Small Sided Games... No VEO Needed
The future of Irish grassroots football is easily found. It resides in the academies and small sided teams that play from 4 to 11 years of age. It is here that the new generation of coaches are learning to develop the next generation of players. Volunteers, most often parents of children who chose to enjoy the greatest years in their child’s life, those playing football with their friends. These friends will most often become friends for life and the memories will remain clear and the experiences form a basis of how they grow to become successful adults in our society.
Mark Milligan’s Bushy Park Ranger’s born in 1973 team. My childhood team. Back then we all played 11 a side. Tiny bodies lost in a sea of grass. We even had sponsors back then which was 1986! Two of these players become my best friends and continue to be.
The generation now at SSG (Small Sided Games) are a technology savvy group. The kids are using mobile phones in ways that enlighten their parents. Parents or coaching volunteers have access to all sorts of positive and progressive coaching influence and ideas. The beautiful game is now seen as the game to play. Girls are flooding into the game and will occupy over 40% of players at SSG within the next 5 years. Futsal is also becoming increasingly popular. This small sided version of the game has within it a hidden opportunity.
Social Media is driving the popularity of the sport globally as football is the easiest game to both play and improve quickly at. It is also a very safe sport to play. It is a game that allows travel throughout the world, that is played in all universities and high level colleges. Football is a lifelong game with adults playing 5 -a-side, 6-a-side, 7-a-side and now “Walking Football” is a growing option for those less mobile. Women will queueing up for their own 5 a side slots in the not too distant future… certainly more fun than an hour in the gym!
But this short article is about Small Sided Games. The future of our sport resides there. The teams at SSG are beginning the journey of their lives. The journey, if captured, creates opportunities for sponsorship, fundraising and retention of talent. The journey can be immortalized. Technology is now flooding our sport but at SSG in particular systems like VEO are overkill, too expensive and inaccessible. Great if you have it but you don’t need it. Let me explain why…
In general you will fit a 7 v 7 pitch inside half a full pitch, and 2 x 5 v 5 pitches inside a 7 a side pitch.
Small Sided Games are for teams that play from U8 to U12. At under 8 they play 5 v 5 across half the size of a 7 v 7 pitch. A 7 v 7 pitch is smaller than a half of a full size pitch. At under 10 they move to 7 a side and then at u12 they move to 9 a side for one year before graduating to full 11 a side football at under 13.
The size of the pitch means that a well positioned modern smart phone will cover the game in full. The game will use up no more than 3Gb to 4Gb - split into halves this is 1.5Gb to 2Gb per half. Once you have the content the rest is easy as we will help you process it for whatever you want to do with it.
Note - in most highly developed footballing countries - most kids never play on grass - they play futsal and if they are serious enough they graduate to 11 a side. There are many reasons for this - mainly the amount of development achieved in a 40 min Futsal game far outweighs anything achieved with 50 minutes on grass for a 10 year old. But I am not here to promote the benefits of Futsal - as Futsal is another Small Sided game which… does not need VEO - it can be easily captured on a well positioned mobile phone.
I want to help all coaches out there to learn how they can capture entire SSG games on their mobile phones or even purchase a phone dedicated for this use (from our partner Mintplus.ie). To capture games with less stress, less weight, less cost, and less hassle than using any VEO or other game recording system.
All you need is
1) A particular type of tripod
2) A relatively modern smartphone
3) A technical support person like myself at Striker Online. We will help you unleash the potential of the content you generate.
Any coach which invests in this will now be able to store every game their teams play in. They will also learn how to manage the content and drive its value for the benefit of the team and the club. With some guidance from Striker Online that content can be commercialized to the benefit of the team and the club. All of a sudden your football journey can be funded by sponsors who want to be part of that journey too. And we all know what a wonderful journey it is.
It’s not difficult to imagine - for as long as logos could be printed on jerseys teams have had sponsors. The sponsors paid over money even though their jerseys only came out of the bag once a week. Even before Social Media, businesses saw the value in sponsoring a local team. Imagine the value a team now can offer as they have multiple platforms and a new generation that is kept entertained through their mobile devices. Jerseys are now cheap as chips and can have multiple sponsors printed. The day is coming when every player will be able to keep their jersey at the end of the season and it will have their own number and name on it. That day is not far away at all. That day is a sponsor’s dream. When a sponsor walks into a persons home and sees their logo on a shirt that has been framed and hung on their wall - they have hit the jackpot in marketing terms.
It’s a no brainer.
Once you learn how to capture the content, Striker Online will help you process it and add the value to it to achieve the objectives. Personally, I have learned lessons I would never have learned had I not thrust myself into the world of game videography. I have also learned amazing lessons from my own children in the way they interact with the content that is produced. I had no idea how functionally rich the Youtube platform was for the viewer. I had no idea how many children are creating and curating their own content online. After a few months on TikTok I am fully converted. The future is User Generated Content. If you are still reading this then you know exactly what I mean and our teams are creating it every week… only a very small group are capturing it.
If I can help coaches to capture games with ease and zero cost - then Striker Online could help revolutionise the world of grassroorts sponsorship.
No point in keeping all this information a secret. It’s more fun and far more beneficial if we compete on the pitch and collaborate off it!
There is no point in me holding this information in my head when I know it can do so much to help others in funding their team’s growth or even attracting, developing and retaining players. One game capture covers two competing teams - that’s two communities that are brought together around an event. I have observed these teams at SSG level be more Social Media savvy and the kids more demanding to be seen on their parents phones. I have witnessed the viewer levels of games contrast significantly between SSG and 11 a side football.
This is the future, and the answer to most grassroots problems is access to funds. The answer is in your pocket. Learn to use it and immortalize the greatest years of you and/or your child’s life. Learn how powerful the modern phone is and how easy you can capture a very good version of your Small Sided Game.
Once captured Striker Online will process it and help you to make it more valuable for sponsors. You have the raw material, you are playing games every week - there is no time to waste.
Sign up to my SSG-No Veo Needed Club
Once I receive your €10 donation I will begin guiding you through the steps. There are no hidden costs, no videos or any documentation needed. You will have to buy one of two pieces of equipment available from Amazon (less than €100) and off you go. My advice and guidance relates to how best to do it and how it can be made very valuable for your team and sponsors.
