Junior Football – Development Program

Chatswood Rangers Development Program 

Development Football at Chatswood Rangers refers to programs that are designed to offer levels of football that are above the usual ‘Community’ football that most players participate in. 

NSFA offers three Development Leagues to provide players with a high-level version of community football. These leagues act as the top tier of community football in their respective age groups, enforcing a minimum standard of coaching (all coaches meet a minimum level of qualification) and number of training sessions per week (usually two sessions per week).

The NSFA Development Leagues are:

Player participation in Development Teams is via selection trials and requires players to not only pay the coaching fees and standard Club registration fees, but to commit to the requirements of the program including two training sessions per week and consistent availability for matches throughout the season and pre-season. Players selected at trial and placed in a Development Team may still be removed from the team, and their place offered to another player, if they do not live up to the expectations.  The general process of participating in the Development Program, and other relevant milestones, are:

September/October 

November 

December

  • Team information session
  • Self-training and fitness work is encouraged

January

  • Outstanding balance of Development Program Fees due
  • Club registrations open late January – all players must register and pay Club Fees to be eligible to play in NSFA competitions
  • Team gathering and uniforms organised
  • Self-training and fitness work is encouraged

February

  • Self-training and fitness work is encouraged
  • Optional pre-season training offered (additional cost)
  • Club registrations – unregistered players need to complete this

March

April

May-July 

  • In-season training – twice per week
  • In-season matches Friday/Saturday/Sunday depending on league and NSFA schedule

August

  • Season ends (varying dates)
  • End of Season Finals for teams who qualify for finals, NSFA will schedule these after the final rounds of the season.

Key aspects of the Development Program are included below. Should you have further questions please direct them to the Development Football Coordinator at  footballdevelopment@chatswoodrangers.com.au

All coaches of Development Teams hold the minimum coaching qualifications as required by NSFA (many hold higher qualifications) and if they are over the age of 18 must hold a current Working With Children Number.  Vision Football (www.visionfootball.com) coordinate the coaching of all U10-U18 Development Teams.  All U8-U9 Development Teams are coached by Rangers coaches under the supervision of our Mini-Roos Coaching Coordinator.

Club Fees

The 2024 season Club fees are listed below. Fees are determined based on registration costs from NSFA and Football NSW as well as ground hire costs and other general expenses. As these costs fluctuate from year to year, Club fees are not determined until just before registrations open.

U6-U7 $235 (inc gst)

U8-U11 $325 (inc gst)

U12-U18 $365 (inc gst)

Sibling Discount – Rangers offers a 50% discount for the 3rd child in a family with any subsequent children in the same family being free.

Development Program Fees

The 2024 season Development Programs fees are included below. These fees cover the additional costs associated with the Development Teams including higher team fees, coaching costs, additional ground hire, pre-season matches and other general expenses. The 2025 fees will be set prior to trials.

U8-U9 $900 (inc gst)

U10-U11 $950 (inc gst)

U12-U14 $1000 (inc gst)

U15-U18 $1050 (inc gst)

Trial Matches (pre-season)

All Development Teams will have trial matches against other NSFA teams, teams from other associations, or other Rangers teams. These matches are ‘non-competition’ matches, so do not form part of the NSFA Winter Season but will be played to allow coaches to see players perform in various positions, to allow the players to get to know one another and start to develop their bond as a team, and to prepare the teams to be competition ready for the start of the Winter Season.

The cost of trial matches are included in the Development Program Fees.

In-Season Matches

All matches during the Winter Season are scheduled by NSFA and will be published on Dribl. Regulations such as match length, field sizes, and other rules of the competition can be found on the NSFA webiste

Generally the Winter Season consists of up to 18 rounds with one match per round, except in divisions with an odd number of teams where a bye rounds will occur.

Finals Matches

The NSFA publishes it’s approach to finals closer to the end of the season once it is certain there is enough time to allow finals to be played (if many rounds were affected by the weather or cancelled for other reasons, finals may not be played or could be in a reduced format).

Additional Competitions

There are a number of additional competitions that teams are able to enter throughout the year. Decisions to enter these tournaments/Cups will be made once teams are formed. Costs involved with entering the tournaments such as coaching, registration and accomodation (when needed) are not covered by the Development Program Fees so would incur additional charges for players who participate.

Some of these tournaments include:

Bathurst Cup

Held in early February for U13 to U16 teams, is an opportunity for the players (& parents) to have a fun weekend in Bathurst and play lots of football against quality opposition.

Teams play between 4 and 5 games against a mix of rep and club sides from all over NSW.

