He like a number of players at his club has been well nutured by the club and coaches , he has been given opportunities to further develop his skills and extra sessions to improve his overall playing technique.

Maybe the club you are or were involved with didn’t do the right thing but not all clubs should be thrown into that barrell.

Club Football is the lifeblood of the game in Tassie , majority of administrators ( yes i am one of those volunteers and happy to be so ) and coaches are involved for the love of the game and mateship that can be developed .

We are not at the sexy end of the game - National champs - A lEAGUE - Institutes - like FFT , just what is best for the club and the game - sure we look after our club and attempt to bring best practices to our program - WE PAY THE FEES TO EMPLOY THE COACHES AND ADMINISTRATORS AT FFT .

If you want to see what clubs are about join one and then see how hard it is to meet the demands of FFT - parents - players and coaches.

As to your comments about 14 - 15 year olds - if they are good enough the clubs have and will continue to provide the opportunities - look at the mean age group of Premier League senior teams and you will understand what i am saying.

Blackjack my point all along.
From what I can see FFt has buffed up junior dvelopment, but that proffessionalism or level needs to be carried through to clubs. What of a player that has a high level of ability, say is not picked at a state level u/15, who have over past seasons played at a higher age group and also regional, will go to a club and play u/16, when potentially could play higher.

For the fact you can’t understand just HOW extraodinarily expensive it is to represent your state says to me that you have not been involved from a parental perspective for many years, if at all. So are you “shooting from the hip” on this one too?

Both of you get on with life and look at the real issue….

From previous correspondents the cost is large , my families experiences having a child come through the program involving - trials - training - games - camps - local tournaments and then interstate tours was around $5,500.
Some would have been cheaper but being the football fanatic I wanted to be at training sessions took the family away for tournaments( local only ) to provide family support and such.
Great experience not cheap but worth it at the time ;
As a parent what did my child get out of it - valuable life experiences , opportunity to make life long friends playing the sport of choice, experience the difference in abilities and techniques other states were able to show.- standards they would like to one day achieve.
It is unfortunate that upon return - nothing has been provided for any of the players to continue their development.
This is the area we should be concerned about - through them into clubland at 15 goodbye !
And yes , i recognise we the parents will have to further fund any program but maybe we are willing to take on that cost…

Why can’t our under 18 team enter the Singapore tournament ????

I still believe that to play any sport at the highest level is an honour for that player, and to compete against the best from all States is a dream for many a sportsperson. Yes there is a cost involved, but the above amount suggested is extraordinary.

It all adds up. It’s got nothing to do with travelling with Harry Kewell. This type of statement demonstrates how detached you are from the facts.

Maybe FFT pays your way. Lucky you.