Football Academies and Centre of Excellence are run by professional football clubs to help develop and nurture the youth in the local area to one day go on and play professional football for the club. They are designed to help pave the way for up and coming talent through giving them top quality coaching sessions twice a week, with matches against other professional clubs on the weekend.
Children at academies and centre of excellence can start from as young as 7-8 years old. The coaches are highly qualified FA coaches as all professional football clubs are required to run academies or centre of excellence as part of their position in football.
How Can I join A Football Academy
A youth player can get sent to an academy on recommendation of a scout who has watched the player play for their youth team and thought they were good enough to be put through to the academy. Another way is through a development centre on recommendation of the coaching staff there, if they feel a player has made progression under their guidance and deserves a shot, they will inform the club and the player will be offered a trial. So basically, you can either be sent directly for a trial by a scout or via the development centre.
However, there is one more way in which you can have the opportunity to join a football academy and that is by going on the website of the team of your choice and applying online. Some football clubs websites give young players the option to apply for their academy/centre of excellence through their website. On the website, the player interested will need to give their full name, age, position, details of the clubs they have played for and either a phone number or email address for the club to contact them. Once the club receive your message they will assess it and decide whether they wish to take things further or not.
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The length of trials can vary depending on each club. Some trials can be one week, some two weeks, they can go up to six weeks. In that time it is down to the player to really have a go and make themselves noticeable to the coaching staff at the club through their performances in training and matches.
Take note that it will help if you have previously played in a professional clubs youth team before as it shows you have an understanding of the game and decent level of ability.
What Happens after The Trial
If a trial is successful, the club will offer that player a contract with the academy which is usually 2 years depending on their age. Once a player signs forms with a professional football club at youth/academy level, that contract is basically stating that they are no longer allowed to play for their local youth club or any other club while under contract with them. However some clubs allow players to play for their school team.
If your trial was unsuccessful, depending on the feedback the coaches give to you and the development centre, you can either be let go from the trial and the development centre or they may request that you stay at the development centre to develop further. [/sociallocker]
