My 10 year old nephew has a under 10’s contract for football academy- how important is this?

[YIP]

As Above and my DB is over then moon as am I. DN works and trains really hard abd I hope this is the start of something big for him. It’s not exactly a top club, it’s division 2, but it seems like they take a lot if you gets on and they don’t all make it. I’ve known of a few kids who have been realised but they were a lot older, say 16/17/18.

I’m clueless about football but am I right to think this is big news for DN being so young, should I assume he must be really good to get signed to the academy?

I’m so proud of him and hope he gets to do his dream job as an adult but I’m thinking statistically the competition is so high. DB has got him signed off for a premier league club and I’m thinking if this doesn’t pan out there will be so many tears.

Any experience?

Round here (north west) you hear about this all the time from the footballing kids that are somewhat better than average. Theres quite a lot of these somewhat better than average kids though. I imagine it's a huge commitment and very very few become professional footballers. I think your DB and nephew need to be careful not to set themselves up for disappointment. In the short/medium term though it could be a great opportunity.

OTOH I know a few girl footballers who've done brilliantly through similar and ended up on college scholarships in the US playing for college teams, quite a big deal i think just in uni fees alone. I imagine much less competition at the top end for the girls. But of course they are also very unlikely to actually make a proper living out of football.

What most have said above, be excited for him but expectations need to be managed. 0.018% of kids in academies will play professionally and that's not necessarily in the premier League. My friends son plays for Leeds and has been with them a few years now but he is realistic about the fact he may not make it, he is 12. He has had to sacrifice a lot, he's missed out on doing things with friends as he has no time on weekends or evenings. Also academies do have fillers, who are kids above average, won't make it but are needed for the numbers to create a team. My friend has kept her son with Leeds as they offer great opportunities educationally and help them to get careers in football where they will not become a player. Like a pp said it's definitely not a route I would want for my son as it's brutal. One of the parents are footy (grassroots) works for the FA and is quite high up, told me he wouldn't have a kid in the academy system because of how brutal they are and they take so many kids who they know won't make it and sell them a false dream. Remember football at professional level is all about the money, not the players.

Jesus, that is absolutely brutal for the kid! What a shame

I agree with what everyone else has said, It’s great that your nephew has been invited but please don’t make too much of it and let him forgo school work just because he has shown some early talent for the game.
When the training schedule starts both him and the family will see that at this stage he is simply one of many.
My brother was a constant in his primary and secondary school teams and he also played for a local club that was regularly scouted by some of the biggest football league clubs. 3 of his friends were invited to train with premier league clubs whilst they were still at primary school and another with a team now in one of the lower leagues.
All 4 of them were eventually let go, some earlier than others and whilst one is working in a job loosely connected with football the other 3 all earn their living elsewhere.

My DH’s cousin played for a big club’s youth team but suffered an injury which ended his career just as it got started. He had come up through the academy and his education had been neglected due to the focus on football. It was a shock for him being late teens and dealing with his lost dream as well as not having any other real prospects. He eventually learned a trade and got himself on track. Now as a dad to he’s very focussed on his kids education and while his son plays county level football he’s got a life outside of that and it comes second to his homework.

Good post, @greenbirds. DH used to work at a PL club, and I think this is good advice. Over the time he was at the club, the academy made changes to recognise the fact that most of the kids attending wouldn’t go on to footballing careers, and began to focus more on academic education and qualifications. The kids attending it had lessons at a well-regarded private school, and had the opportunity for a really good education. Plus they had more involvement from sports psychologists and the like so that it wasn’t a matter of telling a 15 year old ‘You’re out, lad— bye’ as in the past.

A friend son signed at 9 for a league 2 side - by 11 he had fallen out of love it is relentless and it isn’t easy and has stopped playing as it took over his life.

for every Wayne Rooney/Trent Alexander Arnold/Jude Bellingham there are hundreds who didn’t make it and lots who are plying their trade in lower and non league football (which comes with its own battles clubs can more between full time and part time football which is tough)

I remember when I had a season ticket years ago for a premier league club I would each year get a handbook which would contain all the academy players over 16 bought it for around 5 years (then all moved online) but from that I can only really remember a handful of names who became premier league players

you sound sensible your brother sounds over excited abs unrealistic

Thanks all. That’s my limited thoughts
too - that’s whilst it’s a good opportunity and he’s obviously a great little player, I feel like DB is counting his chickens. He’s put it all over FB how DN is in the academy and part of me thinks it’s all good when it’s good, but if he gets dropped then people can be a bit unkind.

That’s why I was wondering how unique it is to get signed so young but apparently quite common, though very few make it professionally.

Be proud. Expect nothing.

