G&G FC Podcast: #14 – Tom Byer on Japan's Football Revolution

[Robbos]

its not JUST investment mate, thats the point of Byer's comments... Alot of it has to do with football culture.. Japanese society almost completely changed their way of thinking about the sport of football and how it fits in to their society.. Here, we are like the US, football is seen as an entertainment option ....

In the US it will always be an after school activity for kids and here it will always be "wogball".....

While I don't disagree with you here, to me it's the lack of investment & poor admin in the last 50 years that has been what is holding Australia back to become a country that can play 'Jogo Bonito'.

At least in Sydney, I do not feel football (NOT A-LEAGUE) as being the poor cousin to NRL & AFL, so many playing the game & the Matildas & Socceroos have changed that.
Nor do I think the 'wogs' of the 70s & 80s (Greeks, Italians, Croatians & even Portuguese) are disliked by the Anglos, they have assimilated, the new 'wogs' are the Middle eastern countries & the Asians, including Indians & you don't associate those countries with football.

 

[Robbos]

While I don't disagree with you here, to me it's the lack of investment & poor admin in the last 50 years that has been what is holding Australia back to become a country that can play 'Jogo Bonito'.

At least in Sydney, I do not feel football (NOT A-LEAGUE) as being the poor cousin to NRL & AFL, so many playing the game & the Matildas & Socceroos have changed that.
Nor do I think the 'wogs' of the 70s & 80s (Greeks, Italians, Croatians & even Portuguese) are disliked by the Anglos, they have assimilated, the new 'wogs' are the Middle eastern countries & the Asians, including Indians & you don't associate those countries with football.

Yes maybe the media may still think this way, but I don't look at mainstream media anyway.

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

While I don't disagree with you here, to me it's the lack of investment & poor admin in the last 50 years that has been what is holding Australia back to become a country that can play 'Jogo Bonito'.

At least in Sydney, I do not feel football (NOT A-LEAGUE) as being the poor cousin to NRL & AFL, so many playing the game & the Matildas & Socceroos have changed that.
Nor do I think the 'wogs' of the 70s & 80s (Greeks, Italians, Croatians & even Portuguese) are disliked by the Anglos, they have assimilated, the new 'wogs' are the Middle eastern countries & the Asians, including Indians & you don't associate those countries with football.

Mate how much financial investment do you think went into the sport from the actual country that invented Jogo Bonito???? Their federation is so dodgy someone stole their world cup trophy and melted it down to get the gold. hahahahah

We may have structure and nice pitches and proper kits and coaching certificates, in Brazil 90% of the population touches a soccer ball at least once a day... THATS what Byer is alluding too as far as culture...

 

[Robbos]

Mate how much financial investment do you think went into the sport from the actual country that invented Jogo Bonito???? Their federation is so dodgy someone stole their world cup trophy and melted it down to get the gold. hahahahah

We may have structure and nice pitches and proper kits and coaching certificates, in Brazil 90% of the population touches a soccer ball at least once a day... THATS what Byer is alluding too as far as culture...

I know exactly what Byer has been alluring to, I've been a big fan of his for a long time.

There are not many counties like Brazil, 200+ million, third world country & totally obsessed with football. Even Argentina can't match them with the number of quality players they produce.
For countries like France, England, Spain to compete with that they needed to invest into football.
Fully understand your meaning on culture & you have given me the best example of Japan, they don't have the culture of football like Portugal or Greece, but thru population & Investment they are now able to compete with the best.

 

[grazorblade]

Great podcast guys, very well worth the listen.. Dispels some of the often repeated myths being thrown around about the need for a national curriculum and Australia producing technical players.. Who would have thought that "Club and culture" are as important to developing player skill as money is? lol.

The Coerver method is as old as the hills, it seems and it was implemented in Japan so succesfully BECAUSE they didnt have the club structure and the general football culture of other successful football nations.. As Tom mentions frequently, the aim is to have children ENTER the club system with already developed fundamental technical skills... the CLUB is then responsible with developing tactical nous and game experience... Japan used Coerver (as did many other developing countries) as a replacement for the favelas, barrios, slum and 5-a-side pitches of countries where football is a lived and breathed religion.. the result is the same...

yeah I mean I definitely see some value in the free underage training sessions football australia provides, even in a football culture like England

Had a parent want their kid to join my informal training sessions because their kid cried at their club because it was just a swarm of kids chasing the ball with only 1-2 kids ever touching it. 2nd time this happened. My sessions are based off the free stuff football australia provide and it is pretty fun and does help the kids improve.

