What is the Football NSW Talent Support Program?
The Talent Support Program (TSP) is a games-based program, where the top players from each region (North, South, East, West, and Far South) play regular high-level matches against each other and A-League academies.
The purpose of TSP is to provide an increased number of talented players exposure to a high-quality environment and an increase in high quality games. Further, it will enhance the process for talent identification and selection of representative teams and provide additional opportunities for benchmarking and identification for national teams.
In the FNSW TSP our key words are Adaptable, Brave and Creative.
To be an Adaptable footballer, players will need to understand the game, show the right attitude, know about tactics and what different positions demand from them. They need to develop skills to evaluate the game, read and interpret situations, and show tactical intelligence.
We challenge players constantly to be Brave and to take calculated risks with no fear of failure. We put them in a competitive environment where they may feel out of their comfort zone to see how they will grow and adapt.
We encourage players to be Creative and to think outside the box. The way they look at situations and the decisions they make is what will differentiate them from the rest.
We take a player centered approach. You will notice that players are not only asked to actively participate in co creating game plans but will lead half time talks as individuals or small groups. We feel this is important for the players to get a greater understanding of the game and helps to develop Creativity, and skills which can also potentially be used outside of football.
Player Selection
The TSP coaches regularly attend Boys & Girls Youth League matches within their region to observe players in their club team environment and select the players that we believe best fit our player traits.
The FNSW technical department are in regular communication with Club technical directors to seek their recommendations for which players would be a good fit for the program. We continue to monitor players in and out of the program and evaluate at the end of each term if we need to bring players into the program for the new term.
The TSP is for players who are not currently part of an A-League academy.
Age Groups and Regions
All regions attend Valentine Sports Park (VSP) each fortnight on a Tuesday during school terms to play matches against the other regions and A-League academies. During the school holidays the TSP program participates in tournaments against the A-League academies and other Member Federations.
State Teams and Pathways