This can be a great way for new players to connect with their team and is an opportunity for the teams to bond/reconnect ahead of the season.

Kanga Cup

Held in Canberra in the July school holidays for U9-U18 teams and is the largest football tournament in the Southern Hemisphere. While it is a very competitive tournament, it is also a fantastic week of football with plenty of socialising and activity to keep the players and their families occupied. Teams play 1-2 games per day from Monday to Thursday and hopefully make the finals on the Friday. The cold weather, the football and the social side always makes this a week to remember. Find out more about Kanga Cup.

Proctor Cup

Held in early February for G12 to G16 teams, is an opportunity for the players (& parents) to have a fun weekend in Bathurst and play lots of football against quality opposition.

Teams play between 4 and 5 matches against a mix of rep and club sides from all over NSW.

This can be a great way for new players to connect with their team and is an opportunity for the teams to bond/reconnect ahead of the season.

State Cup

This is a knockout tournament against other NSW teams. Matches are scheduled for every other weekend from late May to July. Find out more about the State Cup.

All Chatswood Rangers Teams are entered into the NSFA Winter Competition which generally runs from the start of April to the end of August (including finals when played).

The NSFA schedules matches with ‘Home’ and ‘Away’ fixtures delivering the schedule through Dribl with several rounds being published at a time. Generally, Mixed & Men’s Teams play on Saturdays and Girls & Women’s Teams play on Sundays, however there is often some variation to this with matches being scheduled outside of the usual timings, including some teams playing on Friday nights. Full details of the NSFA competitions, including the rules and regulations for each age group and league, can be found on the NSFA Website.

Following the first trial, coaches will rank players and provide the Club with recommendations for player offers. Further assessments and ranking will be carried out at the second trial. The third trial will only be used when necessary. Some players will be made an offer after the first trial and others after the second trial. Final offers will be made based on acceptance of the initial offers and remaining places in each team.  Offers will be sent via email/Team Grader and include all relevant information and reference to the details contained here. An offer must be accepted in writing via response to the email/Team Grader communication and be accompanied, within 7 days, by payment of the Non-Refundable Deposit of 50% of the Development Fee. Failure to respond to the offer within 7 days and make payment of the deposit, will render the offer void and the next player in the rankings will be offered the place.

Club Registrations

All players across Chatswood Rangers are required to pay the Club Registration Fee (see below) in order to be eligible to play and train with the Club. Registration is carried out through the Play Football platform run by Football NSW. Further information and links to registration portals can be found on either the Junior Football and Senior Football pages of the Rangers website.

Development Team Registrations

There is no separate process to register to play for a Development Team, registration is covered by the standard Club registration as above. Once a player has accepted a place in a Development Team and has completed the Club registration, the Club Registrar will place the player in the appropriate team in Dribl.

Note: while the Club registration process and fee allows a player to be eligible to play, they must pay the additional Development Program Fee in order to cover the additional costs such as coaching fees, ground hire for additional training and other costs related to the running of the program.

Pre-season Training
All Development Teams commence training earlier than Community Teams and train twice per week. Generally, JDL/SL/DL teams will commence pre-season training 6-8 weeks prior to the start of the season. Other Development Teams generally commence pre-season training 4 weeks prior to the start of the season.

In-season Training
All Development Teams train twice per week with each training session being 60-75min.

Optional Training Programs 
Throughout the year, the Club may offer additional training programs outside of the team training sessions. These are optional and incur additional costs to the Development Fees.

Development Team Trials

All players selected for a Development Team must participate in a trial. Trials are generally held in November each year with notice being shared via the Rangers website, Facebook pages and other communications.  Trials are coordinated and carried out by the coaches who work with the Development Teams and consist of:

Trial #1 – skills-based assessment

Trial #2 – match play assessment

Trial #3 – call backs and additional trial if needed

After the first trial, a player may be notified that they have not met the minimum standard of play and will not be required at further trials. Players who are successful at trial will be send an offer via email and will have 7 days to make the Non-Refundable Deposit of 50% of the Development Fee in order to accept the offer. If the payment is not made, or the player turns down the offer by reply to the email, then the next player in the offers list will offered the place.

Community Team Trials

Generally, we do not run trials for Community Teams as these teams are formed socially or based on registrations of players who have not played for Rangers before.

Uniforms are available via the Club online shop. All players must wear the official Chatswood Rangers uniform (jersey, shorts & socks). Additional Rangers branded items, such as hoodies and jackets, can be purchased should players wish to do so.