To think the majority of kids can get into "invite only" football development programmes

[Futb0l]

I have a year 2 DS. He doesn't play at a football club or team but lots in his class do - 10 out of 15 or so boys.

This year lots of parents have dropped into conversations that their kids are now "at an academy", or "at an invite only team". 6 so far have mentioned this, and referred to their boys as being "advanced".

I don't really get this. How can you be "advanced" if most kids are 😂

Do parents really fall for this shit? It seems like there's "academy" spaces for any kid who tries for one & these programmes are pretty expensive.

AIBU to think these programmes are really common and most kids can play at a good enough level to "pass" the trial?

My son is at a pro club academy now, but prior to this played grass roots and a paid academy. I wasn't gullible and being suckered in to paying for something that was a con in terms of the academy. It was a really high quality product with great training, ethos and personal development embedded into it. Lots of great opportunities for the kids, including some fab overseas trips. I have no doubt a lot of his development at the academy led to him being picked up by a pro club (which has no cost attached)

In terms of "invite only" at the academy, this was just a statement of fact. We had 12 boys in the age group selected for the invite team and many other kids of the same age played in different groups based on ability. Doesn't cost any more to be in the invite only group. So for me, not a con. At the end of the day, it's a product, provided by a business, which I assessed for value and found it to be worth it. Just like any service you might chose to buy

@Ihavenoclu if he’s good enough he’ll still be good in two or three years when he’s more grown up. Very few boys last if they are picked up young so just let him enjoy his football. Scouts constantly visit all the local tournaments (in the hope of a big pay day!) so he’ll get picked up later if he’s good enough

The point that people are making is the ‘paid’ Academy wasn’t an ‘Academy’, but they called themselves that.

No one has an issue with parents paying more or extra for something they think is value for money or worthwhile. If your son benefited from it and enjoyed it, that’s great.

It’s parents paying for this type of service and saying ‘my lad plays for an academy’ when they don’t.

Where we live it’s pre academy football that quite a few kids do, they call it PDC or ADC
I think
(ADC being advanced development centre)
kids have to go to a trial to get a space and then if successful have to pay to attend and pay for the kids kits etc, it’s not a proper academy but I think kids and parents like the kudos of saying their child has been selected for it, at least it seems that way here.
it’s definitely not very exclusive though as at least half a dozen children in my child’s school year attend.

@Lucyccfc68 but they can call their business whatever they like. It is a football academy! Might not be a pro club academy but it's literally a description for a place of education of some type. Weird thing for people to get het up over!

Dd went to a football after school programme run by the local pro team (then premiership) and they gave her a trial for their academy - well it certainly wasn't free to attend, not until you actually signed which was year 7, she was year 2! A nice little earner to help fund their teen development programme. We didn't fall for that, they charged twice as much as a grassroots nearby club.

I was surprised to discover that there is a boarding school that specialises in football. In Leicestershire I think. Has that ever produced any professional players.

@bluefrog11 That makes sense, thank you for responding. Time will tell if he is good enough AND wants it enough. Who knows? I am certainly not going to force it. It has to come from the child themselves. For now as you say, the main thing is that football is giving him a lovely childhood with his friends and I think he will look back on those memories fondly.

Of course they can call it what they want, but that’s where they are trying to con some parents, who are daft enough to believe it actually is an academy. The ‘Pro academies’ don’t use that term either. They are just ‘Academies’ and that’s where the paid ones are trying to make out they are something they are not.

Not all these paid ‘academies’ are any better than a normal grassroots club. I used to see plenty of normal grassroots clubs beat these so called academy teams all the time. If you find a great coach and your kids develop and really enjoy themselves, that is great, but let’s not kid ourselves that they are in anyway academies or elite. They are grassroots football that parents pay extra for.

The young kids I know in academies are really good! I know a seven year old who is so good I actually think he’ll probably make it. He’s already playing in the youth team of some premiership clubs. Otherwise it tends to be local academies and then there are the ones where the parents pay - those I suspect are the ones where the parents are getting smoke blown up their arse.

@Lucyccfc68 there will be a lot of differences I suspect. Our paid for academy was heads and tails above grassroots. Coaches were all ex pros. Coaches at grassroots tend to be enthusiastic volunteers! Not knocking grassroots at all....three boys from our grassroots side have been taken in by professional clubs so talent will shine through. But the offer at our academy is heads and tails above grassroots. Kids are provided with stats sport equipment so they get post match analysis data. All matches are filmed and then shared with kids with individual tasks to review elements of own performance and challenges set accordingly, get 3 hours of coaching per week on outstanding facilities (football and futsal on different nights to develop different parts of the game), free pre season pre camps etc. Lots of difference! But I know not every academy will be the same, so I guess it's a case of doing your research and feeling like you are getting bang for your buck!

DH's cousin's son was selected for an academy, he played there from 10-18 it was a known team but not premier league. It didn't cost them anything. They paid for him to go to the private school nearest the training ground and for him to be picked up and driven there and home each day (40-60 minutes) , his mum was always very proud but very realistic, they knew the chances of him being a pro were slim but there was no way the family would've afforded private education so that was enough of a win for them. He's now at uni plays on the uni team and goes back in the summer to coach the little ones but football won't be a career for him. It's given him a very good education though.

Anyone that is playing for a football club such as Manchester United, stoke, wherever never says they're at an academy in my experience (and I have a lot of watching sport and listening to parents chat experience)
They say they're at city or they're at stoke.

I know 2 boys that are at clubs one on trial and one signed. They are head and shoulders above the rest.

They don't pay anything either.

A friend of mine plays for a Championship club and is a regular in their 1st team.

He was miles ahead of his age group. He also knows a lot of other players who were similarly ahead of their peers who got nowhere near a professional contract.

