youngster in that side would have probably got in most combo sides

all the best to tommy and the cornwall squad

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Dave

We are talking about 16 and 17 year olds here. Yes the cream will rise to the top in good time. If an ambitous player is in his mid twenties and he is realy good you would expect hime to have risen through to the higher levels of the game. But we are talking here about players playing their first and second season in adult football. They are not all neccersarily at the top clubs by this age and it is not in all cases in their best interest to be at a top Club at that age. Why must we rush them through ?

Their is a strong argument that many players are thrust into Senior football only to become frustrated and disilusioned because they spend too much time watching and not playing. I have seen this with my own eyes.

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derek...they should make you a county manager and yes if you have the same side as in previous years you will finish top6 in pen league this year easily.

tom i won everything in junior football by 18. next 2 seasons i topped scored in ecpl league,season after that at 21 i was playing for swpl rep side,so early years at junior level did not harm me?

and you did,nt play with nige at u18 level coz he was,nt allowed to....(some silly rule) :thumbsup:

IF,HE,S GOOD ENOUGH HE SHOULD PLAY

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I played with Nigel at full county level Dan, not U-18's.

Look, I actually work in football development so I know a little about how players develop and having spent a week at Keele University doing the FA Youth Coaches Course alongside some of the best coaches in that field , I learnt that all professional clubs are being urged to keep their players for as long as they can. This is because the likes of Jamie Carragher took a long time to grow into a great footballer. Look at what Liverpool could have missed out on!

However, for the same reason that just about every England manager picks his squad from the strongest league for a limited number of games, I do the same. I have a 2 year window of opportunity for players and they have to be ready in every game they play, I don't get a whole season of games to nurture them.

If you speak to the managers of the other counties they do the same as we do.

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Surely if someone is good enough to have a chance of playing for the county then they should want to test themselves out at the highest level possible be it SWP league or East Cornwall/Combination? If they are not prepared to do this and would rather stay and play at a lower level with their mates etc then surely they dont deserve to play for the county or deny a chance to a youngster who is prepared to have a go at a higher standard.

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I can see a friendly on the horizon!!! Tommy Mathews County youth team v Handsome dans the best of junior footballers that are better than the senior player.

My money is with Tommy.

Being involved in Cornwall Schools football, everyone wants to have their say and their great ideas but no-one is willing to give up tiier own time for free. An idea that may be feasible :Handsome dan, why dont you arrange a trial for all the junior footballs U18 and send the best 5 to a trial and see how they get on ?

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you are talking about 2 levels.combo vs fal/hels 1 and ecpl vs duchy prem ...not a vast difference?????

a certain brian clough took a certain roy keane from irish footie and within weeks played him at anfield in the old top division...quite a big,big big,big,bigdifferent level,but then sir brian did,nt put obstacles in his way......whatever happened to roy keane????????

hope the cornish or out of county non cornish but play for a cornish club players have a good season. :c:

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One of the things that hasn't been mentioned here is that that the youth players have to be watched in competitive games. Unless the youth set up has a large scouting network (which I very much doubt) then they can only get round to see a certain amount of games. So visiting every junior and senior ground would be virtually impossible. The youths know that they have to play senior football to be considered, so if they are ambitious and want to be play county youth they should try to play senior football.

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No,

their are no shoulds and shouldn'ts about it.

these kids are just playing their football and are finding their feet in the adult game. Its up to the county to identify the best players regardless of whet level they are playing at and include them in the equation if they want to bring together the best players in the County.

Maybe we could be doing much better at county level if we would stop imposing such self defeatin restrictions upon ourselves.

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Guest Sport Lover

I wonder if the same people suggesting the County side should include players from Junior football would think if Capello started picking players from the Championship and division 1 or 2? Any prospective England player knows he has to play in the premiership.

Also how many of the same people have been managers of county teams (in any sport) and only having 2 or 3 warm up games and training sessions to get a county side ready for a championship?

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there is a difference between senior and junior football, i remember some of my friends telling me of a kid they played against had turned down pro contracts for southampton because he wasnt sure if he wanted a career as a footballer, if its hard enough for swpl and jccl players trying to play against, a person playing fhfl or mining league would find it a lot harder due to the level they play against weekly!!

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No,

their are no shoulds and shouldn'ts about it.

these kids are just playing their football and are finding their feet in the adult game. Its up to the county to identify the best players regardless of whet level they are playing at and include them in the equation if they want to bring together the best players in the County.

Maybe we could be doing much better at county level if we would stop imposing such self defeatin restrictions upon ourselves.

Are you offering your time to get round and see all these kids then?

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No i am not,

but if it was my responsibility to bring together the best under 18 year olds in the county then thats exactly what i would try to do. I certainly would not be limiting my options by excluding certain players who were not yet at the top Clubs.

sport lover,

capello choses his players from the top tier which is quite obvious. Just as the manager of the Senior County side obviosly takes his players from senior Cornish football sides.

But how many of englands U 21 or u18 are at top Premier clubs ????? Its not so important at that age !!!!!!!!

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No i am not,

but if it was my responsibility to bring together the best under 18 year olds in the county then thats exactly what i would try to do. I certainly would not be limiting my options by excluding certain players who were not yet at the top Clubs.

How many people do you think are involved in this process?

They are giving up their own time to do this....As always the people who moan and have these great ideas can never provide a solution or are not prepared to give up their time!

Try to get round sounds a bit like 'should' to me.

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