I actually used to work with fewmit, the original author of this post, on the USA U21 team. He was a great U21 coach and this is very helpful U21 information here though it is more specific to the USA. As the new South African U21 coach this season though, I'd like to clarify a few things stated here since it is pinned in the forum.
1) Potential and starting skills at 18 or 19 won't necessarily keep a player from making the team. While potential and starting skills are certainly important in the long run, South Africa does not have as large of a trainee pool as the USA, so even players with lower potential and starting skills may have a chance of making the South African team, if trained well. This means that many of the specific instructions in this post around starting skills and player types, while ideal, do not apply to us here. With a small pool of players coming in each season, we simply have to make the most out of what we have.
2) When in doubt about your player, just train (and contact the U21 coach)! As noted in the first point, don't worry if you can't reach one of the listed player types. Work with the U21 coach to come up with the best possible outcome for your specific player. Even if you're more interested in experimenting with a certain skillset or you can only have them tag along for training with your other trainees, we can make that work as long as they're getting some sort of training. Essentially, we have a little more flexibility in the training to make the most out of each player though the U21 or National Team coach may have specific training plan recommendations based on the team's needs.
3) Hire a level 4 Youth Trainer when training 18 and 19 year olds. This post was originally made before the introduction of Youth Trainers so I would highly recommend that all trainers have at least a level 4 (advanced) Youth Trainer in addition to a level 4 Trainer. The Youth Trainer only impacts training of 18 & 19 year olds so you can fire him after your trainees hit age 20+.
Is there anything else I can do to help with the U21 or National Teams?
1) Invest in the draft! Since we only get a small batch of new players each draft, the better invested managers are in the draft, the better the U21 and National Team talent pipelines will be. For those in D.II, because you're playing with so many bots, your draft investment gives you a higher chance at the top tier players. For those in D.I, drafting a good player is typically a double win for yourself and the country as it takes away that good trainee from another country. Even if you don't plan to train, good trainees can bring back a solid profit.
2) Sell players that you aren't planning to train. Since the pool is limited, it's very important to try to sell any prospects you draft that you aren't planning to train. This will allow other managers to pick them up and train them. I'd also recommend connecting with the U21 coach to see if they have any prospective buyers.
3) Update the U21 coach and National Team coach of your players' progress each week, if they're not on the team. In the beginning of the season, National Team coaches scout out player skills by calling them up. After a week or two into the season, coaches can no longer do this without it negatively impacting the team's enthusiasm so they won't have a way to check on your players' updated skills during the season. So if you have a player that you think has a chance to make the team, please be proactive and share their skills with the appropriate coach after each training update.
4) Stay connected by reading the forums, responding to BB-Mails and/or joining the Discord! The teams will ultimately only be as good as the training and support of you all, the South African managers. The Discord is new but it can be a hub for better communication, training advice and game planning.
(https://discord.gg/CrzH7AQPYs)Last edited by A Warrior at 12/31/2020 00:27:10