At this time of year, much of the focus is on retaining and releasing, and it has been the centre of most of the work I have done over the past few weeks. Parents contact me because they have received a decision from a club, and it isn't the news they hoped for. How can we begin to deal with this?
Why do players want to be professionals?
When becoming a professional player hangs in the balance or someone has decided to release a player and becoming a professional seems further away than it did before, I have found it useful to explore with a player why they want to be a professional.
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Extreme Ownership
In ownership comes a level of freedom we can't accomplish without some hard work.
Trust in professional football
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.
30-1 Shot
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.