Junior Football
Although junior development has been one of the aims of the governing bodies of Victorian football since the nineteenth century and much effort has been put in by generations of coaches, officials and volunteers, Victoria lags behind New South Wales in the numbers learning the game. Until relatively recently the total number of registered juniors in Melbourne was less than that of a suburban Sydney district like Kuringai. Many blame the dominance of the Victorian, later the Australian Football League, but the explanations are more complex, and too lengthy to set out here.
The Junior League Management Committee of the VSF, led by Ken Slack and with the assistance of state coaches Ron Smith and Tim White, oversaw the junior game in Victoria in the 1980s.
The Australian Institute of Sport, set up in 1981, had a football program from its inception, which provided a pathway for elite youth players at a key formative period in their careers. The AIS entered a team in the Victorian Premier League in 2007–08. When the Victorian Institute of Sport was set up in 1990, it too developed a pioneering football development scheme under present Melbourne Victory coach, Ernie Merrick. He has been succeeded by Ian Greener, who continues the work.