Absolutely! I get the impression that somehow the club pushed the amateur game away over the years rather than fostering it. I maybe totally mistaken, I hope so!
Tbh I don’t see why clubs need academies anyway, has player development improved since the inception of academies in the 90s? No. Why can’t players at 16 sign apprenticeship forms at 16, only say 4 or 5 of the most talented players then allow them to train with first team and maybe have a amateur A team, competing in the conference? f
I think it's probably more scholarships that are the problem. I think having an Under 18s for pro teams works. But having Under 16s and less just takes players away from amateur clubs. That then leaves the remaining players disillusioned because their team has been made worse having lost their best players and also through disappointment that all their mates have been taken on professionally but they haven't. That then means they are lost to the game; and then when the players on scholarships don't make it, they are left disillusioned to and they're lost to the game as well.
Not every player needs to be a top Super League player. What rugby league needs is a wider player pool and greater participation. This is one of the main selling points of Widnes' academy too - yes, there are no world beaters, but it's still kept the likes of Matt Whitley in the game and given them an opportunity.
I accept your point but I reiterate my view, why do clubs feel the need to sign 18 16 year old from amateur sets up, depleting the amateur game when in fact, they could potentially only sign 3 or 4 of the most talented 16 years old, offer apprenticeship forms and allow me to grow in an “A team” set up.
Academies are a cheap option of getting young players into clubs. People go on about the quality of player the club has produced hasn’t been great over the years, but there has been a large amount of youngsters who played for the first team from the academy when we needed them due to our injury list. With salary caps dictating squads what better/cost effective way of getting players in the club was there for us. Plenty of clubs have had players come through their academies play a few games and then are released before getting a decent contract that would cost money, but realistically we wouldn’t have lasted half as long in super league without our academy as we signed plenty of injury prone players in our last stint in SL.
Whilst it does sadden me to see the loss of our academy due to the finances I cant help wondering without ours who is going to fill in the gaps in our squad.
Players at Scholarship (U16) can still and do play for their amateur sides. Some may choose not to or give priority to scholarship but their is nothing preventing scholarship players continuing to play for their amateur sides. At Academy Level (U18 -in year 2021 U19) players are paid and cannot play for their amateur sides.
As has been said, now is the time to strengthen ties between Widnes Vikings and the community game in the town.
just because the academy has gone doesn’t mean that there can’t/won’t be a way through for the best young players.
Needs a collective effort and some new ideas.
What rl i general needs is for every town with a pro club to give every effort to the amateur game to ensure it survives
For instance
the Widnes cup final at stadium as a warm up game
incentives to amateur clubs, ie cheap tickets
money back to amateur clubs when players from there signed to the pro club play a certain amount of games
Like the idea of the amateur game as a stadium preliminary fixture, with a bucket collection towards the amateur league.
Back in the mists of time I liked the schools u-11 7-a-side matches at half time.
In fact I remember one game when we were playing Whitehaven and the crowd were shouting to leave the kids on when the teams came out for the second half 🙂