Cebu Football -- the plus side
In the past two years, there are more competitions, more and more kids are playing the game -- and those who have left it have returned in the 36-above categories.
Cebu hosted the under-19 nationals and is set to host a regional tournament.
There will be a coaches seminar this month (or has that been moved to next month)
DBC won the Palarong Pambansa title, Springalde sprung a few national football festivals title, CIS is one of the top teams in the Inter-IS league.
San Roque has come back to life, the Call Centers are putting their own teams, we have a two-division league.
Cebu hosted the under-19 nationals and is set to host a regional tournament.
There will be a coaches seminar this month (or has that been moved to next month)
DBC won the Palarong Pambansa title, Springalde sprung a few national football festivals title, CIS is one of the top teams in the Inter-IS league.
San Roque has come back to life, the Call Centers are putting their own teams, we have a two-division league.
Comments
Was there a skills development program that was sunctioned by CebuFA? I think they should integrate this in their program if they have'nt done so. We need to bring the sport to the next level. A level wherein we could compete with other nations "ASIA for now" physically, skills wise and game plan/strategies.
This would be a team sport which I think we could be more competetive given the proper training, support from sponsors and the government.
Im sure the sponsors are just waiting for somebody to knock on their doors. Sure they want to sponsor...promote the sport and tax credits likewise, which benefits them very much.
It also should be stressed out to all Cebu FC to be more aggressive in their skills development training and get somebody to scout for sponsors... THEY ARE JUST WAITING....
the achievements mike mentioned are worth celebrating. the individual schools and clubs that competed and won, as well as the independent groups that organized tournaments are to be commended.
unfortunately, if you'll notice, the CebuFA played no part whatsoever in the achievements listed above. a proposed coaching seminar is not an achievement unless it is actually held and the hosting of national tournaments is a minor one. PFF rotates national tournaments, so it's nothing much to brag about. the palarong pambansa title was fought and won with zero contribution from CebuFA. the festivals were initiated by private individuals and teams because CebuFA had nothing scheduled for them. the 35 or 38 bracket wasn't intiated by CebuFA. they just sanctioned the festivals and tournaments.
the silver lining for me is that interest in the sport continues to grow, despite inaction and a lack of leadership by the CebuFA, and a lack of sponsorship interest. at least there is hope.
there is a misconception that football should only be played 11-aside. football can be played regardless of how many persons are involved---11-a-side, seven-a-side, five-a-side, 3-aside. you can even--and should learn to---play it by your lonesome, and still enjoy the game. regardless of number, skills can be improved. this is how brazilians honed their skills. you don't need full 11-a-side matches all the time to be good in football.
here's another argument why festivals with 7-a-side matches work and why 3/5/7-a-side games are important to the development of football in Cebu:
1. it provides a chance for persons (professionals, OSYs and others not affiliated with schools) to form or join clubs and play competitive football.
2. smaller fields involving a smaller number of players greatly improve short passing and dribbling skills, as well as shot and passing accuracy.
3. regardless of number and field size, the principles of the game are the same, even the physical and skills demands of the game.
4. for pickup games, it is difficult to gather 22 persons to play on the field. that's the reality. it is easier to play five against five in a small patch of grass and eat dust and do the most important thing about football: enjoy it. and the more people enjoy it, the more popular the game will become. that's simple logic.
5. 7-a-side games are more accessible. a case in point is a call center, which has managed to organize an inter-department tourney that has 6 teams, with mixed male and female players! the players are not the fittest of the footballing lot but watching them play, they play with heart in a game that suits their pace and skills. if the CFA (which has no part in the tourney) wants to report that to FIFA, then so be it, if only to show that football in this part of the world is growing. besides, credit is such a superfluous word.
6. on a personal level, 3/5/7-a-side games made me love football even more
on grass roots:
i know what grass roots mean. i've been part of 2 clubs that literally have no funding. my former team became a runner up in a recent festival, while my current team won that one. both teams cannot even afford uniforms yet they managed to do well. and it takes a jeepney ride or two to get to our practice field. but to the footballer, these are minor incoveniences, really.
my current community-based club is now training kids as young as 5 yrs. old and a women's team composed mostly of high school girls. and every practice session is a moment we enjoy. yes a development program is important, but much more important than that is initiative from the football afficionado/players themselves. the duty to promote football rests first and foremost in the footballer--to spread the love of football in any way he can.
the CFA--which represents the football community---has not helped us in any way except to provide us and the other clubs a venue to compete, and to us that is what matters. in return, we have pledged among ourselves to promote the game in any way we can.
we do not complain about the lack of support. instead---to borrow a basketball dictume---we JUST DO IT.
we do it because the kids we train have a chance to play with the numerous accessible tournaments around. years back, there were tournaments, yes, but were they accessible to ordinary clubs like ours? no. the festivals have provided these kids with a venue. and there's no reason why they can't participate.
my worry about an 11-a-side-based development program is that it will alienate many clubs and players who do not have the time and resources to organize. however, with more people playing the game, assuming it would have become more popular because of festivals, which should have even become more popular, eventually by that time, it would be easier to organize more 11-a-side teams. if you ask me, cebu football is going in the right direction, with a couple of hiccups and bumps along the way
and to quote basketball legend robert jaworski when he coached his way to his last trophy with ginebra: "let's do this one game at a time."
