Scotlands "8" squad

[pol]

I know that there is a thread similar to this one that talks about the "16" but I have heard as many people have that there is another top Scottish squad called the "8". I was wondering if anyone could tell me if it exists? What it is? Who is in it? And share their views of what it actually is.

[xiaxaunze]

thats the full scottish institute juniors, the next step on from the lottery squad.

think its

Jacquline gilliland
Stewart gilliland
gillian sloan
linda sloan
Jackob van den berg
julie boyd
thomas bethell
And last but by no means least, the legendry....
Kyle Longmuir

[JohnEllis]

Pol

I found Jamie Neill's expanation on the Scotland v England thread helpful in answering your question. Pleased to understand why they were omitted from the "16".

[pol]

Thank you mark for the list of players and thank you John now I understand what the "8" is. As I understand martin Cambell is in the “16” but he is at the top of his age group according to the ranking lists followed by Kyle Longmuir who is in the "8" and Stephen Connelly who is in nothing.

The point am trying to make is that why is Kyle (2nd) and Jacob (4th) in the "8" and Martin (1st) isn't. But surly he can beat them if he is at the top of his age group.

And also what about Iain Nixon (10th) and Angus Gilmour (12th) there are many people above them that are not in the “8” or the “16”.

[mcsmegor]

jakob was the best in that age group i believe last season and that was when he was selected for the group...however he has spent the whole of this season out injured. also as far as i am aware the reason kyle is in that squad is due to his hard working attitude and his promise for the future..the only people who would know why martin is not in the squad are the selectors. it is interesting though that the highest ranked player is not within that group.
the same could be said about why stuart gilliland is in that squad ahead of watson briggs who is ranked higher. But as with everything it is down to who the selectors see as promising for the future. Only time will tell

[martin]

actually jakob was no not winning before he was injured but he was still 2nd and no.1 at doubkles with martin campbell and angus's ranking position does not prove how good he is

[Phil McBride]

If a ranking position does not prove how good someone is then what does?

[pol]

How true. How good is angus then top 3, top 5 or top 10. but you wouldnt think so if he is 12th. you dont tend to get good players that have a poor ranking.Do you?

[martin]

Angus has had a back injury for adges he is usually no.2 at doubles n in the top 6 at singles

[martin]

true jakob was the best when he got picked for the 8 so he deserved it

[Stonecold]

without doubting the players u mentioned pol who are on top of their age group, the 8 squad was picked by Ray Stevens, their coach, over a lengthy period, say 3-4 months.

he went to all the tournaments making notes on who he regarded as having the potential to make it in the future and now works with them individually, especially emphasising the technical side of the game, which they are all improving at. The fact that he left out top ranked players in some categories isn't really surprising as they dont often progress to be consistently no.1, which ray must see as lying within those he chose .

i remember aged 12 i was roughly no.10 in my age for singles, with the odd upset or semi final/final, then gradual training increase and deveopment helped to no.5 ish by about 14, then after that i was competing in the top 3 regularly til i was under 19, and myself and the other 2 from that top 3 are the only 1's still playing from my age group from the beginning. so it by no means proves that a player at no,12 cant be the best...they may not be it right but that means very little if selecting a squad who are hoped ot burst into senior badminton as winners in 6-10 years time.

what will be interesting though is if his expertees in coaching and having been there (world class) will develop these players how he initially thought, and will they be the right players to take advantage and fulfill what he sees in them. It does by no means mean that those not chosen cant still improve and challenge those in the 8 every step of the way. Perhaps for a team competition at their own age, yes the top players should be chosen , but when you have a 5 or 6 year plan of development then it surely means more than who is on top aged 13 or thereabouts. even people outwith the institute 8 or lottery 16 can still make it more successfully. as greg says- only time will tell.

[Phil McBride]

Well that's it exactly Jamie, same thing with the lottery squad they have the potential and everyone is sorting Scottish badminotn out with a view to the long term.

This is good but all along the way coaches pick people they think have the guts and determination to succeed and more importaintly will get the most from coaching by the individual(s) concerned. REmember at the age of 12 there is still a lot of development both physically and mentally to be done in each individual personally and also taught by parents, coaches etc.

It's very interesting that you point out the quantity of players from early age group badminton to the adult level - The only person playing that I can remember being around when my gang of rabble was about is Graeme Smith and he has made it to the top!

As Jamie points out there seems to be a little problem keeping players through the late teens and early twenties when other activities take their place at the forefront of their lives.

[martin]

actually i dint see ray at many of the tournaments with the notebook

[Phil McBride]

Maybe he was watching you watching him and didn't want to jot until he was sure it was in total secrecy.

Who cares what you did or didn't see, how can you challenge his decision. He probably knows what he is looking for and did it mentally, afterall he's only been doing it for years!

[init]

i saw him with a notebook at the glasgow compitition in about november

[pol]

wat age group

[init]

u15 @ cockburn centre
was an u18 or u19 on da same day

[pol]

wat unders are u in, in it and scotland 2004 are u well ranked

[Stonecold]

"to see, you only have to look"
- Gremlins, 1984

[Phil McBride]

In the land of the blind even the one eyed man can be king!

Just thought it made sense to post since the topic has meandered somewhat

P.S. What's Mark Kyle doing posting as himself and not as Haffa Jaffa? Maybe the word in his ear by Coach Hogg worked!

[init]

i am u15

[alfy]

This