Reader,
One of the hardest parts of working in professional football is the reality of ‘retain and release’ meetings. At the end of every season, players are given an indication as to how they’re tracking and ultimately if they will be retained, or released from the club the following year. This can be a brutal process with young players.
In amateur football, we have the luxury of more time with players, not constrained by systems where players have to ‘make it’ at a certain age. Over the last five weeks, our club has been going through trial processes for 2025 youth teams (U13- U17).
The hardest part of all of this, whether it’s a professional or amateur environment, is that tough decisions often have to be made as we simply can’t select everyone, and ensuring the appropriate challenge point is important in developing players.
When I first arrived at the club, we were still selecting teams at age U9-U12. Given the flaws of selecting and identifying ‘talent’ at this young age, we removed this policy and provided open access to any player who wanted to train twice a week in our U9-12 programme.
As a result, more kids are now getting access to better coaching and programming at younger ages and are filtering through to the youth programme for more competitive players who want to train 3 times per week and play a game on the weekend.
So what steps are we taking to navigate the challenge of hundreds of players competing for spots on our select youth teams?
Three things to consider
- Look at players over a window of time as opposed to a snapshot. Know their date of birth to take relative-age-effect into account and ensure coaches are observing, documenting and tracking player performance each week.
- Multiple sets of eyes on players. With coaches working in groups, and utilising ‘carousel’ type sessions, groups of coaches get to look at players over the trial period and make more informed decisions.
- If you need more time, take more time. Some players might just need more time to get used to the training environment. Don’t be afraid to extend the window to those who might need it.
All of the above ideas also need to be supported with clear communication to parents and players about what’s expected and how the process has been executed.
One thing for you to try this week.
Give some thought to how you select and what you’re looking for when you select players.
It’s often easy to see players who perform (short term) due to advanced training age, physical maturation or increased confidence, but spotting potential can be more tricky. Getting clear on how you identify players beyond technical or physical attributes is important.
One critical resource on the topic.
Check out this Masterclass Discussion with Nick Levett and the PDP Team on talent identification and talent development.
This is essential viewing for those who truly want to be better at understanding the selection and identification of young players.