I wonder as well, if DB has some influence over it as he is in the same circle as many of those thy are in charge. He works as a sports coach and I wonder if part of it is who you know as well. DN is good from what I can make of it but as you say there are other really good players so how do you chose between 20 boys who are all similar- be friends with their dad 😐

There are 3 boys in DD2’s class who play academy football for our local (championship) side. Their parents seem to have made it their entire personality, it’s all they talk about. Statistically, these children are very very unlikely to go on and play professional football.
I think it’s a great achievement, but it’s doing these children a disservice to not try and manage their expectations. An ex boyfriend of mine played academy football for Liverpool and was let go aged 13, he was devastated. He’d also neglected his school work in the meantime, and it took a lot of catching up.

He's done well to get an academy place for this year but as others have said it's brutal. Please don't make a big deal of it to your nephew. Keep it fun - that's what it should be.

The placements usually run for a season unless injury cuts it short. After that they'll decide if you are still in or if you're out. It's very cut and dried. You just get told.

If it's been hyped up by everyone around him if he does get dropped (and the majority do get dropped) it's going to hurt even more. Keep it low key and keep the pressure off.

The important thing is his love of the game. There will always be a football team for him at whatever level is right for him.

A friend's child goes through the selection stress every year but they are all pretty pragmatic about it. They've been able to get a place with a different academy when they've been dropped. They'll keep the academy place for as long as they can but they know it might not be permanent.

Another friend's child was always made out to be a superstar and a super talent until it all suddenly went quiet. Apparently they decided to play grass roots again rather than for the big team academy because they preferred that. (not dropped of course...).

Who you know only gets you so far - it is why very few sons of famous fathers actually get that far even with the connections that they have (Romeo Beckham ended up in the Brentford B team)

I know one of those parents her son was trialling with an academy and it was all over FB then nothing, then the he decided academy life is not for him!
I do not agree with these things put all over social media about your kids, be proud but quietly because if it doesn't go well and they are dropped will the kid want that all over social media. I wouldn't. This is a different conversation but putting your kids life on social media isn't done in their best interest, it's so the parents can boast with no thought of how the kid feels. I bet most don't even tell them they are posting their life for all to see

My son went down this path and I wish I hadn’t let him. It stopped him from doing any other sports, took all family time and then he was dropped at 16.

A tiny minority of kids make it.

My concern is the kids who get injured and then dropped. So dodgy hamstring for the rest of your life etc and then they can’t even really do social sport and fitness anymore. Maybe it’s improved since the kids I knew who did it, though.

Also, as with kids who go into elite performing arts, they need to be sensible about a back up plan. PGCE and PE teacher, physiotherapist etc. the adults in their life need to make that an ongoing conversation from secondary school age. Speaking as a child actor! Parents always kept me down to earth and made it clear other options needed to also be on the table. Homework gets done etc.

That’s always my concern, the toll it takes on the life of the rest of the family.

As long as the parents manage things so it doesn’t ruin the child’s life if they’re dropped I think is the way to go. Always “if you get picked for another season…” “if they renew your contract” etc.

Again as a child actor, failure isn’t bad for kids if handled well by parents. I went to so many auditions etc and did so little professional work. It actually made me really resilient about failure as an adult because I just have this attitude of… oh well, give it a try, nothing to lose! But I had very sensible parents.

I think he is only 10yo.
He has plenty of time to decide what’s interest him. At 10yo, football might be his thing, like it is for a lot of boys. It doesn’t mean it has to become his full time job!
I agree with some PP saying it stops them from trying other stuff too.

Fwiw I have had a couple of children in my family who were involved in ‘high level’ sport. It wasn’t football but the reality is that they all stopped that sport once they left school (for Uni) and weren’t in the routine if school-training-sleep and start again. Plus they hit the really competitive area of adult sport and suddenly it wasn’t that easy. That’s wo talking about injuries etc….

This. My husband worked with 2 colleagues who had sons in the academy programmes with different big name teams.. I seem to remember one was at Man United. His parents insisted he kept up with school work too. Neither boy progressed beyond 16. It is absolutely ruthless. Good for him that hes got in though.
I have a friend who was an really good swimmer. She did the endless early morning training stuff and weekends were just swimming .She swam ( and won ) at county level and expected to go further. When she went to Nottingham University she wasn't good enough even for the B team and that was the end of that. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Can you talk some sense into your brother OP?

Your nephew could end up carrying the expectation of his dad's failed dreams on his shoulders and that might destroy him.

Your nephew is presumably going to see his classmates being chucked out, so he will become aware quite quickly that there are no guarantees.

By all means be proud, he clearly has a natural aptitude for the sport, but important, no. Lots of young lads go through these academies,rarely does it come to anything. If they're still scouting him at 16/17 then that'd be more promising.

I thought this was going to be about the fact that he has an under-10s contract when he is already 10. Has that been queried?

Just to add a bit of positivity - Ethan Nwaneri went to my daughter's school and he was just an ordinary (obviously extremely talented) kid, so it is possible to make it all the way.