The numbers involved are immense meaning the prospect of success is ridiculously slim. At the very top level it is getting even harder as the number of foreign born players in UK teams increases significantly thereby making competition for places even more severe.

Knowing what I do about the process I wouldn’t want my DS to get involved as the prospect of success is too slim compared with the sacrifices needed.

From my experience as a football mum, don't assume everything you hear about kids football to be what it seems! It's a very competitive world among some parents!

DS has been in a football training academy for years. He joined the team that is connected to it and plays in an advanced league. So I could accurately describe him as an advanced football academy player, or i could say he plays for a local team. It's just terminology and doesn't mean he's next Ronaldo!

However, there are training academies connected with professional teams. These usually require a trial to get in, which may be by invite or recommendation from a coach with connections to the team. Pushy Parents can apply directly also. The standard required will depend on the demand for places. These appear to be far more demanding than your average local club, and kids will be dropped if they aren't meeting the required standard, or someone better comes along. I don't think this is right for younger kids, and generally seems to be all about fulfilling the parents' ambitions at that age. Once they're older and any real talent is clear, it's different.

I'd recommend getting your child into a local training club or 'academy' if he's interested. Ask other parents or for recommendations on Facebook. You'll usually find a team is connected to the club so if he enjoys it he can join. It's not just about the sport, kids make so many friends and learn lots of useful life skills, through football and team sports training in general. Be wary of over invested parents though, some of the behaviour I've seen from some people over the years is ridiculous!

The point is these ‘academies’ aren’t actually academies and that they rarely turn anyone down after a ‘trial’.

JPL -
still paid for. The teams in it have to pay to be in it - it’s not cheap. We’ve turned down having teams in it numerous times in favour of playing in our FA run leagues.
They promise it as a pathway to professional football and it’s no such thing. It’s a business run by a handful of blokes.

Can't edit for some reason, but meant to add that technically DS' team is 'invite only' by the academy main coach. But if there are spaces, a child attends regularly, and can kick a ball, they'll get invited to join a team that suits their ability.

In other words you're not wrong Futb0l, but neither are the other parents inaccurate in what they say, even if they are presenting it like their kids are elite players!

‘DS has been in a football training academy for years. He joined the team that is connected to it and plays in an advanced league. So I could accurately describe him as an advanced football academy player, ‘

its not what most people understand an Academy to be though. The only genuine ones are those run by professional clubs.
Not to say there aren’t ALL sorts of different levels at grassroots, but you also get that in the FA grassroots leagues and cups.

I know, it was tongue in cheek (hard to convey in a post). I meant don't believe everything other parents tell you, it may not mean what you assume it means.
Much like many kids' activities, some football parents can be extremely invested and competitive and will make out like their child is considerably more elite than they are.

My DS hates sport but through his friends and wider circle we know a LOT at these academies. Even academies of the big Premiership clubs seem to be fairly easy for a child of mid primary age to get into. Around 10ish or so they seem to drop the majority though, and it seems to be absolutely gutting for the children and parents alike. (The parents who used the Chelsea academy as bragging rights…)
I know one child who was literally part of 3 academies - two premiership teams and another well regarded one. He played and practiced every day for one of his many teams and the Dad brought it up into conversation every time you saw them. The boy is now year 8 and still plays a lot at school and for local child/ youth teams but was dropped by the 3 academies and it’s clear that football will just be his hobby.

I suppose all the selective teams will take anyone with some promise and they hope over the next few years watching and coaching them the true stars will emerge.

This is slightly off topic but relevant to children who get picked up for football young, but I did teach a boy a few years back who was playing for a professional non-league first team at 16 (which is not exactly the premiership, but also we are in the arse end of nowhere with somewhat limited opportunities). At 17 he had some trials for League One and Two clubs, and it seemed like he had a reasonable chance of making it at least in terms of being able to support himself financially from football as a professional. He very nearly dropped out of school part way through his A-levels due to an offer from one of these clubs, but was persuaded to stay on.

By 18, he'd had a one off accident and absolutely knackered one of his knees and likely will never play again. Possibly if he was in a Premiership academy, he'd have access to absolutely amazing medical care and it would be different- I don't know? Possibly the injury was bad enough that wouldn't have been an option anywhere.

If he'd left school he'd have potentially been in a really tricky situation.

It does show that you can get within touching distance of being a "pro" and it can all be lost, just like that. I know, sometimes, with sport you do just have to go for it because there's only a small window of time when you can make money from it, though.

I think football is a little bit different to many other sports, as you can play for a lower league team, and still make enough money to support yourself in your 20s. Whereas in many other sports, you have to probably be top 10 if not top in the country in your age range to stand a chance of making any money! I equally teach a student who was European top 10 for his sport of choice- he will likely never make much money directly from the sport as it is very niche!

He joined the team that is connected to it and plays in an advanced league

But what does "plays in an "advanced" league actually mean? Is he playing against older boys etc?

Advanced league is exactly as described. Just as in grassroots. We live in a large city. I think there are over 20 divisions in our grassroots set up. Teams are placed in divisions according to results and therefore the overall ability of the players. I've seen division one teams play division five for example, and they are winning by 15* goals. Division one where we live is a very high standard. The ability mix across a whole year is massive. Having ability based divisions means everyone gets to play in a well matched standard, has fun, grows and develops without it being either ridiculously easy or demoralising

My son plays for an academy which is linked to the first team . They have to attend trials and get picked there is a fee but they train 3 hours a week and the training and ethos of the academy is amazing. Hes been there 3 years and has come on so much. He recently got asked to attend a development centre for a championship team after being seen at a holiday football camp they run. He’s over the moon he just loves playing football.i would say the standard is a bit higher than alot of grass roots he played at before.