He is among the very youngest in Finnmarkshallen when the artificial grass is cleared ready for a new training session with Alta IF’s A team. – I think that every training should be my very best. It should not just be enough training, but it should mean something. Jonathan Vonheim Norbye has become a regular sight in the back row of Alta IF. With a calmness and confidence in his game, the 16-year-old has made the centre-back position his own. Now the German top club RB Leipzig wants to buy the talent for over NOK 10 million, according to Altaposten. Jonathan Vonheim Norbye is 16 years old and has a permanent place in the A team of Alta IF. Photo: André Bendixen / news Has changed his philosophy Vonheim Norbye is one of many 16- and 17-year-olds at Alta IF’s A-team training. This was not the case a few years ago. – Before, it was thought that young players had to mature and gain experience before they could get a place in the team. In my mind it is wrong. If you are 16 and good enough, you have a place on the A team. That’s what the sporting director of Alta IF, Bernt Berg, says. He enthusiastically follows today’s training for the 2nd division club. Bernt Berg is sporting manager at Alta IF: – We are no longer so concerned with bringing in players from outside. We are now focusing on recruiting our own young players. Photo: André Bendixen / news Alta IF is one of many clubs in grassroots football that now spends far more resources on developing its own young players. – We now have full-time coaches with expertise in recruitment, who have their own responsibility for the young players, says Berg. He believes this lays the foundation for a good daily training routine for the youngest. – That is the key to their success. In addition to Jonathan, we have two others aged 16 and 17 who are knocking on the door for a permanent place in the A team. At Alta IF’s A-team training, there are many young faces to be seen: – Now we are younger, and then we have fun together. It is a good culture for our development, says Jonathan Vonheim Norbye. Photo: André Bendixen / news – We are in the middle of a revolution Vonheim Norbye himself is aware of what his club is succeeding at. – The coaches here give me confidence and security. Then I have fun, and kick more out of myself in every single training session. Head of coach and player development in the Norwegian Football Association, Håkon Grøttland, believes Vonheim Norbye hits the nail on the head. – Being present at training is absolutely essential to becoming a good footballer. And you get that through security and trust in the trainers, says Grøttland. Håkon Grøttland is head of coach and player development in the Norwegian Football Association. – It is a very exciting time in Norway now. We are starting to gain confidence as a player development nation, he says. Photo: JON OLAV NESVOLD / BILDBYRÅN NORWAY Where the 90s was the age of playing style with Drillo at the forefront, Norway is now in the age of player development, according to Grøttland. – We are in the middle of a revolution in player development in Norway. We have been in the backlog before, but during the last 10 years an incredible amount has happened. He sees a clear turn in how the clubs spend their money. – Before, the wider clubs spent all the money on the A team and disowned footballers. Now we see that the same clubs are spending the money on trained coaches with a focus on the younger year groups. Top clubs scout for Norway We are now seeing the result of a conscious focus on player development in Norwegian clubs over the past 10 years. Assistant coach for Norway’s G16 national team, Vidar Johnsen, thinks so. – Our age-specific national teams are more competitive and go to the playoffs in tournaments for both G17 and G19. When the Norwegian G16 national team participated in the Uefa development tournament recently, Vonheim Norbye played together with his teammate in Alta IF, Teo Emanuel Hindenes Ingilæ. Teo Emanuel Hindenes Ingilæ, Jonathan Vonheim Norbye and Vidar Johnsen are satisfied after the Norwegian G16 national team crushed Turkey 5-0 in the Uefa development tournament. Photo: Norwegian Football Association – They are two talented boys who have come a long way in their development. We are very satisfied with what they delivered, and they should be too, says Johnsen. He sees more and more scouts from top European clubs at the matches for the Norwegian age-restricted national teams. – There is more competition for Norwegian players in Europe. We see that top European clubs are now showing great interest in young Norwegian players. It’s part of the package for the youngsters, so it’s about keeping your feet firmly planted on the ground. Vidar Johnsen is assistant coach for the Norwegian G16 national team and coach developer in the Finnmark football circuit. – Norwegian clubs now have more professional coaches who provide better follow-up in everyday training for the young players, says Johnsen. Photo: André Bendixen / news – Shows that it works It is not everyday that a club in the second division has two players on the G16 national team. Although Hindenes Ingilæ also trains with Alta IF’s A team, he does not have a permanent place in the team like Vonheim Norbye has – yet. – I train hard to play my way into the first eleven. The club gives me extra follow-up and makes things easier for me with personal training, among other things, says the 16-year-old. Teo Emanuel Hindenes Ingilæ is one of several 16- and 17-year-olds at Alta IF’s A-team training. Photo: André Bendixen / news He is inspired by the fact that his friend and teammate could end up in the Bundesliga in the summer. – The fact that, in such a small club as Alta IF, he has managed to get the attention of one of the biggest clubs in the world, shows that it works for me too. The young midfielder impressed by the level of his teammates on the age-restricted national team. – I think we are now in a new wave of young Norwegian players, says Hindenes Ingilæ. Hindenes Ingilæ and Vonheim Norbye are both friends and teammates. – Training with players who are as young as me, like Jonathan, gives a sense of security, says Hindenes Ingilæ. Photo: André Bendixen / news
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– Norwegian player development is in the midst of a revolution – news Troms and Finnmark