*(dictum, not dictume--typo, tsk tsk)
metatron, directionwise, everybody needs to get together and assess the genaral path we are taking. those hiccups and bumps may become potholes and craters thus we need to come up with common goals and a gameplan on how to achieve it. leave the individual schools and clubs with their own football program, but we have to have an overall development program to pattern after.
the CebuFA and their supporters are very fond of dismissing these as "complaints". what they don't seem to recognize is these "complaints" are reminders stemming from the fact that they have not been doing that which is expected of them.
sure, the clubs and schools can very well organize tournaments or festivals within their own football program but that will not be enough. in the older age groups, quality competion is vital to improvement. the clubs and schools cannot just play among themselves in order to assess their weaknesses and strenghts. they need to do so within a tournament. and that is where CebuFA should be most active.
festivals as a both a marketing and promotional tool is best for the lower age groups. my comments regarding more 11-a-side tournaments applies to the older age-groups. as you may already know, while 7-a-side is a very good training tool, having it as a standard for competitions will not improve our 11-a-side play. the older age-groups should have more full size games.
i'm not saying we stop having one day festivals but rather we should have our 7-a-side competitions done on a tournament format. the games would be longer, 20-30 minutes rather than 15 minutes, and coaches get to assess their game plan and prepare for the next game.
finances will always be a hitch, but this is also where the CebuFA should be more focused in. the clubs and schools are scrounging and scrapping for funds to finance training expenses and organize competitions without any assistance from the CebuFA. aside from their failure to come up with a development plan, this is where they disappoint me most.
i'm not expecting CebuFA to hand over thousands of pesos to clubs and schools who are financially strapped. but i do expect them to aggressively look for ways to finance and organize tournaments where we can showcase the football programs of the individual schools and clubs.
it was therefore a big surprise when without explanation, the CebuFA cancelled the tournament format and only had the Aboitiz Festival for the past 2 years. that proved to be a setback in football development because teams had no choice but to prepare for 7 a side matches (including some of the older brackets) because festivals were the only competitions being held.
the effects of preparing for 7-a-side and then reverting to 11-a-side and vice versa is very obvious. in 7 a side play, many defenders just clear the ball or long-ball it to their strikers. once a team gets a lead, the game turns into a clearing competition. 7-a-side football in cebu is not fast, high-scoring nor entertaining. it's all about scoring first then clear the ball or go for a draw and wait for a shootout.
teams constantly playing 7 a side and then reverting to 11 a side has some difficulty in stamina, playing offside and taking the play to the other side. it's not that the coaches or players are at fault. it's just that the full-field game needs to be played consistently or regularly so that the players will get the proper feel of a full size game. getting a 7 a side team and then dumping it back to full size play is not my idea of a proper football program.
aside from determining whether the tournament and festival type format should be applied, the sizes of the playing pitch must be standardize. for example, during the last Thirsty Cup, the seven a side competition for the boys10 and 12 were held on a pitch smaller than a basketball field. game quality was so bad that it wasn't fun to watch, ironic in the sense that it was supposed to be a fun tournament.
ideally, a full size field cut in half would be the ideal pitch size for 7 a-side for the boys12 above, including the ladies. a smaller pitch restricts movement and the match deteriorates into penalty shootouts.
if we can set a list of pitch size standards as well as goal size standards that tournament or festival organizers have to follow then we assure ourselves of at least a proper pitch to show how our game has improved.
for example, we should not be encouraging festivals meant to accomodate the maximum number of teams at the expense of game quality. by requiring organizers that their pitches should conform to a size determined as ideal for seven a side or five a side for any particular bracket, then we now start professionalizing the way we organize tournaments.
CebuFA should be choosy on festival sanctioning. if the sizes of the pitch is to small for seven a side then they should insist that the format be changed to five a side or else they will not sanction the festival.
time of play should also be standardized. if schedule allows only 15 or 12 minute games then make do without a halftime pitch change.
make it standard that all pitches should have at least 2 balls. penalize intentional game-delays thru intentional clearing.
there are still a lot that needs to be mentioned as part of a standardization process like goal size (intermediate for boys 12), and penalty box/arc dimensions. the important thing is that we should set our standards and force organizers to follow it. by doing so, we are at least assured of a venue where quality football can be played and viewed.
many has participated in seven a side and complained about the small pitches not allowing us to play a quality game. since this is the case then we should do something about it rather than complain or be kept hostage to the conditions set by organizers.
yes, by forcing the issue, we run the risk of organizers not going thru with the competition because less teams can participate, less games may be played, thus less people watching who can see or be exposed with whatever it is they are promoting. but the point here is to make sure we have games played on conditions that will allow us to play quality football.
if you got to see the Hongkong 7 a side tournament in StarSports, you will get an idea of what i mean by quality 7 a side football. i don't mean that we have to follow exactly their standards but at least we have a guide we can apply on our particular situation.