Tonight’s program begins on a high note. The young ACT Football and Futsalroo, Tom Rogic has won a place in the prestigious Nike Football Academy in the UK. He was one only eight players, from a world wide baseline of 75,000 aspiring young football players, to win a scholarship to train at the Nike Academy. The process that saw him selected from many in Australia, then go to the UK to compete among a highly select group of finalists – is call “the Chance”
Well, it certainly is that for the young Tom Rogic – 18 years of age and looking at the world of football froma very lofty height.
The Nike Academy will provide an unrivalled opportunity for Rogic to make himself known to the prestigious football clubs in Europe. All things being equal, good timing and a good deal more hard work, Tom Rogic is on his way.
Tom Rogic picture and story made front page news for Football in the Canberra Times - now you don't see that every day of the week in ACT Football!
I do not know the detail of Rogic’s football story. I have seen him play a few games over recent years in both football and futsal. I wish he was playing for my club. In researching this story I have spoken to some who reckon they do know his story, but mostly I think they do not. One person who definitely does know is his immediate past PL Coach at ANU – John Mitchell.
So we begin tonight’s program with a short discussion with John Mitchell, Tom Rogic’s Pl Coach for the last two years. John brings us up to date with young Rogic’s success and makes the very important point, that Rogic’s success can be traced back to his football education from the age of 11 to 14 years, where he developed the good football habits pioneered here by Ron Smith.
Then we follow with a fascinating interview I did with John Mitchell about his work with ANU and the ANU Under 20 Elite program. The NPL has broadcast some part of this interview before, but given Rogic’s success, the finalisation of the Ron Smith Review and the very recent appointment of a new TD at Cf – this interview has a lot to recommend it. Mitchell’s ANU U20 Elite program was a bold initiative at the time, one that made other PL clubs stand up and take notice and change. Mitchell’s plan was to do something about what he refers to, in talented footballer development terms as a “tragic vacant space” for those of our ACT talented players between the ages of 17 to 20 years of age.
In so many ways, John Mitchell got it right and in doing so, provided Tom Rogic with exactly the football diet he needed to assist in his desire to break into professional football. The interview speaks for itself and merits careful consideration, particularly as we enter a period that fair bristles with the prospect and necessity for positive change concerning the development of all our young players. If we do what we have always done, we will get what we have always got.
We have a new TD about to take his post at CF and a comprehensive “football operational” style review by Ron Smith that points squarely in the direction of “are you serious”! Many in the Football community are waiting to see how it will all unfold in 2011.
As they say, we live in interesting football times. And Australia is in the semis of the Asian Cup.
The time for change couldn’t be better. The extravagantly talented young Rogic and energetic football ideas people like John Mitchell, show that we can change our player development environment here in the ACT for the better, for all our players. As they say, “Game On”!
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