Every season have 6 youth players that you are either playing or youth coaching to the max (so that could be 3 SBY/3 APP or 2 SBY/4 APP, whatever).

Every session either play or youth coach these SBYs.

Every session either play twice or play once/youth coach once your APPs.

You could work on 8 too if you want, but 6 is a good number to start with and revise accordingly.

In terms of integrating them into your orders you can spread them around matches, or if there's a match you don't think you can win, why not play them all, use the play for draw, and put 10 hardness out there to injure your opponents.   :-)

And again 6 may not be the perfect number, but its probably a good "minimum" to meet.   You certainly can ignore SBY/APP development entirely.   However, I haven't seen that become a winning strategy except for the current season as without those players coming up, there's just not enough money to buy auction age I replacements.

Thanks Al and I have 58 minutes to make some changes.

Pheeeeew!

In United 1, I adopted a 6-Youth strategy a couple seasons ago, and won the Youth Cup with it last season (this season, I happen to have 8 Youth in U1, which is not the norm for me). 

I bring up 3 SBYs every season at DF, MF, and FW. I coach/play them to the max - no exceptions. Then, they start as max APPs the next season. So, I always have 1 APP and 1 SBY at each DF, MF, FW.

If I do not need a Youth GK/SW, then I can use both my Youth Coach slots on 2 of the SBYs in the DF/MF/FW line. That means I have 1 SBY to play in matches, along with 3 APPs. It allows me to minimize the impact on youth.

When the Youth Cup comes along, I just sign 2 more SBYs to fill out the minimum, and then sell them at the start the following season. 

I did wonder about the 6 youth approach because it allows stronger lineups in the other games, but wasn't sure how much it would hurt long term.

Right, 6 is just one approach.    4 is probably too few.  I've gone with 8 before, but sometimes during the same season when those APPs become Age I's you can get a I/10 in an auction (so sort of the equivalent of bringing up an SBY through APP to Age I), so its hard to predict/know what the optimal strategy/amount will be as it can differ over time based on your current roster.  

Keeping it short:

If you have plenty of cash and plan on buying a T11 player (age I or II) next season, you can afford to ignore a youth App or Sby this season and just bring up 3 Sbys/3 Apps.

If you have no cash, then you need to be bringing up 4 Sbys + 4 Apps to build the needed depth to compete in 3- and 4-game sessions as well as to survive injuries.

If you have no cash and are bringing up less than 6 maxed youth each season, you're either already in Division 3 or will be there within two seasons and won't be getting out any time soon.

Tips for playing time:

Many teams (myself included sometimes) play all the Youth in one match and try to get a draw out of it.  Playing for Draw gets you 7 extra points for the Sw/Df/Mf to help.  Then use the two youth coach slots on 2 Apps, leaving just 1 or 2 apprentices that need to take up playing time in the one or two other matches.

The Good: You get youth playing time and your T11 (or close to it) in the other matches.  Great for playing the T11 in Cups and must-win league matches.

The Bad: You rarely win the match with all the youth playing, so you give up league points every week.

It is difficult to have the "right" strategy. If we would have it, we all play draws...

Well you need 8 youth players for the youth cup, so 8 is a good number but it can be difficult getting them into a team that will do well enought to survive the league your in.