COFA ANNOUNCES CHANGES FOR 2020 SEASON
At COFA we want our players to thrive as footballers, and be able to play in a supportive and fun environment. To help make this happen we have consulted with the 4 clubs in the region, and we have decided to make a number of changes to the teams and the games they play that will begin in the 2020 season. The changes are in line with Football NZ Whole of Football plan, and the goal is to provide more opportunities for players to develop, whilst also making it easier for families to support them.
There are three important changes:
Firstly, the age groups will move from two year age groups (U6, U8, U10, U12) to single year age groups (U6, U7, U8, U9, U10, U11, U12). U14, U16 and Youth teams remain the same. This will create more even levels of playing ability and will increase the amount of playing and coaching time available to younger players.
Secondly, the structure of gamedays will change to make matches more appropriate for different ages, and play them during a more focused period of time – taking away those annoying times where players and families might find themselves waiting over an hour between games.
This will mean that the U6, U7, U8, and U9 teams will play more opponents in shorter “mini games” on Sundays. These games will be played back to back within an hour time slot.
The U10, U11, U12, U14 teams will play one “normal” game on Sundays, with a half time break, or several mini breaks.
The U16 and Youth teams will move to Saturday matches to line up with the Senior teams. Refereeing and coaching programmes will be available on Sundays for those players in these age groups who want to help out with the junior teams.
Thirdly, our participation in the South Island Tournament will move from being organised at a Central Otago level to a club level for boys (there will still be a Central Otago team for girls). This will mean we have more teams represented overall at a regional level, and takes away some of the travel requirements for those players for training.
By making these changes we believe football in our region will continue to get stronger and stronger through the development in coaching and game play for the players, and the support of the families and communities around them.
Article added: Tuesday 19 November 2019