Words create expectations.
Some are very simple.
When we hear the word book we expect paper, text, story and structure.
Some more complex.
Love being an example of a word that although we know what it means (or think we know what it means), we find very difficult to define in a way that is satisfactory all.
Whether complex or simple, expectations and associations are created. Expectations that have to be met.
Academy.
The word permeates youth football. But what is it? What is an academy?
Is it a football club? Is it a private company? Is it a once a week training session?
Immediately, as with book, as with love, there are expectations.
A place of learning. A place to improve. To develop. To grow.
Yet there is much more than that. I can learn in a library. I can improve on my own in the park. I will naturally develop as I age. I can grow in an allotment. In an academy we expect a very particular type of learning, improvement, development and growth.
There are a wide variety of academies. Academies for music. Academies for art, dance, acting, science, even motion pictures. In this particular instance, football.
That must be our first expectation. That a football academy specialises in the learning, improvement, development and growth of footballers. Where skills are acquired and the experience needed to make consistently good decisions is gleaned. This should be obvious, a simplistic expectation.
Not the development of football teams. Footballers. The development of the individual. People do not allow their children to join football academies in order for them to play for a nice little team. They go with the hope and expectation of becoming professional footballers. In this sense their team mates are not truly team mates, they are rivals. This is often overlooked. Young footballers, particularly as they move up the age groups, are being asked to befriend and help people who are essentially competing for a long term future.
That future is as a professional. No one joins an academy in the hope they will be semi pro. It is therefore necessary for an academy to have an exit strategy that allows a player to play for a professional club. Either because the academy is a part of the professional club or has strong connections to the professional game. Similarly the expectation upon joining is that players will turn pro with academy club that they have joined. Players do not join Chelsea’s academy in the expectation that they will play professionally for Leyton Orient. Yet this all depends on the club philosophy and what the academy is actually for. Many will use the academy to develop first team players and have it in their targets to get players into the first team. Others will use the academy as a way of making money. Churning out a product that they can cash in on, perhaps after the player has appeared in the first team, though for some this is not a necessity.
No matter how you view football there is no doubt that an extremely high standard is required. It is a long journey from 8 year old playing 5v5 in front of parents to 18 year old playing 11v11 in front tens of thousands. Along this journey tutors and mentors are required. Quality coaching to guide the players along their academy pathway. These coaches are expected to be experts and have qualifications that back that up, at least at a professional level. Minimum UEFA B license and the FA Youth Awards must be present.
These coaches will also be managers as matches are to be expected. Valuable lessons to be learned against an opponent that will not be present in training. Indeed a part of the Elite Player Performance Plan states that academies should partake in a recognised games programme.
EPPP is the measure of an academy. Foot Pass, a subsidiary of Belgian company Double Pass act as independent assessors of professional academies, deciding which category (1-4) an academy falls into. There is a long list defining the expectations placed on an academy by EPPP. Clubs do not have to conform to every point but the number they fulfil decides their category.
Category 1 – 75% and above
Category 2 – 65% – 74%
Category 3 – 50% – 64%
Category 4 – 35% – 49%
There are a number of key areas that clubs need to meet.
- Documented football philosophy
- Academy manager in possession of a valid A License, Academy manager license and advanced FA Youth Award (if they do not posses these the Head of Coaching must)
- Regular player assessments and reviews
- Provide CPD to staff
- Senior Professional Development coach to manage transition to senior squad
- Sports scientist
- Strength and conditioning coach
- Physio
- Doctor
- Performance Analyst
- Head of Education
- Head of Recruitment
- A distinct coaching programme
- Development centre linked to academy
- Games programme
- Education programme
- Exit programme
- One floodlit grass pitch (planning permission permitting)
- Designated area for goalkeeper coaching
- One floodlit artificial pitch (for category 3 and 4 access to such a pitch away from the main training ground is sufficient)
- One indoor pitch 60×40 yards (for category 3 and 4 access to such a pitch away from the main training ground is sufficient)
There are also guidelines on the number of full time coaches to be employed.
Foundation Phase Youth Development Phase Professional Development Phase
Category 1 2 2 2
Category 2 1 2 2
Category 3 1 1 2
Category 4 N/A N/A 2
The players then have a minimum number of coached hours per week
Foundation Phase Youth Development Phase Professional Development Phase
Category 1 4-8 10-12 12-14
Category 2 3-5 6-12 12-14
Category 3 3 6-12 12-14
Category 4 N/A N/A 12-14
The standards are very high and clubs work hard to maintain or improve these standards.
If it is hard for a club to fulfil all these criteria, how can a private company? Is it possible for such a company to be an academy? It is clear that it would take a great deal of expense to reach Category 1 and 2. Certain academies such as Nike and Coerver have the backing to hit these targets. Very few others can.
Can they reach the lower categories? Facilities will clearly be a problem. Access to the facilities listed is plausible. Expensive, but plausible. A company can easily employ 6 coaching staff, whether they would truly be full time is debatable and 12 hours coaching a week is a lot of hours. There is very little to stop people giving themselves titles like director of football but it is highly unlikely that anyone outside of the professional game will posses an A license, academy manager license and advanced FA Youth award. Doctors, physios, sports scientists, head of education and so forth are all very expensive commodities, likely beyond the budget of most private companies.
However, in order to be category 4 only 35% of the criteria needs to be met. Many of those would be covered by our expectations when we hear that academy word.
An academy should inspire young people. Make their heart burn for the game. Provide them with various means to reach the ultimate goal, means beyond traditional matches and training. Futsal. Football tennis. Street football. Panna. Leave no stone unturned in the quest for creativity and imagination. Academies also have a responsibility to develop the person, not just the player, instilling them with values that set them up for life. Knowledge of nutrition, physiology, coaching and, in an ideal world a second language should ensure that the large number who do not become professionals have options for the life beyond academy football.
So next time you see an academy ask –
Do they have UEFA B and Youth Award qualified coaches?
Do they have access to grass, indoor and artificial facilities?
Do they have a games programme?
Do they have multiple training sessions per week (two or more)?
Do they have a football philosophy?
Do they place an emphasis on development?
Do they have links to the professional game and a demonstrable exit strategy?
Are they offering you a place at no cost?
If the answer to these questions is no, you are not looking at an academy.
The EPPP Document
www.thefa.com/~/…/C2FB1444624F4367AA477A72D94B50BF.ashx