This long weekend more than 220 of northern NSW’s most talented 11 and 12-year-old male footballers will compete in the annual Telstra State SAP Championships in Coffs Harbour.
The championships is contested by 16 teams made up from the seven member zones, and it is the pinnacle event supporting the development of young players through the implementation of Licensed Skill Acquisition Programs (SAPs).
The format of the championships has been amended to acknowledge the vital contribution of SAPs to the development of players within Northern NSW Football’s talented player pathway (TPP) initiative.
While skill development is clearly the primary focus of the skill acquisition phase of a player’s development, players also have to advance their understanding of the game to apply these skills in competitive matches and progress their football career.
NNSWF technical director Michael Browne is looking forward to the talent that will be showcased across the three-day tournament.
“The Telstra SAP State Championships for boys is always a very popular and keenly contested tournament,” Browne said.
“The participating teams all play against each other over two-and-a-half days and the format enables zones to compare their players against others from different parts of the state.
“Players in both age groups have the opportunity to earn themselves a place in the high-performance camp scheduled for January, 2019, and in addition staff from Newcastle Jets will also be present to looking for potential players.”
