My time at Reading FC Academy

[WoodleyRoyal]

how much education do they get?

clearly more than snowballs...

[Snowflake Royal]

how much education do they get?

clearly more than snowballs...

He teaches stats at college dontchaknow.

[paultheroyal]

I’d be interested to know how many kids who got into out full academy (rather than the feeder groups) made it as pros - as in got at least one pro contract, not necessary at Reading

My son is at a couple of academies, I can tell you that the percentage that make it is 0.129%

[paultheroyal]

how much education do they get?

When they reach 11 they get one day off a week at school to go play football but the football day is also educational based. Southampton for example have a school on site down at staplewood.

A number of lesser academies are now running nvqs full time.

[Snowball]

The question is, "What percentage of senior professionals went through the academy system?"



I've apologised for my mind-burp

[Hound]

Do you think Academies are getting better? How many do they take on each year - 10 or so isn’t it?

If so, we’ve had a big success in the last year or so

[Snowball]

Presumably, as "ready-made players" get ever more expensive, the maths for academies keeps improving

[Snowflake Royal]

The question is, "What percentage of senior professionals went through the academy system?"



I've apologised for my mind-burp

It's not a simple enough situation for such a simplistic question.

The current Academy system isn't much older than 10 years, some clubs may have set ups that aren't Academies but have some youth provision. We have a lot of foreign imports. How long does someone have to be in an academy set up to count as coming through it? 10 years? Six months?

[Hound]

Suppose also depends on what is counted as the ‘academy’ now. reading have about 5 different tiers, inc the full and shadow academy

[John Smith]

how much education do they get?

More than Snowball, clearly.

[paultheroyal]

Do you think Academies are getting better? How many do they take on each year - 10 or so isn’t it?

If so, we’ve had a big success in the last year or so

Academies I am experiencing at the mo work with around 16 kids. All on contracts from U9 and above. This age group they operate 2 teams of 7 a side. They will always have a stream of trialists dipping in and out.

[muirinho]

I’d be interested to know how many kids who got into out full academy (rather than the feeder groups) made it as pros - as in got at least one pro contract, not necessary at Reading

My son is at a couple of academies, I can tell you that the percentage that make it is 0.129%

Your son works at them? Or your son is in a couple of academies? If the latter, how does that work? Or has he just moved clubs...

[paultheroyal]

I’d be interested to know how many kids who got into out full academy (rather than the feeder groups) made it as pros - as in got at least one pro contract, not necessary at Reading

My son is at a couple of academies, I can tell you that the percentage that make it is 0.129%

Your son works at them? Or your son is in a couple of academies? If the latter, how does that work? Or has he just moved clubs...

He is at a couple of academies. At one point he was at 3.

U8 level you can be at many as you want, providing you can juggle the commitment. As soon as you hit U9 it gets serious and you sign contracts, you then commit, can only be at one, and you have to give up your local grass roots team. What it does mean is as a parent your life is never the same again. For instance - the plan we are following with one specific club at mo is training Tues, Thurs, Saturday with a match on Sunday. Matches are literally around the country against other category one clubs. I am averaging over 300 miles a week. He enjoys it, I enjoy it, but I know the novelty will wear off and I can see this being a reason a number of children will pack it in and go back to grassroots. Chances of "making it" are very slim and you are taken away from doing "kids things".

Having said that, the training, facilities, level of care, from most clubs is world class.

[muirinho]

My son is at a couple of academies, I can tell you that the percentage that make it is 0.129%

Your son works at them? Or your son is in a couple of academies? If the latter, how does that work? Or has he just moved clubs...

He is at a couple of academies. At one point he was at 3.

