The problem with academies…..

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Many thanks to Dan Yeo for this piece on football academies in England.

There’s no doubt that football academies are harsh environments. The FA’s official website even describes the process of getting released by one as ‘heart-breaking’, which, considering they’re trying to increase participation levels, is hardly encouraging…

It’s entirely truthful though and not particularly surprising; when the stakes are so high, the consequences of being rejected become even more considerable. The disappointment of being let go by a big-name Premier League club would be enough to crush any youngster so, when the huge financial influence is also factored in, the pressure can often become unbearable.

Children not even old enough to attend secondary school are exposed to a stressful, ruthless environment in which their every move is carefully monitored and analysed. Those judged to be progressing too slowly are filtered out of the system as early as possible, but the players really at risk are the ones that succeed in making the first few cuts.

The reason for this is simple and something the FA’s site also alludes to; young footballers tend to get carried away. Tell a ten-year-old he’s good and he’ll dream about being the next Messi. Tell a sixteen-year-old he’s good and he’ll think he really is the next Messi. The further teenagers progress down the path of becoming a professional footballer, the more they begin to prioritise the beautiful game over everything else in their lives. Football, for many, becomes an obsession and this is something that authorities need to guard against.

While it’s fantastic that the next generation are competitive and hungry to do well, the current clamour for more home-grown talent and the amount of money being spent on the best academy graduates means that, if anything, academies are encouraging rather than discouraging this kind of compulsive attitude. This has to change.

Spurring youth players on to succeed at all costs may benefit those who finally make the grade but, for the majority who don’t, it can very seriously damage their career prospects and later lives. The PFA estimates that, for every five players offered academy scholarships, only two will receive full-time contracts at the age of eighteen and only one will still be playing professionally by the time they’re twenty-one.

http://www.grf-football.co.uk/the-pr...ith-academies/

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40% get contracts. Every academy in America would take that deal. If not, go back to school or find a different career.

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No worries. If they don't get a contract they can come here and play at US universities!

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40% get contracts. Every academy in America would take that deal. If not, go back to school or find a different career.

They'd be happy if 4% of their players went pro.

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you're kids didn't get picked! lol

[Unregistered]

you're kids didn't get picked! lol

You never paid attention in English class!

You're an idiot
Your kid won't get picked either

See the difference?

Not the op but the reality is there in black and white - international players are taking over college rosters. For someone with a younger player considering DA this is important. Only true top DA players will be able to compete with international academy "rejects." If top D1 isn't the goal (if it's even realistic) and your kid isn't one of those, then let him play high level club and HS.

[Unregistered]

You never paid attention in English class!

You're an idiot
Your kid won't get picked either

See the difference?

Not the op but the reality is there in black and white - international players are taking over college rosters. For someone with a younger player considering DA this is important. Only true top DA players will be able to compete with international academy "rejects." If top D1 isn't the goal (if it's even realistic) and your kid isn't one of those, then let him play high level club and HS.

there's a lot of wisdom in your approach... DA is now set up to provide good training and decent playing time u12-u14. there is no HS issue since those are generally grades 6-8 or 5-7 depending on the kid and middle school soccer is complete utter garbage...

at u15 its a combined u15/u16 that many u15s will not make, after 3 years in the DA system they end up on the reserve squad. Its also 9th grade and grades really matter years - 9/10/11.

in other words, u15 is really where the rubber hits the road. why continue as an average DA player when the chances of d1 college are slim unless you are a superb DA player. why not let your kid enjoy to the fullest his likely last 3 years of competitive soccer w/ high level club and HS...

[Unregistered]

there's a lot of wisdom in your approach... DA is now set up to provide good training and decent playing time u12-u14. there is no HS issue since those are generally grades 6-8 or 5-7 depending on the kid and middle school soccer is complete utter garbage...

at u15 its a combined u15/u16 that many u15s will not make, after 3 years in the DA system they end up on the reserve squad. Its also 9th grade and grades really matter years - 9/10/11.

in other words, u15 is really where the rubber hits the road. why continue as an average DA player when the chances of d1 college are slim unless you are a superb DA player. why not let your kid enjoy to the fullest his likely last 3 years of competitive soccer w/ high level club and HS...

My son's HS and club team both have had a few DA players join recently They seem to be enjoying themselves immensely. All very good players, maybe low level D1 certain D2 or D3 material, but not top D1. DA can be great if you're a starter on an MLS squad, maybe top 5 non MLS. After that the cost/benefit analysis gets trickier.

[Unregistered]

high school soccer is irrelevant if trying to play at the next level. if for fun, just enjoy!

