Academy offers

emphyrian · Oct 30, 2013

My son has been offered a chance to train with the academy. He is 6 years old and loves his footie.

I'd like to know if anyone else has a child at the academy and what he/we can expect.

Brighton aren't the only club who we have spoken too, but we are both Brighton season ticket holders and he wants to try them out.

Cheers

JBenno · Oct 30, 2013

Does he play left back and can he be in Yorkshire on Saturday...?

MissGull · Oct 30, 2013

Likewise, can he score goals? Could be useful.

Seagull over Canaryland · Oct 30, 2013

Having listened to David Burke on Albion Roar (highly recommended - I think its still available on their website) describe our academy set up, the talented people involved and his aspirations for attracting and developing local youngsters I would love to see as many local kids get a chance there. What an opportunity - to be among the first to use the new Albion training complex.

emphyrian · Oct 31, 2013

MissGull said:
Likewise, can he score goals? Could be useful.

18 in 8 so far. gonna cost me a fortune as he is on £1 a goal or £5 a hatrick.

empire · Oct 31, 2013

emphyrian said:
18 in 8 so far. gonna cost me a fortune as he is on £1 a goal or £5 a hatrick.

what a shame you have just gone a ruined that statement,thats whats wrong with kids footy,parents getting involved

everywhere up and down the ccountry ,parents bribe there kids with money,you then get children not being team players ,and all they focus on is scoring,seen it so many times,if hes good enough he wont need money to prove it

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

emphyrian said:
18 in 8 so far. gonna cost me a fortune as he is on £1 a goal or £5 a hatrick.

My youngest's team got relegated last season, and there is a noticeable drop in standard. Last year they didn't score many, and the lad who plays up front was on the promise of £3 a goal, or £10 for a hat-trick.

He scored SIX last week, and FIVE the week before. His Dad has told him it might be time to renegotiate.

Luckily my lad plays left back, and has only cost me £2 at £1 a goal...

LamieRobertson · Oct 31, 2013

empire said:
what a shame you have just gone a ruined that statement,thats whats wrong with kids footy,parents getting involved

everywhere up and down the ccountry ,parents bribe there kids with money,you then get children not being team players ,and all they focus on is scoring,seen it so many times,if hes good enough he wont need money to prove it

bit judgemental..its his child after all

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

empire said:
what a shame you have just gone a ruined that statement,thats whats wrong with kids footy,parents getting involved

everywhere up and down the ccountry ,parents bribe there kids with money,you then get children not being team players ,and all they focus on is scoring,seen it so many times,if hes good enough he wont need money to prove it

It contradicts my previous post, but I DO agree with this. Its not something I like really. We told our lad he could have a pound, as a token, if he ever scored, as he knew its something his mates got (he never had scored - not once). Paying them serous money is daft. It could concievably see kids not passing to better placed team-mates, to try to earn themselves another couple of quid.

(Mind you you could say the same about goal bonuses in the pro game...)

Muzzy · Oct 31, 2013

I work quite closely with the academy fairly regularly and would urge you to send your boy to them. The people that work with the academy are top people and will take good care of him.
Adam Hinshelwood and Adam Virgo are both now involved there too.
All the boys are loving the experience and there are quite a few lads from other clubs coming to the club which speaks volumes.
Good luck

albion534 · Oct 31, 2013

if you support Brighton, i would think its a no brainer imo

KZNSeagull · Oct 31, 2013

As a Brighton Season ticket holder, your first port of call really should be Brighton.

The objectives of the academy are to match if not better those offered by the likes of Chelski. Dave Burke's objective is to try to ensure that ALL sussex's young football talent comes to us. Once Lancing is up and running, the facilities should be excellent. Afterall, it will be far more convenient for sussex based parents too.

So give it a go - it will be a good test to see whether they can deliver the promise. Certainly from what Muzzy says, they appear to be giving it a good go!

Gwylan · Oct 31, 2013

Don't see anything wrong with bribing kids - although we shouldn't focus on scoring. My daughter plays rugby on Sundays and I bribe her 20p per tackle. It certainly ratchets up her work rate

And yes, re OP's question. Can't see what the objection would be - seems like a no-brainer

hans kraay fan club · Oct 31, 2013

Gwylan said:
Don't see anything wrong with bribing kids - although we shouldn't focus on scoring. My daughter plays rugby on Sundays and I bribe her 20p per tackle. It certainly ratchets up her work rate

That seems fair. My lad needs to be tougher on the pitch. He's a good little player, but whilst he's great at dropping his shoulder and beating his man, or knocking a 40 yard ball down the line, he needs to be winning some big headers without flinching, and to be putting in the occassional big challenge.

Its my fault really - I've brought him up watching fancy full-backs like Bruno!