U8 level you can be at many as you want, providing you can juggle the commitment. As soon as you hit U9 it gets serious and you sign contracts, you then commit, can only be at one, and you have to give up your local grass roots team. What it does mean is as a parent your life is never the same again. For instance - the plan we are following with one specific club at mo is training Tues, Thurs, Saturday with a match on Sunday. Matches are literally around the country against other category one clubs. I am averaging over 300 miles a week. He enjoys it, I enjoy it, but I know the novelty will wear off and I can see this being a reason a number of children will pack it in and go back to grassroots. Chances of "making it" are very slim and you are taken away from doing "kids things".

Having said that, the training, facilities, level of care, from most clubs is world class.

Ah I see, I didn't realise it was possible to be doing stuff with 2 or 3 clubs at once, and it makes sense that once they get to a certain level, there isn't enough time to juggle more than 1.
It's the same with any kind of commitment like that, with us it was music, although my daughter decided she wouldn't have a career in music (good, but not good enough) when she was in 6th form, so it eased off then. But yeah, county orchestra, county band, county choir, 3 or 4 individual lessons a week etc, 2 hours a day practice etc.
You have to really like it, as there is no time for anything else except school and the thing, whatever the thing is.
Best of luck to your lad anyway.

[paultheroyal]

Your son works at them? Or your son is in a couple of academies? If the latter, how does that work? Or has he just moved clubs...

He is at a couple of academies. At one point he was at 3.

U8 level you can be at many as you want, providing you can juggle the commitment. As soon as you hit U9 it gets serious and you sign contracts, you then commit, can only be at one, and you have to give up your local grass roots team. What it does mean is as a parent your life is never the same again. For instance - the plan we are following with one specific club at mo is training Tues, Thurs, Saturday with a match on Sunday. Matches are literally around the country against other category one clubs. I am averaging over 300 miles a week. He enjoys it, I enjoy it, but I know the novelty will wear off and I can see this being a reason a number of children will pack it in and go back to grassroots. Chances of "making it" are very slim and you are taken away from doing "kids things".

Having said that, the training, facilities, level of care, from most clubs is world class.

Ah I see, I didn't realise it was possible to be doing stuff with 2 or 3 clubs at once, and it makes sense that once they get to a certain level, there isn't enough time to juggle more than 1.
It's the same with any kind of commitment like that, with us it was music, although my daughter decided she wouldn't have a career in music (good, but not good enough) when she was in 6th form, so it eased off then. But yeah, county orchestra, county band, county choir, 3 or 4 individual lessons a week etc, 2 hours a day practice etc.
You have to really like it, as there is no time for anything else except school and the thing, whatever the thing is.
Best of luck to your lad anyway.

Thank you. Football, music, drama, its all on a par with commitment in terms of wanting higher recognition.

It is a great experience for mine, he thinks playing games at St. Georges Park, Cobham etc is the norm and does not realise how lucky he is. I personally don't think he is at the level of a category one club and I would have no complaints if we stepped down a level. Ultimately he needs to be enjoying it etc.

[Hound]

It must be brilliant for him, so many great experiences and memories wherever he ends up

We’ve a few boys at my team who are borderline academy - a number have had trials. Always encourage them to really go for it for that reason. It’s not nec about becoming a pro footballer, but it’s something that they should really enjoy in the moment

[Caskeys Lovechild]

It's fascinating really. The development you see with these kids from the RFC development centres is excellent. My eldest did U7 development last term, and will step to U8 Advanced next term. I don't care if he doesn't make it - as long as he loves every minute of the experience, then I'm good.

Looking back through posts on here, and there are a couple of things to clear up.

- Scouts do attend junior tournaments etc - but they don't "pick" players from them - the occassionally ask to see a player at a development centre to have a proper look, and they'll be added into the system.

- Attitude, being able to take on board and learn, and consistency are absolutely as valuable as outright ability. Some of the best kids my lad has played with, you can see are not progressing at the pace of those with the right attitude, because they think they have it all already.

- Attitude extends to everything from presentation, to listening, to respecting the opposition, to working and playing as a team. "Game Days" are always an eye opener because you often find that you've turned up, and you have 6 talented kids who want to play as individuals, and 3-4 who work as part of a team. The ones who work as part of a team are always the more closely looked at.

