Information for Junior Players
Kids can start playing in the year they turn 5!!! (Or any season after that age). Curl Curl caters for beginners as well as seasoned players.
The local association, Manly Warringah Football Association, sets the rules for our age groups and their game formats, following the guidelines of Football Australia.
Kids as young as 5 or 6 (turning that age this year) can start playing Club Football in the Under 6 group. This group includes both boys and girls (mixed).
From the age of 7 up to 18, there are mixed teams that play on Saturdays and all-girls teams that play on Sundays (from W-7 to W-18). Girls younger than 7 can join these all-girls teams if they prefer.
The exception to Saturday or Sunday games is the division one teams for 18s and W-18s which both play on Friday nights.
Here is (most) everything you need to know...
MiniRoos (ages 5 - 11)
Interested in Youth (12-18)?
Scroll down or click here
MiniRoos uses smaller fields, smaller sided play and modified rules to give younger kids the best environment to develop skills in a fun way. The concept aims to try and give younger players more touches of the ball, and thereby increase both their enjoyment of the game and their skill development.
MiniRoos games are not "refereed" as such but are led by a parent volunteer called a "Game Leader". The focus is on fun rather than results.
Mixed games are Saturday mornings, with start times from 8:30am until sometimes as late as a 12:30pm start. Girls games are similar timings, but on Sunday mornings. Our home fields are at Abbott Road, North Curl Curl, but games can be anywhere from Avalon to Mosman and as far west as Forestville. U6 usually plays a subset of clubs and so games are usually close.
Team training is mid-week, with the day and time dependent on the coach.
The club also runs Junior Development Training on Monday afternoons/evenings during season. This is an additional but very reasonably priced program, focusing on individual training, and separate to team training.
Under 6 and 7 and Girls Under 7s (W-7)
In the youngest age groups, the play is in a 4 v 4 format, on mini fields with small pop-up goals and no goalkeepers. A smaller ball is used (size 3). Games are played in two 20 minute halves. Teams are not graded and scores for games are not recorded.
Under 8 and 9 and W-8 and W-9
At 8, play moves to the half field and games are in the 7-a-side format with a goalkeeper. At these ages it is suggested that all players take a turn at goal keeping if they are up to it. Specialisation as a goalkeeper is not usually encouraged until teenage years. Ball size is still size 3. Games are still in 20 minute halves.
There may be some grading at age 8 to give stronger individuals the opportunity to play alongside and against other strong players, and also so the club has a measure of how players are progressing. But most teams will still be social and players can continue in their current teams if happy. Scores are recorded for in-season re-grading of teams that are being beaten regularly or winning by large margins. But scores are not published.
Under 10 and 11 and W-10 and W-11
For the 10 and 11 year old age groups, play moves to the 3/4 pitch, although some 11/W-11 games are played on a shortened full pitch. The team size moves to 9 on the field, including a goalkeeper. The ball size increase to size 4. Game time increases to 25 minutes each way.
From age 10 players are individually graded so that teams can be formed from similar skill levels and entered into the appropriate division in the local competition. While there is often capacity for players to play with their similarly skilled friends, friends with vastly different skill levels will need to be placed in different teams so as to be fair to other team mates and to the opposition teams. Scores are recorded but not published.
Season Dates
The season runs from the first weekend in April until the second last weekend in August for MiniRoos. Easter and the middle weekends during school holidays are rostered off, but the first and last weekend of the holidays usually have games.
What to expect
U6, U7 & W-7 will play different teams each week. There are no scores recorded in these ages, so there will not be any mid-season regrading.
U8/W-8 to U11/W-11 will have constant regrading during the season. This means that the draw will likely change every 5 or so weeks. This is done by the association so that teams get to play other teams of similar standards as much as possible. Otherwise some teams would win all the time and others might be struggling and overwhelmed every game.
Keep scrolling down for Youth Ages (12-18)
A MiniRoos Season...
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Youth (ages 12 - 18)
For 12s to 16s, mixed games are Saturday mornings, with start times from 8:30am until sometimes as late as a 12:30pm start. Girl's W-12s to W-16s games are similar timings, but on Sunday mornings.
