Football academies for girls - experiences

[footballmom43]

I've name changed for this as anyone who knows me will probably recognise me from this post (!!) - my daughter (10) has been recently been selected for a football academy attached to a proper club, we didnt really understand the ins and outs of what we were setting her up for when she did a few trial sessions, inc the realisation that being in the academy will preclude her from playing for her grassroots club, which she absolutely loves.

We dont know anyone who has been selected for an actual academy before and had to choose like this. We keep going back and forth between the two options - on the one hand, what an opportunity - the best coaching and playing with a full team of high quality players; on the other hand, lots of pressure; potentially being a small fish in a big pond; plus we'll be dedicating even more of our family life to kicking a ball around... and just the wrench of taking her away from her current lovely team where she has been so happy. Has anyone had to make this decision?! Any experience of girls football academies? HELP!

My eldest DD is currently signed up to an RTC academy. Is your daughters intention to play solely for fun or would she prefer to take the more serious and competitive route which is academy football? It can be a lot of commitment especially if the academy is quite far away, we were travelling last year for over an hour for training and the same on a Saturday for matches. This year we’ve moved to a closer academy but it will still entail some travelling. I would think about what would best suit your daughter, and your family, but regardless you can drop out of academy football at any time to return to grassroots without any repercussions. Best of luck to your DD. I think it’s amazing that so many girls are now getting into football!

Ancient thread but just wondered how this panned out as we're now in a similar position...

We did end up going to RTC and our daughter remains there for a second season. We havent regretted it in the sense that all of the plusses I outlined in my original post were correct - playing amongst likeminded girls; professional and proper coaching, the excitement of playing for a 'badge' against other teams. From that side it has been fantastic and brought her game on a huge amount. The kudos she gets with boys at school is massive 😀

It has not been without cost though - the team is not a 'team'. They are a group of players who happen to be coached together and turn out for matches together. They are friendly (on the whole!) but not friends. So you miss a massive social side of being in a team that you get in grassroots. On top, you're aware as a parent that the other parents are constantly analysing whether your kid is better than theirs; you are on edge the whole time wondering what the coaches are looking for and if your kid will make it through the next review or be retained for next season. At our club we get very little feedback other than at reviews so you're never really sure of where you'll land/how they're perceived amongst their peers. If they're not retained then do you have a plan for what team will they go to where they dont feel its a massive step down. Being truly honest this often keeps me awake at night!

If I'd known everything in my second paragraph, would we have made a different decision for her? Hard to say. Its been a fantastic experience in many ways but it has also brought a lot of pressure and stress that I feel she doesnt need at this age. She does envy her friends in grassroots teams who hang out together and have a rocking time at tournaments and on tours together as you just dont tend to get this at RTC (we dont at our club anyway!)

At the time it was the only option on the table to take her up to the next level; however in just two years I've seen lots of the girls who havent been retained go off to do different things that offer the same as the plusses in my first para and none of the negatives in my second. The growth of girls football in general means there are so many more competitive options out there now than there were two seasons ago; the rise of girls JPL teams and streamed girls grassroots teams offers a challenge to them without the risk element of RTC/Academy football - so its tough, but its fun. Womens football is still so woefully underfunded and badly paid that in order for your daughter to make a comfortable nice career out of it at a decent level club you have to be confident she is truly elite and above her peers. But hard to know that until you've been on the inside of it all.

Anyway I hope this helps!