Junior Development Leagues launched
Football NSW hosted a successful Junior Development Leagues (JDL) Launch across two days in early February where over 200 coaches from across the state attended the event at Valentine Sports Park.
With a strong focus on acknowledging the rebranding of Skills Acquisition Program (SAP) to the Junior Development Leagues, Football NSW delivered age-appropriate, player centric sessions, demonstrating methods which could be adopted to assist players in both their technical execution and decision making.
Football NSW’s Club Technical Development Manager Neil Mann outlined the benefits of the launch and what the JDL offered to the football landscape.
“With over 200 coaches from across the state in attendance, it was great to see the various clubs in attendance across the weekend.
“The launch was an opportunity to recognise the great work that is already occurring, collaborate as well as forming new connections. This was certainly evident in the engagement, conversations and discussion points that occurred.
“We look forward to continuing our support to assist in the growth of their programs and providing the type of environment which is conducive to developing the children at their clubs”, Mann concluded.
Football NSW’s Coach Education Manager Chris Adams stated how critical this launch was in further educating clubs and coaches.
“The highlight of the weekend was seeing all our JDL clubs coaching staff connect and learn in the same environment.
“This in itself showed that the clubs are not alone in their role of a JDL coach and that they are a part of football development within NSW.”
Inter Lions’ Head of its Girls JDL program Troy Cook was impressed with the launch and the many benefits that came with it.
“It was a great day for everyone involved.
“Our coaches really enjoyed the practical demos and took a lot away from them.
“The chance to connect with other clubs, share ideas, and see different approaches in action was valuable.
“The atmosphere was positive, and it’s clear that Football NSW is putting a lot of effort into supporting clubs and making the JDL a strong development platform.”
While Bonnyrigg White Eagles’ Head of its Mixed JDL program Enzo Palumbo was also impressed with the knowledge and networks that were forged at the launch.
“The 2025 JDL launch from Football NSW was informative for us coaches, it was well-structured, and we stayed focus on the key interventions.
“The sessions that the Football NSW staff demonstrated were beneficial in providing new ideas and some helpful insights that could be implemented into our coaching sessions.
“Some key points that we found useful was the different session styles that can be used such as more streamlined methods and incorporating some fun within the team.”
The Junior Development Leagues and Club Standards and Benchmarking Framework will now officially commence after a pilot process in 2024 in which benchmarking outcomes were not published.
However, 2025 will see a reset of these outcomes and the results will be published at the end of the coming season.
For further information on the Junior Development Leagues and Club Benchmarking please visit our website https://footballnsw.com.au/competitions/junior-development-leagues/