[Unregistered]

high school soccer is irrelevant if trying to play at the next level. if for fun, just enjoy!

i guess what we are saying is that unless your kid is a very good DA player there is no next level. So, he might as well enjoy. Unlike girls that have many scholarship ops, for boys it becomes a funnel as they get older. they might as well have fun and enjoy playing the game with their friends

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i guess what we are saying is that unless your kid is a very good DA player there is no next level. So, he might as well enjoy. Unlike girls that have many scholarship ops, for boys it becomes a funnel as they get older. they might as well have fun and enjoy playing the game with their friends

Exactly - that funnel for boys is very narrow, much more narrow than DA would like you to believe. If you're playing for free on an MLS squad - fantastic. That's the top and it's free, even if you're not getting tons of PT. If you're a top 5 starter at a non MLS club you aren't doing as well, but still pretty good. Beyond player#5 or #6 the rewards are greatly diminished AND you're paying for it. Might as well pay similarly for a decent club and get to enjoy playing HS soccer and other sports as well

[Unregistered]

i guess what we are saying is that unless your kid is a very good DA player there is no next level. So, he might as well enjoy. Unlike girls that have many scholarship ops, for boys it becomes a funnel as they get older. they might as well have fun and enjoy playing the game with their friends

I worried about my son who is u15/u16 and this is his first year of academy -he is u15. I asked him if he missed high school soccer(he played as a freshman) and he laughed. To kids like him it's not fun playing crap soccer. It's only fun when you are challenged and feel like you are getting better. His high school team was average but he was always UNREASONABLY frustrated after games because it was just so different than club. His club team was decimated by the age changes this year- half and half split due to birth year. What you forget is that DA is fun. The players are friends. They bus and fly and have weekend trips together (far far away from parents). The only thing he misses from regular club and high school is dribbling everybody because you definitely don't do that in DA. High school boys soccer doesn't have cheerleaders or a culture like football and bball. Low attendance. Stepchildren of the athletic departments just like college. I plan on continuing to let him choose but also continuing to ask him if it's still fun and letting him know he needs to consider he might be missing out of normal high school experiences because of the massive time commitment. Time will tell but for now he is in soccer heaven.

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I worried about my son who is u15/u16 and this is his first year of academy -he is u15. I asked him if he missed high school soccer(he played as a freshman) and he laughed. To kids like him it's not fun playing crap soccer. It's only fun when you are challenged and feel like you are getting better. His high school team was average but he was always UNREASONABLY frustrated after games because it was just so different than club. His club team was decimated by the age changes this year- half and half split due to birth year. What you forget is that DA is fun. The players are friends. They bus and fly and have weekend trips together (far far away from parents). The only thing he misses from regular club and high school is dribbling everybody because you definitely don't do that in DA. High school boys soccer doesn't have cheerleaders or a culture like football and bball. Low attendance. Stepchildren of the athletic departments just like college. I plan on continuing to let him choose but also continuing to ask him if it's still fun and letting him know he needs to consider he might be missing out of normal high school experiences because of the massive time commitment. Time will tell but for now he is in soccer heaven.

Glad to hear your son is happy at his DA but as far as HS soccer, it depends on the HS. There are several HS teams in the state that are well coached and full of players far superior to anything you find at your average DA (the only real DA in Fl is OC but that is for another thread).

School spirit, when there, far exceeds anything any DA can provide. At a DA game the only people watching are the families when they play local and nobody when they travel. Low attendance is better than NO attendance. At even a bad spirit HS, there is at least a few girlfriends on the stands. Want to see your son play awesome?, watch him play when there are girls watching. Again, glad that your son is happy but HS is still a very important part of a young men's life in this country.

Lastly, only 2% or less of HS aged boys will go on to play in college and far fewer percentage wise will go on to play in the MLS. With these odds, I think disregarding HS soccer and pay to facilitate the success of only a couple of chosen kids in these pay-to-play DA programs may not be a wise investment at the end.

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Glad to hear your son is happy at his DA but as far as HS soccer, it depends on the HS. There are several HS teams in the state that are well coached and full of players far superior to anything you find at your average DA (the only real DA in Fl is OC but that is for another thread).

School spirit, when there, far exceeds anything any DA can provide. At a DA game the only people watching are the families when they play local and nobody when they travel. Low attendance is better than NO attendance. At even a bad spirit HS, there is at least a few girlfriends on the stands. Want to see your son play awesome?, watch him play when there are girls watching. Again, glad that your son is happy but HS is still a very important part of a young men's life in this country.

Lastly, only 2% or less of HS aged boys will go on to play in college and far fewer percentage wise will go on to play in the MLS. With these odds, I think disregarding HS soccer and pay to facilitate the success of only a couple of chosen kids in these pay-to-play DA programs may not be a wise investment at the end.

I'm not at all a fan of the HS ban, because like you said, in the end so few will ever reach that pinnacle and in the process a great deal is sacrificed. More importantly to what end is this ban working? Men's NT performance - little change. More top roster spots being filled by international players, not DA players. Yes many DA players are playing in college but the ones who aren't starters on an MLS team or a top 5 player at a non MLS team are increasingly shut out of good soccer programs. If DA was doing such a good job training them then why do coaches shop elsewhere?

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DA programs seem to me fine great training but if your only playing 5-7 teams all year strange. What is the measuring stick are the academy teams even elite in talent . Take a team div1 state team and play them against an academy team ten times what would the win loss record be? Okay go deeper if you scouted the ten games what players would stand out academy players or the club level div one team ? Let's face the fact there are great players at club levels there just not noticed period ! To expand on this there are bad players at academy level as well! They get noticed on the field and we don't quite understand why there on academy! I also feel DA programs have to meet minimum teams and player rosters. I feel to many systems in soccer ODP,ECNL,DA,CLUB,HS... etc. it's a joke. The simple formula is gone the path is or looks like DA only . So why even allow a child to play CLUB or HS it strange world. Is there a way just to build a great set of players or team and play in the NPL or get games against DA programs?