Division 1 of both W-18s and 18s play Friday evenings. Lower division 18s play Saturday afternoons with kickoff at either 1pm or 3pm. And lower division W-18s play at 11:15am on Sundays. These times are set by the association and so may be changed with little notice.
Our home fields are at Abbott Road, North Curl Curl, but games can be anywhere from Avalon to Mosman and as far west as Forestville.
Team training is mid-week, with the day and time dependent on the coach.
The club also runs Junior Development Training on Monday afternoons/evenings during season. This is an additional, but very reasonably priced program, focusing on individual training, and separate to team training.
Under 12 and Girl's Under 12 (W-12)
Under 12s, while moving to competition level where scores are recorded and where referees take over from parent game leaders, is still played on a shortened full field with 9-a-side format. The ball size remains at size 4. Haves are 25 minutes. Players are individually graded as per U10. Again, while there is often capacity for players to play with their similarly skilled friends, friends with vastly different skill levels will need to be placed in different teams so as to be fair to other team mates and to the opposition teams.
Under 13 and W-13
Play moves to the full field, with the 11-a-side format. The ball remains at size 4. Game halves increase to 30 minutes. Players are individually graded and placed in teams accordingly.
Under 14 and W-14
The ball goes up to full size at size 5. Game halves remain at 30 minutes. Players are individually graded and placed in teams accordingly.
Under 15 and 16 and W-15 and W-16
Game length increases to halves of 35 minutes. Players are individually graded and placed in teams accordingly.
Under 18 and W-18
These age groups cater for 17 and 18 year olds. Game length increases to adult game format of 45 minutes each way. Players are individually graded if appropriate but, as for adult teams, social teams are entertained in certain situations.
A Youth Season...
Competition Dates 2024
Youth Competitions Commence as follows:
5th April: Friday night Comp for 18/1 and W-18/1
6th April: Mixed
7th April: Girls
Finals Dates:
TBC - (prob 9th August): Friday Night 18/1s Semis
10th Aug: All other Mixed Semis
17th Aug: Mixed Finals
18th August: Girl's Semis
25th August: Girl's Finals
NOTE: Juniors do not play Easter Weekend or the middle weekends of school holidays.
Competition Matrix
The Matrix maps out the expected dates for games for each Age and Division. Note that divisions can have different numbers of teams and therefore different numbers of games in a round. Therefore, some divisions may not have games fit perfectly into the season. As a result some teams may have extra games midweek or on a day that they do not normally play. And some teams may have weekends scheduled without a game.
Where there are washout rounds in the matrix, these are rounds for catching up games missed due to wet weather. If no games have been missed, expect the association (MWFA) to bring a game forward from the schedule. This is often only updated in the competition system (Dribl) during the week prior. Do not assume that there will not be a game just because it is not yet showing on Dribl.
Likewise, finals, split rounds and round robins will not show on Dribl until just prior as the scheduling cannot be done until all results are in. In this case go off what is mapped out in the matrix.
Draw/Results
For your specific game information, download the Dribl App from the app store and follow your team. Then you will easily be able to see your fixtures and results.
The full MWFA draws and fixtures can be found at https://mwfa.dribl.com/. You can filter for your Age/Division.
What to expect
Teams are entered into divisions prior to the season kick-off. We request a division for each team based on grading performances. The association (MWFA) assesses all the requests, taking into account player history (where teams they played in previously placed) and finalises the divisions.
Once the divisions are set, team play in those divisions for the entire season. There is no mid-season re-grading.
Sometimes teams will find that they are not a great fit for the division they have been placed in, but everyone needs to make the best of it, focus less on the score and take opportunities to learn something from every game.
Resources for Players
Local Holiday Courses
For Curl Curl FC courses see "Holiday Camps"
Manly United School Holiday Camp
Half day and full day camps
http://www.manlyunitedfc.com.au/school-holiday-camps/
Kikoff Harbord Holiday Camp
Half and full day camps available
https://choosefootball.com.au/holiday-camps/
Brazilian Soccer School Holiday Camps
Full or half days available.
Warringah Recreation centre, Manly Vale..
https://www.bssnorthernbeaches.com/holiday-clinics-xsdcl
Online Skill Challenges for Players
Skill challenges for MiniRoos players from Play Football
Skill challenges for players from Play Football
Skill challenges for Goalkeepers from Play Football
Rules
Let's Get
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