ACADEMY PLAYERS, CAN A CLUB BASE ITS STRUCTURE ON ACADEMY FOOTBALL?.

Academy players are those players who have been formed from a very early age in the academy teams of the club, following a specific methodology and acquiring their own values.

The transformation of stones into diamonds. For this to happen it is necessary to progress in the structural aspect of the club, but it is not the only one. The other fundamental aspect is the formation, which although it is known by all must be deepened. Boosting both the results can be surprising. Anyway this goes beyond results.

• Is it possible to build a competitive team with academy players?.
• Is it necessary to win titles to develop the project?.
• Is it an economically viable project?.
• In the future, will players look for other clubs of greater prestige?.

STRUCTURAL ASPECTS.

Training facilities.

They are really expensive and if you are not going through a good economic moment the club will not be able to afford it.

Training facilities simplify the players' learning process and enable them to reach their potential more safely.

It increases the chance of better players coming out. It allows them to learn or evolve properly.

Preparation of young players.

It increases the chance of the academy getting better players.

It is therefore very important that the club has its own academy to be able to continue improving it with the advances and evolution of football.

The costs generated by a high-level academy are considerable and are due to the fact that, each time it increases its level, the monthly expenses are increased.

Investing in academy can become a double-edged sword. Investing more or less depends on the aspirations and the risk you take. This is why a sports breakthrough is necessary in order not to ruin with the academy.

Recruitment network for young players.

It is very important to have a network to attract young talent both nationally and internationally. Having scouts with knowledge from different countries will help in the search for young talent at an early age at low cost.

ECONOMIC ASPECTS.

Revenue from sales of:

• Players not formed by the club: It is easier to get rid of other players than your own. However, it is not advisable to sell more than necessary because you have to give the team some time to regenerate. It is a way to gain time for the development of the players of the academy and in money that can be invested in improving facilities or buying young talents.
• Players formed by the club: In addition to painful can considerably reduce the level of the team, so it must be done very carefully and only in cases where there is no other way out. The next sale and repurchase profit clauses (in the own players).

Other items of income:

• Season tickets and tickets to the games.
• Advance in the official leagues/cups.
• TV.
• Organize matches/cups/friendly tours.
• Lower income.

Any extra income earned is well received. Cups should be played with alternative teams (and with a significant presence of academy players) if the situation permits. The higher the advance, the higher the income, the same case with the final position of the league.

It is interesting to organize all kinds of friendlies in preseason to obtain income that, although they will not change the economic situation of the club, at least they will contribute a grain of sand.

Expenditures: It is important to differentiate monthly costs (salaries, maintenance) from one-off costs (facility improvements).

Player salaries: A team full of young players requires (at least in the beginning) a tiny part of what already trained players would require (point in favor, few economic expenses). Later on with future renewals you have to be careful with players who collect a salary above their level, substitute players who want to charge more than they are worth it is advisable to find a possible exit (without affecting the quality of the team).

Contracts: The key is to work long term. It is essential to pay attention to the contracts and renew them permanently to ensure that that exceptional young player who left the academy is staying as long as possible (in case the player cannot be retained, at least be able to sell it well). Having players for 4 or 5 years gives a lot of room for manoeuvre when things don’t go as expected.

Players not formed by the club who are an important part of the team must remain in the team until the young people start to evolve or a good offer arrives. Same case with veterans who must renew every year if they are still useful as rotation players or to teach young people.

SPORTING ASPECTS.

Training.

It’s important to get players out of the academy so they can get full-time contracts. In England it works by passing them to the reserve team.

Training should be personalized, without exception. Form the player, choose the type of profile he or she will take and the role he or she will play on the field. A workout for each player ensures that the youngster becomes the type of player sought. It is also important the individualized training in the points where the player weakens and also train positions that are not covered or there are not enough variants, always thinking long-term.

The key is progression, so that a player can reach his full potential depends on many variables:

• Adequate training facilities: Explained above, they must be taken very seriously because it depends on what the club produces.
• Training: It is essential to have a good team of trainers well distributed in the different types of training.
• Play regularly: With a good management of the reserve team where the positions are well distributed and a first team with a short but well-used squad ensures that everyone plays enough not to lose their physical form and continue training correctly.
• Favorable personality: It makes everything flow, saves problems and also ensures that progression reaches success.

The unfavorable personalities are to blame for the player being stuck, not being trained or on the field being a shadow of what their supposed quality says. It is common for a player with great technical abilities not to capture that quality on the playing field because he is mentally weak.

Injuries: Luck has an important part to play in this. Whether a player is seriously injured and his progression is cut dry depends on chance. The injuries will appear sooner or later but if they do not happen with so much frequency/gravity and allow the player to reach his potential and play enough games per season we can choose to continue to count on him or not, everything will depend on how good the player is.

The influence of the veteran player: It will help in the mental growth of the young player, giving him advice given the experience of the veteran and helping in the evolution at the tactical and personal level.

The reserve team: Important to have it controlled, the youngest players just can sign a full-time contract are going to be part of the reserve team. It is important to look at how their development is going in the reserve team and their evolution with the passing of the seasons.

Tactic: The tactics can start from an idea, but will be modified from the players who leave the academy. The key is to build a competitive block that will serve as a basis for developing young players. Selling to players not formed by the club while giving themselves opportunities takes a while, around 5-6 seasons at least (depending on the level of players leaving the academy). With 5 seasons we will have our own players playing regularly for the team.

It is advisable to look for a tactical scheme where our best players can enhance themselves, but without the rest of the team being harmed. It is important to have 2 players per position and if possible 2 or 3 polyfunctional to serve as a patch in case of a plague of injuries.

Luck: It involves a chance share. Even with the best possible training facilities, years may pass without high-level players in the academy. Doing things with proper planning and in the most professional way possible increases the possibilities but chance plays a fundamental role.

Some teams bet heavily on their academy.

Southampton FC.

FC Barcelona.

Athletic Club Bilbao.

Ajax Amsterdam.

CA River Plate.

CONCLUSION.

Betting on young players leaving the academy is a risk, you must work very hard and bet long-term (which means short-term problems). But as we have said before, it can be a great economic income and a cost that is not too high. In the end any club that wants to base its idea on this must rely on these 5 pillars:

1. Be patient.
2. Give time to time.
3. Be meticulous and take care of the small details.
4. Have some luck.
5. Be realistic and not deceive yourself.