After advice and to see if anyone has similar experience they could let me know... Would you prefer your kid to go to an actual academy (not affiliated to a club) and play with kids of similar or better ability and risk him just getting lost in the hole or lesser facilities where he stands out head and shoulders from the other kids but Is affiliated to a club
I have coached in both a grassroots and academy environment. They are different but it is fair to say there are some brilliant grassroots coaches these days and it is not as straightforward as thinking coaching is always better in academy settings. The FA coach pathway has made a massive difference over recent years to player development. In an academy setting there can be more coaching sessions per week and it stands to reason the more you practice the better you get. The standard of player will be consistent too, whereas in grassroots you get a range of ability, particularly at younger age groups (at least in my experience). The argument that playing with better players make you better stands up in my opinion, but equally I see good players go into their shell and not develop. Dont assume academies arent fun though either - a good coach will make it fun as well as about development. Grassroots tends to be a team with lads and lasses who know each other - local teams for local kids. Academies arent like that obviously. There are advantages though to making new friends. Kids are also more likely to focus on learning rather than carrying on with mates. Some kids just enjoy being with their mates though and dont under estimate that. My grassroots side are teenagers now and they stick up for each because they are mates first. I know of kids who come out of academies and stop playing altogether which seems a right shame - as a coach I want to create a life long love of the game and see them playing well into adulthood. Nowt wrong with Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning for your local side. Overall I would say neither is better than the other, just different. Depending on age you can do both still. The younger they are the more I tend to think fun is important and if they enjoy something they will learn. Not sure I am helping, and certainly not going to tell you what to do. Any academy inviting you in should let you try it for a few sessions before committing. Same for any local grassroots side. At the end of the day judge it by how much they smile and talk about it positively to you afterwards. Hope this helps mate.
Spot on mate really appreciate your reply! My youngun already goes to an academy and thought I'd try out our local teams player development centre (Maidstone utd). He just seemed head and shoulders above the kids in his age group. He plays for a different grass roots team and can continue with them whichever I pick. I just thought with the development centre being linked to a footy club it might give him a better pathway but the academy did seem to have the better setup. The boy just loves his football, he'd do them both if he could think ill stay with the academy for now but really appreciate your response mate
If he is good enough at older age mate clubs will come knocking. One of the biggest growths in recent years is scouting. Where I live pro clubs have plenty of people out looking all the time. If he is on the radar now they will keep an eye on his progress. Just make sure he loves the game and if he is good enough he will find his level. The days of players slipping through the net are largely behind us in my opinion. Just remember the % who make it pro are really tiny, but you sound like a sound fella who gets it. I would love to hear that he turns into a superstar but it is just as good (from a coaches perspective) if we hear that he plays on Sundays till he is 45 and 5 a side until he is 55
I coached my son's team for 5 years from 8 year old. Ended up getting sick of constant text messages from parent's whinging!! I've seen kids at that level who looked world beaters. My son is decent. Almost 6' now (just turned 16 so in the u16 league), quick and with good feet. He loves playing and that's all I want same as all of the kids I have coached. I have known people picked up by pro academies, at 7 year old, who were given a diet and exercise sheet. Newcastle gave my friend this and the diet was literally smaller portions of what I would eat now when preparing for a race (I do a lot of running). Not what I would call enjoyable food. Thge biggest issue with kids at 8 or 9 getting picked up by academies, in my experience, is their parents! Parents think their son is the next Messi, fill the heads with "5m a year" and the kids believe it, then have zero education and end up dossing when they don't get into a pro contract. No backup. As a coach you try to keep your kids' feet on the floor but parents are the biggest issue in my experience. As long as you let your boy enjoy himself and his life and keep him grounded, you'll be fine whatever path you choose
Haha yeah I bet. I help out with my boys local team but don't envy the bloke who runs it 1 bit! Although he's lucky he's got a decent set of parents who are supportive of what he does...most of the time ha. Deffo get the points about parents pressue. I'm under no illusions of how hard it is for him to turn pro and chances are he wont. Just want him to enjoy it and see where he can get to and I'll give him the best of what I can. The second I thought he wasn't enjoying it or feeling pressured I'd stop it. If he turns out half decent for his school and local team I'd be more than happy tbh. The academy he's at are pretty chilled at the minute so going to keep him there for now and see where things lead.
