Competitive Engineering Junior Football to Enhance Player, Parent and Coach Experiences
In a previous blog I discussed the merits of small sided game forms for junior football practice and game day experience. In the project I discuss in this blog, we used the concept of competitive engineering to investigate player, parent and coach experiences of a competition deliberately structurally changed to 9-a-side format rather than the regular competition form, in this association which was 18-a-side for U8's.
Competitive engineering is a concept involving systematic changes of the competition format to enhance player experience. Burton et al 2011 explained the idea of competitive engineering in detail. In a first study of their concept looking at Flag football with junior players, Burton et al 2011b found that competitive engineering increased player engagement and decreased competition attrition.
Our study looked at U8 Australian football. We found that the players described having more 'fun' and gaining more enjoyment from the 9-a-side structure. They gained enjoyment from the increased likelihood of touching the ball and kicking a goal than in the regular competition format. Players reported feeling more confident in their ability as a result of the 9-a-side engagement. Parents also appreciated the 9-a-side format. They found they had less chance to look away from the game as their child was more likely to be involved in the game and they didn't want to miss their child's 'moment' which might be raised later _'did you see me do that kick?'. The parents reported more pleasure from their spectating as a consequence. Coaches told us they felt the 9-a-side format provided a better 'educative' experience for players, as the volume of individual practice was higher in this format.
There isn't a lot of research in small sided game formats and competition engineering in Australian football. While a large body of work over many years has been done in Association football (soccer) and more recently in Gaelic Football through the influence of Mickey Whelan, further research is warranted in other invasion games like Australian football to build the case for deliberate scaling of competition formats to provide a structured pathway from junior entry to adult game format. One of the obstructions I found in meetings with another association that came from some coaches when we proposed the trial of 9-a-side football at U8 and U9 was that the research had not been done in 'our game', and research from other sports didn't apply as 'their games are different'.
To read more about this study go to https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajrs/article/view/133825
or find a pre-publication version at https://www.academia.edu/24421484/Competitive_engineering_in_Junior_Australian_Football_Perceptions
Competitive engineering is a concept involving systematic changes of the competition format to enhance player experience. Burton et al 2011 explained the idea of competitive engineering in detail. In a first study of their concept looking at Flag football with junior players, Burton et al 2011b found that competitive engineering increased player engagement and decreased competition attrition.
Our study looked at U8 Australian football. We found that the players described having more 'fun' and gaining more enjoyment from the 9-a-side structure. They gained enjoyment from the increased likelihood of touching the ball and kicking a goal than in the regular competition format. Players reported feeling more confident in their ability as a result of the 9-a-side engagement. Parents also appreciated the 9-a-side format. They found they had less chance to look away from the game as their child was more likely to be involved in the game and they didn't want to miss their child's 'moment' which might be raised later _'did you see me do that kick?'. The parents reported more pleasure from their spectating as a consequence. Coaches told us they felt the 9-a-side format provided a better 'educative' experience for players, as the volume of individual practice was higher in this format.
There isn't a lot of research in small sided game formats and competition engineering in Australian football. While a large body of work over many years has been done in Association football (soccer) and more recently in Gaelic Football through the influence of Mickey Whelan, further research is warranted in other invasion games like Australian football to build the case for deliberate scaling of competition formats to provide a structured pathway from junior entry to adult game format. One of the obstructions I found in meetings with another association that came from some coaches when we proposed the trial of 9-a-side football at U8 and U9 was that the research had not been done in 'our game', and research from other sports didn't apply as 'their games are different'.
To read more about this study go to https://www.ajol.info/index.php/sajrs/article/view/133825
or find a pre-publication version at https://www.academia.edu/24421484/Competitive_engineering_in_Junior_Australian_Football_Perceptions
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