I can't comment on the expensive stuff since I've never done my c license but the amount of coach education involved means that youth prices are through the roof if you are at a club that is forced to pay their technical directors and youth coaches

In any case, the nts definitely didn't result in a big step forward or even a step back to where we have players being first choice for rangers/leeds at u20. It is difficult to say how much credit should go to the ntc, A league clubs finally have academies, A league clubs playing youth more often, but even if 100% credit goes to the national curriculum we have gone from being able to regularly produce players who can peak in the Danish/Swiss leagues to regularly producing players who can start in the same leagues as a youngster. A nice step forward but miles behind the gg.

I was curious about how hard it is to get my 2 year to play with a ball. First couple of days I'll spend an hour doing other stuff with her like reading, playing before she is interested in 2 minutes of stepping on the ball. I'll keep track of how it goes and see if she falls in love with the ball

 

[grazorblade]

Consider also.
Baseball is no1 followed by Sumo (call it AFL/NRL) then football followed by other popular sports ie golf/tennis - they have had top tennis (W) and golf have a shedload in both mens/womens top circuits.
Also there sure wouldn't be the Gov bias.
What is the budget of sports in Japan?
The Japan Sports Agency (JSA), established in 2015 as the primary body for sport policy under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, operates with a significant budget of ¥180 billion (approximately $1.24 billion USD).

haha look at the $$$'s and this is old intel.

MSC Coerver agree is good, been around here for sometime - my daughter went into it SAP/Rep.
I wonder how Japan implemented it regards to "cost" down to local clubs, below is 2023 basic cost cover 3/4mths

U8-U16

$400.00

I guess the basics of coever you can learn quickly for free, but then the really advanced stuff we had to train coaches to the point where npl clubs have to pay them wages. My understanding is that the knowledge of the basics of coever got disseminated widely but they never required much standard beyond the basics so clubs can coach youth for cheap. Then you can have your richer clubs eventually pay coaches and train them a bit more

 

[grazorblade]

For those who are curious here is the entire method he wants parents to do with toddlers

Learn

Get Started The following skills are the basic foundation of ball mastery. Parents are encouraged to spend time with their children for them to learn how to manipulate the ball with their feet. Cre…

footballstartsathomeph.com

Six instructions

1. Create a safe environment for your child. If playing on wooden or linoleum surfaces, do not allow your child to wear socks as it may be slippery
2. Use a small ball for your child, preferably size 2.
3. Learn one skill at a time. Do 1 skill for at least 5 to 15 minutes everyday for 7 days for 4 to 5 days a week for 1 month or until the child has mastered the skill. Then move to the next skill.
4. Do not pressure the child into learning the skill. Make it as fun and enjoyable for the child and celebrate his or her progress. Not all children develop at the same time. Be patient and allow your child to learn and play naturally.
5. Have a meaningful bonding time with your child.
6. Document your child’s progress and if you’d like, you can share videos in the Football Starts at Home learning group for comments and feedback.

One summary video


And four core skills to help them fall in love with playing with the ball





my daughter started with 2 rather than 1 so I'm just going to encourage her with that

 

[Barca4life]

yeah I mean I definitely see some value in the free underage training sessions football australia provides, even in a football culture like England

Had a parent want their kid to join my informal training sessions because their kid cried at their club because it was just a swarm of kids chasing the ball with only 1-2 kids ever touching it. 2nd time this happened. My sessions are based off the free stuff football australia provide and it is pretty fun and does help the kids improve.

I can't comment on the expensive stuff since I've never done my c license but the amount of coach education involved means that youth prices are through the roof if you are at a club that is forced to pay their technical directors and youth coaches

In any case, the nts definitely didn't result in a big step forward or even a step back to where we have players being first choice for rangers/leeds at u20. It is difficult to say how much credit should go to the ntc, A league clubs finally have academies, A league clubs playing youth more often, but even if 100% credit goes to the national curriculum we have gone from being able to regularly produce players who can peak in the Danish/Swiss leagues to regularly producing players who can start in the same leagues as a youngster. A nice step forward but miles behind the gg.

I was curious about how hard it is to get my 2 year to play with a ball. First couple of days I'll spend an hour doing other stuff with her like reading, playing before she is interested in 2 minutes of stepping on the ball. I'll keep track of how it goes and see if she falls in love with the ball

The FA would be wise to get advice from Bayer regards to creating the NC 2.0, the old one is not on FA’s website and said they creating a new one anyway.

A good opportunity to improve what we already have.

 

[grazorblade]

The FA would be wise to get advice from Bayer regards to creating the NC 2.0, the old one is not on FA’s website and said they creating a new one anyway.

A good opportunity to improve what we already have.

You can still find it on google

would be great if Byer was involved i liked his idea of involving day cares arround australia

I also feel there should be different resources for different parts of the community. Give a bunch of sample sessions for amateurs, kids, 9-13 year olds etc. Then have the more advanced stuff available im courses and deregulate the requirements needed to coach at npl level. Whatever clubs can afford is what they can invest in

 

[grazorblade]

Incidentally some changes Canada have done this year

 

[Quicky]

That was a fantastic listen. Well done for organising it. I'm impressed Tom was so generous with his time and skills. He's very articulate and you did a great job hosting. It's got me motivated to try the ball mastery lessons with my 3yo.

