I haven't seen any age group football for many years.
My cousin coached a North Sydney age group side that included some future stars, Larsen, Florimo from memory.
Anyway, the focus was always on defense and structure. Training was a serious affair.
Later on he coached an Auckland under 16 side. Some came to trials without boots. Had a giant side with great raw athletes but little structure and discipline to work with and not that interested in defense. A couple went on to have professional football careers.
With the demise of age group football in NZ, has this improved, or , do we mainly pick up athletes from secondary school rugby where training and discipline is part of the scene.