The English FA - academies

[Karl]

Football Academies


Football Academies are at the centre of The Football Association's Charter for Quality programme. Thirty-nine are currently in operation. It is mandatory for all clubs in the top flight to have an Academy. Nineteen Football League clubs also run Academies, which bring together the best young players to give them top quality coaching, development, education and medical care. Key features of a Football Academy:


Facilities

Mandatory requirements regarding outdoor and indoor facilities as well as study and homework areas.

Registration

All players must reside within one hour's travelling time (one and-a-half hours for age ranges under 13 to under 16). Mandatory to provide guidance to parents on registration.

Staff

All staff to be registered and screened. Mandatory qualifications required. Minimum six full-time staff devoted to the Football Academy. An Education and Welfare Officer must be appointed. All staff are required to maintain CPD portfolios. A mandatory minimum of 36 hours per year in-service training is required.

Medical

Mandatory requirement for physiotherapists for 9-16 and 17-21 age ranges.Profiling mandatory.

Insurance mandatory.

Learning Programme

Mandatory coach/player ratio.

Technical outcomes outlined.

Mandatory provision for goalkeepers.

Feedback

A mandatory requirement to provide feedback to parents and players with annual reports.

Fixtures

A maximum of 30 games per year.

No 11-a-side football until 12 years of age (year 7).

It is a specific requirement of the Charter for Quality for the Football Academy Director to ensure that the minimum and maximum number of games are provided for the player. It is also the Academy Director's responsibility to initiate liaison with the player, his parents and the school with regard to players' programme of activities.

Within the required maximum number of games per season, parents have the choice of where their son can play the games: the player- under FA rules- will be under no compunction, requirement or obligation to play for any team without his parents' approval. Nevertheless, in guiding the parents towards their choice, Howard Wilkinson, the former FA Technical Director, makes the following recommendations:

• The level of competition should be compatible with the player's colleagues and opposition

• The facilities and match officials should also be compatible with the player's ability

• The atmosphere surrounding this programme should emphasise the role of matches as part of a development programme in which the result is not of primary importance

• The match programme should be used by the coaching staff to reinforce the key aspects of the player's individual technical development

• The number of games per season must be limited to a maximum of 30 and this process is effectively monitored.

From a footballing standpoint, it is of paramount importance that boys receive their entire programme of coaching and games within the Academy, under the guidance of the Academy Director. Games should not be viewed in isolation, but as an essential part of boys' football development- they are an extension of the coaching programme, and as the number of games will be limited to 30, it is important that none of them is wasted.

By taking part in games organised by the Academy, boys will:

• Play alongside, and against, boys of a comparable standard, enabling them to put into practice skills learned during the week in an environment where they will be stretched

• Be supervised and monitored by the coaches that work with them during the week which means they will never get conflicting instructions on how to play

• Play in a non-competitive environment where quality of performance is more important than results.

http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/P...2/05/10895.htm

[Karl]

Football Academies


Football Academies are at the centre of The Football Association's Charter for Quality programme. Thirty-nine are currently in operation. It is mandatory for all clubs in the top flight to have an Academy. Nineteen Football League clubs also run Academies, which bring together the best young players to give them top quality coaching, development, education and medical care. Key features of a Football Academy:


Facilities

Mandatory requirements regarding outdoor and indoor facilities as well as study and homework areas.

Registration

All players must reside within one hour's travelling time (one and-a-half hours for age ranges under 13 to under 16). Mandatory to provide guidance to parents on registration.

Staff

All staff to be registered and screened. Mandatory qualifications required. Minimum six full-time staff devoted to the Football Academy. An Education and Welfare Officer must be appointed. All staff are required to maintain CPD portfolios. A mandatory minimum of 36 hours per year in-service training is required.

Medical

Mandatory requirement for physiotherapists for 9-16 and 17-21 age ranges.Profiling mandatory.

Insurance mandatory.

Learning Programme

Mandatory coach/player ratio.

Technical outcomes outlined.

Mandatory provision for goalkeepers.

Feedback

A mandatory requirement to provide feedback to parents and players with annual reports.

Fixtures

A maximum of 30 games per year.

No 11-a-side football until 12 years of age (year 7).

It is a specific requirement of the Charter for Quality for the Football Academy Director to ensure that the minimum and maximum number of games are provided for the player. It is also the Academy Director's responsibility to initiate liaison with the player, his parents and the school with regard to players' programme of activities.

Within the required maximum number of games per season, parents have the choice of where their son can play the games: the player- under FA rules- will be under no compunction, requirement or obligation to play for any team without his parents' approval. Nevertheless, in guiding the parents towards their choice, Howard Wilkinson, the former FA Technical Director, makes the following recommendations:

• The level of competition should be compatible with the player's colleagues and opposition

• The facilities and match officials should also be compatible with the player's ability

• The atmosphere surrounding this programme should emphasise the role of matches as part of a development programme in which the result is not of primary importance

• The match programme should be used by the coaching staff to reinforce the key aspects of the player's individual technical development

• The number of games per season must be limited to a maximum of 30 and this process is effectively monitored.

From a footballing standpoint, it is of paramount importance that boys receive their entire programme of coaching and games within the Academy, under the guidance of the Academy Director. Games should not be viewed in isolation, but as an essential part of boys' football development- they are an extension of the coaching programme, and as the number of games will be limited to 30, it is important that none of them is wasted.

By taking part in games organised by the Academy, boys will:

• Play alongside, and against, boys of a comparable standard, enabling them to put into practice skills learned during the week in an environment where they will be stretched

• Be supervised and monitored by the coaches that work with them during the week which means they will never get conflicting instructions on how to play

• Play in a non-competitive environment where quality of performance is more important than results.

http://www.thefa.com/GrassrootsNew/P...2/05/10895.htm

The above reinforces that most of the academies have the kids in the communities (locations) of the first (1st) team.

I don't suppose Sickko is saying none of these are in locations with high population densities?

Why then would he write in such a manner that the uninformed such as myself would think having the JFF Academy in a high density population area was not the norm...

"... don’t buy the JFF president’s view of what the academy should be. He envisions a facility in or near a major population centre where outsiders will have access on any given day.

This, he contends, is what pertains in Trinidad. My question is, why are we using examples from a country like Trinidad whose football culture is not superior to ours? Why don’t we look to countries with established football cultures to see how they do things and use them to set our parameters? Countries like Holland, France, Germany, Brazil and England are good examples.

I have had the opportunity to see the academies of two of England's oldest clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham Hot Spurs, two clubs based in the greater North London area, and none of their academies were based in the more populous areas. Rather, they were in secluded areas, far from the maddening crowd.

"...Rather, they were in secluded areas, far from the maddening crowd"?