What Makes a Professional Player?

Commitment - Talent - Chance

Are these the components that if all the stars align and everything comes together will make a Professional Player? The success rate to make a living out of being a Professional Footballer in England is less than 1%. This article looks to delve into why this return from investment into the EPPP Academy system is so low. With the ever rising number of foreign imports in the game and the demand for instant success ever apparent, the dream is only going to get harder, but there are other reasons that only a select few make it.

So what would we class as Commitment? It is much talked about in Sport, or other areas of life that to develop a skill to expert level will take 10,000 hours of practice. That's not to say that any practice will do, for example if I was to practice taking a free kick, curling the ball over the wall time and each time I could adjust the power/direction add more spin from the feedback I received with each failed attempt. However if I was to practice this in complete darkness I wouldn't receive any feedback to help me improve. This means that the practice has to be right and in Football coaching needs to consider the FA 4 corners of long term development, Technical/Tactical, Physical, Psychological, Social. For example if I'm Technically very advanced, but I don't have the confidence to want the ball and show off my technical ability, it's unlikely I will impress anyone enough to be successful. Likewise if I had plenty of confidence and technical ability, but couldn't get around the pitch, due to lack of physical mobility, then again It would be difficult to to reach the pinnacle of the game. Players also have a develop a growth mindset to deal with the many bumps in the road and set backs that will come along. These should be viewed as opportunities to learn and get better, but also analyse areas of ones strengths and areas of development and have a commitment to improve, through deep deliberate practice and play.

I believe that players that reach the highest levels and can earn a living from the game will come to the party with some form of Talent. If this wasn't the case then surely there would be no need for expensive recruitment departments! We could just select any random kids, provide them with the right environment and practice and clubs would yield the rewards, with a conveyor belt of home grown professionals through their Academy system. This isn't to say that just having natural talent will get you there, we've all heard the phrase

"Hard work beats Talent when talent doesn't work hard".

Another topic of discussion to not specialize in one particular sport to early, especially in the Foundation Phase. This is because by playing other sports can help to cut down on overuse injuries. Develop other muscle groups that football may not use and arguably most importantly, help to reduce psychological burn out.

So what does Chance, or luck have to do with it, especially when one maybe committed and show a desire to learn, improve and has the talent to reach the highest levels? I believe chance has a lot to do with it and over the years I have seen some young players who looked as though nothing would stand in the way of their rise within the game and for it to not happen. I have also seen players who you never thought would make it get there. Chance has a big part to play unfortunately and most often these are what we would call uncontrollable's. Things that happen that we have no way of predicting, or controlling. This could be something like receiving a career ending injury, a manger that just doesn't rate you, or one that does (who you know). What if the club change their policy on youth development at time when you reach the age to receive a professional contract! What if the club are in need of a right back as the first choice player gets injured and you get your chance (right place right time)? There are so many variables that are out of your control that it can come down to plain old luck.

So what are your chances of even getting spotted and successfully gaining a place in an EPPP Academy in the first instance? Well believe it, or not it may come down to your birth month! This is because of something that is known as the Birth Bias, which exists in many elite sports including Football. The registration dates in England run from 1st September to 31st August, (parallel with education). To look at this in detail we can split the months of the year into quarters as below.

Q1 Sep - Nov, Q2 Dec - Feb, Q3 Mar - May, Q4 Jun - Aug.

Just think if you are lucky enough to be born in either Q1, or Q2 then you will more than likely share a birth month with boys within EPPP Academies. Why? Because boys in the first two quarters are more likely to be bigger stronger faster than their peers in the latter quarters. The gap in age can nearly a year in some cases. This then gives the boys a massive advantage to stand out to scouts watching them play for their grassroots clubs. As soon as they get into an Academy, that can be it, game over! From here on in they will now be subjected to more coaching hours and higher qualified coaches working with them. Their chance over making a professional is increased just because of chance and when they happened to be born!

What if you are born into a lower income family? Academy football is quickly becoming a sport for the middle classes. How many families have the financial resources to take their sons to training three times a week and fixtures that are situated all over the country. For bigger clubs being able to provide travel is key in bridging this divide, but what if you don't live near such a club (post code lottery).

There is evidence to suggest that having older siblings can help your journey. They may make you up your game to be able to compete in the garden and also learn new techniques and skills from someone who is likely to be more technically advanced.

When you start to add all these elements up it's not hard to see why the success rate of becoming a Professional Footballer is below 1%, but this won't stop the chosen few from pursuing the dream and clubs competing to produce the next academy graduates.