In the world of professional youth football, success is often portrayed as glamorous — elite academies, training facilities, and dreams of the big leagues and so on. But beneath the surface, many young players endure a training culture shaped not just by discipline, but by punishment, intimidation and fear. After a conversation about the culture within clubs with a parent this week, it was. topic I wanted to blog about. I also mentioned it in this week's video, which you can watch here:
Punishment or Discipline? The Hidden Reality of Youth Football Training
Behind every professional prospect is a young person learning about themselves, the sport, and, of course, the world. Education and development should be built on support and growth, not fear and punishment. It is up to us to take control of that.
Read next
Getting and Agent: How to...
If you read these blogs, you will know I love the conceptual idea of Simon Sinek's "always start with why?" and that it is worth asking about an agent.
"But they may as well take the extra training"
Research often flies in the face of "common sense". For example, we've all been told that practice makes perfect, so it stands to reason that the more we practice becoming a footballer, the more chance we have of "making it". Unfortunately, that is a very simple way of looking at things.
Do clubs have plans for their players?
It remains the case that in most academies, career planning is absent, leaving young players and their families vulnerable to clubs that, in many cases, also have not planned a player's career.