Extreme Ownership
In ownership comes a level of freedom we can't accomplish without some hard work.
In ownership comes a level of freedom we can't accomplish without some hard work.
Trust, in aspect of elite sport, is hard to manage. But it isn't in a space away from a club. This is something I have increasingly focussed on in my work.
We might look at the high number of under-21 players used by Sunderland and think, this is a good place for a career. BUT, a further move or loan has been necessary for these players.
The confidence of being on the pitch, present, in the moment, unshackled, unburdened, all because you have a plan, that is where performance peaks. That is how you shift the needle.
Biological age in a football academy refers to how physically developed a player is compared to their actual chronological age. What does the research say about the impact of this?
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.
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.
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.
I hear a lot of discussion about culture in clubs - clubs love to find "culture carriers" for their teams, but how often do they reflect on the environments that have given rise to certain cultures?
We, as family members, can continue to pretend that running out in front of 40,000 people is a pleasure, or we can be realistic about the challenges that confront our kids in this brutal world.
"But we have the data, why wouldn't we use it?". You can only use data if you know how to handle it.
Reading this article made me realise the need for people like me (and others, of course) to rally against such populist writing.
Last week, I chatted with a representative from Benfica about their academy. There are some valuable lessons for us all to take from that chat.