BigGully · Oct 31, 2013

Muzzy said:
I work quite closely with the academy fairly regularly and would urge you to send your boy to them. The people that work with the academy are top people and will take good care of him.
Adam Hinshelwood and Adam Virgo are both now involved there too.
All the boys are loving the experience and there are quite a few lads from other clubs coming to the club which speaks volumes.
Good luck

All very good, however just be mindful that he will if deemed good enough soon become part of the rigorous assessment process.

With annual reviews to either retain or release, it can be quite a brutal decision to those so young.

All clubs are initially easily impressed with the younger players, sucking in many as they have little to lose and have very little commitment towards them knowing that the earlier they can recruit it might give them a headstart from other clubs, whilst casually releasing those that do not progress to the clubs liking.

It is an inevitable process but can be a bumpy journey with a likelihood of rejection.

So run with it, enjoy it, remain modest as unfortunately many will be wishing failure, good luck.

supaseagull · Oct 31, 2013

BigGully said:
All very good, however just be mindful that he will if deemed good enough soon become part of the rigorous assessment process.

With annual reviews to either retain or release, it can be quite a brutal decision to those so young.

All clubs are initially easily impressed with the younger players, sucking in many as they have little to lose and have very little commitment towards them knowing that the earlier they can recruit it might give them a headstart from other clubs, whilst casually releasing those that do not progress to the clubs liking.

It is an inevitable process but can be a bumpy journey with a likelihood of rejection.

So run with it, enjoy it, remain modest as unfortunately many will be wishing failure, good luck.

I think you're getting confused with the Centre of Excellence which can only take kids from the age of 9 years and upwards.

This is the Academy, where the Albion identify potential talent from 5 - 9 years of age. These kids are under no pressure and enjoy a range of activities to develop their skills. In addition to joining the Academy, kids can still train and play with their grassroots clubs and so they are learning to play and love playing the game as they should be and I would heartily recommend that your lad goes along and enjoys himself.

The one thing I would say though is remember that boys and girls grow at different stages of their young lives and in the years I've been coaching grassroots, I've seen players that look like potential world beaters at the age of 7, but once they go through growth spurts, other kids catch up and bodies start to change then they may be a competely different player at the age of 11 than they were at the age of 7 and that works both ways, and I've taken on players who other clubs have discarded because they don't think they're good enough at 8, become exceptional and overtake the 7 year old wonder kids in terms of ability.

I hope your lad enjoys himself and I wish him the very best of luck!

Puppet Master · Oct 31, 2013

emphyrian said:
18 in 8 so far. gonna cost me a fortune as he is on £1 a goal or £5 a hatrick.

Make it financial incentives for every 10 successful passes instead... it's the way forward

BigGully · Oct 31, 2013

supaseagull said:
I think you're getting confused with the Centre of Excellence which can only take kids from the age of 9 years and upwards.

This is the Academy, where the Albion identify potential talent from 5 - 9 years of age. These kids are under no pressure and enjoy a range of activities to develop their skills. In addition to joining the Academy, kids can still train and play with their grassroots clubs and so they are learning to play and love playing the game as they should be and I would heartily recommend that your lad goes along and enjoys himself.

The one thing I would say though is remember that boys and girls grow at different stages of their young lives and in the years I've been coaching grassroots, I've seen players that look like potential world beaters at the age of 7, but once they go through growth spurts, other kids catch up and bodies start to change then they may be a competely different player at the age of 11 than they were at the age of 7 and that works both ways, and I've taken on players who other clubs have discarded because they don't think they're good enough at 8, become exceptional and overtake the 7 year old wonder kids in terms of ability.

I hope your lad enjoys himself and I wish him the very best of luck!

Its just an earlier starting position the dynamics remain the same.

He is 6 now and will soon be assessed for the Academy, they will release many that have been with the club since 6, it will hurt both parent and child, just be aware that this is the process you are buying into.

Then if he is signed at 9 years then for most will be a yearly release or retain decision and so on.

Correctly many advise to enjoy and glean as much as you can from those good coaches whilst it lasts without pressure or unlikely expectation, usually advised at the beginning of the journey, but very soon it becomes a major part of your life and your early perspective changes.

I do wish him every success and no I haven't personally experienced it but it aint all new training kit, boots, jelly and ice cream.

Shropshire Seagull · Oct 31, 2013

I prefer to use "reward" rather than "bribe".

Reward for a goal could make the player greedy, perhaps offer reward for assists too?
I quite like Puppet Master's suggestion of a reward for 10 successful passes - add the goal net to it as well and that would be ideal.

Beach Hut · Oct 31, 2013

emphyrian said:
18 in 8 so far. gonna cost me a fortune as he is on £1 a goal or £5 a hatrick.

Dreadful and totally wrong, he will go nowhere as he will never pass the ball.

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