- I am a Reading fan - I always have been. The dream is that my son will one day pull on the hoops - of course it is. But as a fan, and a father, it's encouraging to hear kids who have been onboard with the likes of Chelsea, coming back and saying that actually the Reading way is far preferable. Ultimately, if Chelsea want a right back, they'll just go and buy one - whereas Reading can't afford to do that, so there is always the opportunity to progress and grow.

Overall, the Reading development programme is, in my opinion, the right way to deal with the youth.

Oh....and once they're in the development centres, they're still welcome at the soccer schools - in fact that's where my lad is, right now.

[SCIAG]

- I am a Reading fan - I always have been. The dream is that my son will one day pull on the hoops - of course it is. But as a fan, and a father, it's encouraging to hear kids who have been onboard with the likes of Chelsea, coming back and saying that actually the Reading way is far preferable. Ultimately, if Chelsea want a right back, they'll just go and buy one - whereas Reading can't afford to do that, so there is always the opportunity to progress and grow.

Overall, the Reading development programme is, in my opinion, the right way to deal with the youth.

While this is nearly all true (Reading do sign players but far fewer than Chelsea), I don't think it's the full picture. Take right back as an example because you suggested it.

Games for Reading by Julian Kelly, Niall Keown, Sean Long, Tennai Watson, and Teddy Howe: 21
Games for Reading by Shaun Cummings: 86

If you want to play right back for Reading, sign for Chelsea.

Chelsea produce more professional footballers, of a higher quality, than Reading.

Having said that, the chance for opportunities at your parent club is clearly a big draw for a lot of players and parents - I know a few members of the first team squad chose to join Reading's academy for exactly that perception.

[Caskeys Lovechild]

Chelsea produce more professional footballers, of a higher quality, than Reading.
.

Historically, you're quite correct.

However, history means absolutely nothing in junior football - you're investing in what you think the situation will be like, in 10,12,14 years time, when they're potentially ready to do all the pro stuff. I expect that will have swayed very heavily to prove that Reading is the place to be instead of Chelsea.

The coaching at Readings academy mirrors the ethos of the club - doing things the Reading way. They don't teach gamesmanship, they do encourage keeping kids grounded (chelsea have a tendency to big them up, and then destroy them), they do encourage sportsmanship, and experiencing how to win gracefully, as well as lose with a degree of class - this is the polar opposite of my experience with Chelseas kids, and their coaches (and frankly a number of their parents as well).

Taking that into account, I think you will see a higher number, of classy, more able, harder working Pro's come out of Reading, than you will out of Chelsea in the next 10 years - which is exactly why I see Reading as a better option than Chelsea. Maybe that will change with Lampard in charge, who knows?

[SCIAG]

Thing is, we were saying all the same things ten years ago. In that time, Reading have stayed pretty static while Chelsea have made huge progress- they've overtaken Man United to become the country's main producer of professional footballers. Reading catching up is, I would suggest, unfounded speculation.

Even on the mental side of things I'm not sure you're being fair to Chelsea. Remember this is the club that produced grounded young gentlemen like John Swift, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Lewis Baker, and Callum Hudson-Odoi. Sure, they also produced Tammy Abraham... but Reading produced Josh Barrett (and Matt Partridge!). I think with the parents there is probably a selection bias in effect (pushier parents preferring Chelsea, sensible calm parents preferring Reading) but I don't think that tells you anything about a given player's chance at either club.

I will agree with you that it's probably better in the short term for players to sign with Reading - more of a sense of community, less travel time, generally more enjoyable, etc. But for most, Chelsea offer better career prospects.

Obviously you have to do what you think is best for your kid, and you might well have made the right decision, but if we're hoping to be outperforming Chelsea at this in 10 years then I think we're wasting our time.