NICK Dal Santo understands the philosophy of new AFL guidelines that recommend banning match scores and ladders from under-10 club competitions across Australia, but is glad he got the chance at that age to savour wins, cope with losses and play finals.

 

The AFL is set to release a new guide for the conduct of football programs for children aged five to 12, This is Our Game, which will include match-day regulations for under-age competitions.

 

For under-nine and under-10 competitions, it will recommend that there be: "No premiership points, no finals, no ladders, no match results (no score) and no names of players published."

 

These conditions previously applied to under-eight and some under-nine competitions in Victoria.

 

"I can understand where [the AFL is] coming from. I think the main thing for kids is obviously participation, enjoyment, understanding the game and playing it in the right manner," Dal Santo said on Monday at the launch of the Victorian NAB AFL Auskick season at Arden Street.

 

"But in saying that … if I was at that age again I'd like to know if we were winning or losing."

 

Dal Santo said he had loved the opportunity to play in finals when he was a junior in Bendigo and thought learning to cope with winning and losing was an important part of a young footballer's development.

 

"It's a good lesson in life that things don't always go your way," Dal Santo said.

 

NAB AFL Auskick national ambassador Shane Crawford backed the new guidelines, saying introducing scoring too early could ruin children's enjoyment of football.

 

"It can take the fun away from some kids," Crawford said on Monday.

 

"One thing I really stress with all the young kids is that they've got to enjoy participating and being active and that's the No.1 focus that we concentrate on.

 

"Initially, especially when they're developing and in the early years of just trying to understand and enjoy the game, I think it should be all about fun and not necessarily concentrating on the scoreboard.

"I've seen kids walk away from games at seven or eight years of age totally devastated because they've been thumped and it didn't go their way.

 

"Whereas this way everyone walks away from it happy. I think there's a lot of merit to it."

 

AFL national development manager Josh Vanderloo told News Ltd the new guidelines had been formulated to encourage junior players to have "an enjoyment philosophy rather than a winning philosophy".

 

"Our research shows that kids play the game to have fun and not just to win," Vanderloo said.