my sister in laws stepson is in that age group, one of 2 goalies they kept on palace send a driver to get him from his home for training when the old man can't get him there from their home in Surrey (funnily enough) his old man was at Chelsea but never made a first team appearance , he played for AFC Wimbledon early 2000's The kid has turned up here in palace clothes and been abused , he's a Chelsea fan
Been watching it. Yes...shame it's Palace but it's a great watch ... 1% make it to the Premier league. Gives a good insight into the pressures these young kids are under.
The equivalent show on Sky (One Shot) was an interesting watch. Focussed on slightly older players who had been scouted. Also featured the "over enthusiastic parent" issue which was cringeworthy. Worth a watch as well.
I found it a bit upsetting to watch the pressure being put on an 8 year old. In my mind it is a form of abuse. What I see happen in many cases is when the child is old enough to say F off, they do when their parents are so controlling and pushy. They take all the joy out of the game for the kid.
I found it a bit upsetting to watch the pressure being put on an 8 year old. In my mind it is a form of abuse. What I see happen in many cases is when the child is old enough to say F off, they do when their parents are so controlling and pushy. They take all the joy out of the game for the kid.
A parent's job should be about supporting and managing expectations. The reality is that 99% of any year group will not make it as a professional. That said, there are very few that do become pros without the influence and support of a parent.
The journey is great all the time that a child remains in that 1% because of the peer adulation that comes from being in that position. I know of a lad (my son's age) who was at Palace and who captained the U14s when he was from the year below. Going from that to being told at 15 that he was being released would have been devastating for him. He ended up at Sutton but is now at Wimbledon - there is still no certainty that he will become an established pro but the dream leaves on. For others, it is over already and some of those never kick a ball again such is the impact of rejection. And that is very sad.
My son is 5ft 11, thanks to my wife's side of the family He was spotted as a keeper and made it to the Tottenham Academy and then went on to a football development centre which was aligned to Norwich and then Palace. It was good that he had access to top coaches but I knew his journey as a footballer would only go so far despite him being an excellent keeper because of the height limitation.
It hasn't been a negative for him as he did brilliantly academically and has gone to Uni in Bournemouth to study Sports development for 4 years. last year was the work placement year and he was coachiing the keepers at a professional club in Norway at all their youth levels. We are very proud of him and he is doing something he loves and is driving himself in where he wants to go.
He wasn't overly pushed on the football side and his academic acheivements were prioritised but on his football journey I saw too many lads whose parents, often very nice people, prioritised them being footballers and didn't care about anything else. Where does that leave you when you are one of the 99%? In fact I think the 99% is probably an even higher number if you take it from everybody who has had a spell at an academy.
Get out of it. You'd have to pay me to watch. All that garish stripey shit makes me sick. I fast forward past them on MOTD (win or lose, I don't want to know) so why would I watch their bunch of kids?
Comments
palace send a driver to get him from his home for training when the old man can't get him there from their home in Surrey (funnily enough)
his old man was at Chelsea but never made a first team appearance , he played for AFC Wimbledon early 2000's
The kid has turned up here in palace clothes and been abused , he's a Chelsea fan
The journey is great all the time that a child remains in that 1% because of the peer adulation that comes from being in that position. I know of a lad (my son's age) who was at Palace and who captained the U14s when he was from the year below. Going from that to being told at 15 that he was being released would have been devastating for him. He ended up at Sutton but is now at Wimbledon - there is still no certainty that he will become an established pro but the dream leaves on. For others, it is over already and some of those never kick a ball again such is the impact of rejection. And that is very sad.
It hasn't been a negative for him as he did brilliantly academically and has gone to Uni in Bournemouth to study Sports development for 4 years. last year was the work placement year and he was coachiing the keepers at a professional club in Norway at all their youth levels. We are very proud of him and he is doing something he loves and is driving himself in where he wants to go.
He wasn't overly pushed on the football side and his academic acheivements were prioritised but on his football journey I saw too many lads whose parents, often very nice people, prioritised them being footballers and didn't care about anything else. Where does that leave you when you are one of the 99%? In fact I think the 99% is probably an even higher number if you take it from everybody who has had a spell at an academy.