21-12-2011, 08:31 PM
Quote:Nothing at home can prepare you for these events, like these events can!
I have already said that there should be other events that could be used as alternatives, that would be more appropriate level, and which would almost certainly be cheaper to attend - allowing players to play in them more frequently. For example there are regular events held in Budapest (First Saturday). Indeed there has been some move already in this direction with Murak (?) and the sending of the U16 team to the Olympiad.
The idea that a player gains a lot when being out gunned round after round is quite simply daft. I know the effect it had on Jonny's confidence and saw it in other players when they just couldn't score points until they had floated down towards the bottom of the draw. Sorry to harp on but in the swimming world swimmers get selected for different events so that they get experience of being amongst the best, mid-table and near the bottom of the table.
Quote:that these juniors are our elite in their age categories
Sure some players are not just the elite in their age group they are also really good players. But my point is that we are very much a small pond and not all players that are No.1 in their age group are in fact good enough to get much out of attending these events: they need different training and different experiences to develop. If they get that they may well then develop into players that do indeed demand a place at the next Worlds or Euros.
There is another aspect to this in that some age groups are stronger than others - it always seems to happen this way - and if you insist on taking at least one player from every group you either end up with strong players never getting a chance to play or you end up with a big squad that is hard to co-ordinate and really needs more trainers than CS can normally afford to send.
Quote:The next Magnus Carlsen might be in Scotland somewhere and if we cannot open opportunities to them at big events then we might never discover what they are capable of
You serious?! If we need to send players to these events to try and find out which are any good it does not say much for our development programs!