 

[grazorblade]

That was a fantastic listen. Well done for organising it. I'm impressed Tom was so generous with his time and skills. He's very articulate and you did a great job hosting. It's got me motivated to try the ball mastery lessons a go with my 3yo.

Full 4 month course is above for free

 

[Monoethnic Social Club]

I was curious about how hard it is to get my 2 year to play with a ball. First couple of days I'll spend an hour doing other stuff with her like reading, playing before she is interested in 2 minutes of stepping on the ball. I'll keep track of how it goes and see if she falls in love with the ball

I still roll back to the belief that if we had a TRUE football culture here in Australia (yes yes I know you live overseas) then you wouldn't need to struggle to get your child interested in playing football, that would occur by default.

 

[LFC]

I guess the basics of coever you can learn quickly for free, but then the really advanced stuff we had to train coaches to the point where npl clubs have to pay them wages. My understanding is that the knowledge of the basics of coever got disseminated widely but they never required much standard beyond the basics so clubs can coach youth for cheap. Then you can have your richer clubs eventually pay coaches and train them a bit more

IF I recall right here in Syd it wasn't introduced as a free to learn system.
It was sold/or partnership to local Clubs hence Clubs charging due to the coachs getting approved/license's the Coever way became more so Rep aligned.
I think its good local Clubs stepping up that is for sure ( most are Div1 aspiring and Rep) - can't speak for other areas but its helped improve Jnr W football and higher I hope.

 

[Decentric]

Brilliant podcast!

I’m 32 mins in.

 

[Quicky]

I did 10 mins with my 3yo tonight. He did alright. Got excited to show Mum what he learnt. Got annoyed at not being allowed to kick the ball ahaha.

 

[LFC]

Keep at it Quicky.
I didn’t need vids training my kids was done with pure passion and fun making sure they are outside kicking the ball for fun then as they progressed into U7’s again fun outside playing 1v1 then small goals.
Next was shooting practice but first trap and control the ball.
Learn touch !
Do it at the beach another variety to teach change lack of ball bounce.
Then we progressed to feel the ball how much weight to put into a kick be it a chip.
Next was making sure where to plant your steady foot when driving the ball hard for a pen.
Both my boys touch and kicking styles were driven by beating their dad but more so the competitive nature in them.
Their game sense especially one is like a true 6 - covering and steering a game.
I have much pleasure watching my boys play.
Hope you guys get to where I have felt countless times watching my boys enjoy the game 110% and tbh key players in any team they play with.
They done YL to NPL 2.
Yet they still came to talk to Dad how their game was despite all the other coaching they have had.
I was taught the moment I was in the cot - that’s ingrained in me and I passed it on - I have no doubt my boys will do the same with my grandkids - football is in our blood, without it’s a uphill battle.

 

[Quicky]

Keep at it Quicky.
I didn’t need vids training my kids was done with pure passion and fun making sure they are outside kicking the ball for fun then as they progressed into U7’s again fun outside playing 1v1 then small goals.
Next was shooting practice but first trap and control the ball.
Learn touch !
Do it at the beach another variety to teach change lack of ball bounce.
Then we progressed to feel the ball how much weight to put into a kick be it a chip.
Next was making sure where to plant your steady foot when driving the ball hard for a pen.
Both my boys touch and kicking styles were driven by beating their dad but more so the competitive nature in them.
Their game sense especially one is like a true 6 - covering and steering a game.
I have much pleasure watching my boys play.
Hope you guys get to where I have felt countless times watching my boys enjoy the game 110% and tbh key players in any team they play with.
They done YL to NPL 2.
Yet they still came to talk to Dad how their game was despite all the other coaching they have had.
I was taught the moment I was in the cot - that’s ingrained in me and I passed it on - I have no doubt my boys will do the same with my grandkids - football is in our blood, without it’s a uphill battle.

I don't have that benefit of having been coached. I didn't start playing until I was 16 with mates. But will have fun with it.

 

[booney52]

Tom Byer obviously loves football and imparting knowledge.Getting those touches on the ball at an early age is great for all the reasons he listed.

 

[LFC]

Tom Byer obviously loves football and imparting knowledge.Getting those touches on the ball at an early age is great for all the reasons he listed.

and it just doesn't apply to get into SAP/YL.
Dads/Mum get outside, play with any ball with the kids from very young age.
They learn hand eye co ordination - catch, move onto kicking in time they start to get it.
Also get involved when at the park instead of sitting looking at your mobile or small talk - so so many parents care about themselves and their ME time today.