Youth football
Youth football is the term for club football that is played by girls and boys. The age of the players is between about five and a maximum of nineteen years.
Age classification
Players may be used in older junior teams, but never in teams younger than their age. In order to protect the juniors, they are usually only allowed to play one game per day.
Age groups boys
Youth football is divided into different age groups. The classification is based on age groups, whereby two age groups are always combined into one age group. The oldest young people are referred to internationally as U 19 and are called A-Juniors in Germany. This age group includes players who will turn 18 or 19 this year. The next two younger age groups are called B-Juniors, followed by C-, D-, E- and F-Juniors. For historical reasons, the very youngest players are usually not called G-Juniors, but rather Bambini , Tots or Mini-Kicker , or simply Minis . Often the Italian plural Bambini is incorrectly appended with a plural s, such as B. in § 8 of the DFB youth regulations.
Age groups girls
Since there aren't that many girls playing soccer, there are usually not that many age groups. Girls often play with the boys up to D youth and then there are only age groups B and C, since the age groups corresponding to the A youth already play in the senior class.
Club division
As with senior citizens, large clubs often form several teams from one age group, which are numbered. The (AF) 1 usually consists of the strongest players, sometimes consistently from the older age group. Small clubs need both age groups to be able to form a team. There is no performance allocation for the Bambini, as the play instinct is given free rein.
Classification
Classification boys
The lower league is the district league, which is usually divided into several groups or seasons.
From the D-Jugend there are also performance scales or special groups. From here on, the rules of offside and back pass apply . In the D-Jugend you can still or already play with seven or nine players, the playing field is accordingly either played across in one half or shortened, completely.
From the C-youth, there are also district relays, regional leagues, association leagues, upper leagues and regional leagues. For the Bundesliga clubs there is also a junior league for this age group.
The A and B juniors play up to the Bundesliga. In order to provide proof of the trouble-free guarantee of the complex gaming operations, a security deposit of 100,000 euros must be deposited on the ascent.
Classification girls
For the B and C juniors there is usually an association relay, including district and district relay. In the state association of Baden-Württemberg there is also a B junior upper league. Since the 2012/13 season there is also a Bundesliga for the B-Juniors. This is divided into the Bundesliga North and the Bundesliga South.
Class change
As with the seniors, the champions of youth football are usually promoted and some teams are relegated from the bottom of the table. There are often relegation games for this purpose in order to dampen class differences. Due to the change of age group, the younger age group is generally on the rise. On application, the older age group can also be relegated to the new age group, in which, however, not only higher-class opponents, but usually also one year older opponents await.
Other official competitions
In addition to the championship, there is a cup competition at association level. The finalists or final winners at the district level are qualified for this. In addition, there is a competition for the district hall cup at district level during the winter break. Only selected teams are involved.
Conveyor systems
There are various support systems in youth football, such as various football schools. Associations that have excellent youth work are awarded the Sepp Herberger Prize. For some years now, the German Football Association has been running so-called DFB bases, where talented D and C junior players usually receive additional technical training once a week.
Professional sport
Good youth players are already receiving offers to change clubs. This separation from the previous sports comrades is justified with better support and the improved chances of a sighting by a Bundesliga club. The increased effort is offset by assuming the travel costs and placing football shoes in addition to the usual jersey equipment. Sometimes the placement of an apprenticeship is guaranteed. A few players receive professional contracts even in their youth.
Talent selection
Deprez et al. a. (2015) analyzed 388 male Belgian soccer players (8-16 years old) who were considered to be talents and were selected for soccer academies and who either stayed or were withdrawn from the academies; In a second analysis they differentiated those who had persevered and now got a junior professional contract and those who had not made it. The degree of maturity and physical development did not show a statistically significant difference. The dropouts were weaker in motor coordination , football-specific aerobic endurance and speed . Those who stayed, those who could jump further (p = 0.011) and were faster in the 5 m sprint (p = 0.041) got a professional contract. However, these motor tests only explained 16.7% variance, so that the actual specific football talent has by far the largest share in football success.
Examples
gallery
Children playing youth football in a sports club in the Starnberg district
Individual evidence
- ^ Youth regulations of the German Football Association .
- ↑ DN Deprez, J. Fransen, M. Lenoir et al .: A retrospective study on anthropometrical, physical fitness, and motor coordination characteristics that influence dropout, contract status, and first-team playing time in high-level soccer players aged eight to eighteen years . In: Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 29 (6), 2015, pp. 1692-1704.
- ↑ Arnd Krüger : Training and Development. In: competitive sport. 45, 5, 2015, p. 42.
- ↑ A. Bohnenstengel: Youth Football. 2001.