Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to hear from one of England’s most successful academy managers on player development. PDP Editor, Dave Wright interviews Fulham FC Academy Director, Huw Jennings. Dave speaks to Huw on his personal journey from grassroots to his role leading Southampton’s academy before he worked for the Premier League & his current role as Academy Director of Fulham FC’s highly regarded academy. Huw discusses the rise of Gareth Bale, Adam Lallana & many of the famous Southampton graduates as well as […]
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Player Development Project sits down with Andrew Watt, Youth Development Phase Manager at Fulham FC, to discuss how the Premier League club supports players across the U9-U16 age groups. Below, Andrew provides insights into the Fulham Academy’s principles, his views on talent identification, the different approaches to coaching kids from U9s all the way through to U16s, and how to manage the transitions to different game formats. He also offers practical advice on session design, the merits of isolated and opposed practices, and how […]
Jon de Souza was appointed Academy Manager at Colchester United in July 2016, after a coaching career that has taken him from club he joined as a schoolboy, Luton Town, to a coach education role at the Football Association and Brentford FC. PDP spoke to Jon about his career, and discussed the importance of coaching the individual. Jon de Souza began his footballing journey at Luton Town, signing for the Hatters as an under-14 player. Despite their fairly lowly status, Luton Town are […]
In this Masterclass Webinar replay, the PDP team host top academy coaches, Mark Lyons and Tom Mallinson for an in depth discussion on academy football in England. Mark Lyons is the Pre-Academy Co-ordinator & Lead Coach at Leicester City FC and Tom Mallinson is a Professional Development Phase Coach at Nottingham Forest FC. Experienced Academy Coaches, Dan Wright and Dave Wright will host Tom and Mark for a round table discussion on professional academy football in the UK. All four of our expert panel […]
Kristjaan Speakman has been involved in player development for almost two decades. He is leading a program at Birmingham City FC Academy where he emphasises the value of having an incredibly strong team and focusing the curriculum around a safe and open environment. As a result of that, he and his team are producing players. In his interview with Kristjaan, PDP’s Dave Wright goes in depth into how Birmingham City FC Academy operates and discusses the success of a program which has produced Demarai […]
Josh Cullen is a young West Ham player on the rise. PDP Editor, Dave Wright spoke at length with Josh about his long journey through the West Ham Academy, the value of honesty and the challenge of being pushed outside of his comfort zone. Josh Cullen was born in Hackney in 1996. For the first few years of his life, he lived in Bow, East London – a stone’s throw away from the future home of West Ham United, the Queen Elizabeth Stadium. […]
[…] 3 month journey from the comforts of West London to the challenges of coaching in Africa. In this insightful article, Dan outlines the value of people in any organisation. Driven kids, challenging facilities and some surprising results. This blog examines the Football For Good Academy, Uganda’s only full time football program achieving results against the odds. For the past 3 months I have been coaching in Gulu, Northern Uganda. There have been many new experiences during this period including; a brush with Malaria, poisonous snakes in […]
[…] Now regarded a Premier League stalwart, West Bromwich Albion were a club once derided as the ‘Boing Boing Baggies’ for their succession of relegations and promotions in the early 2000s. Now a stable club under the guidance of Tony Pulis, the club’s academy are producing some exciting young footballers. PDP Editor, Dave Wright spoke to Jimmy Shan, the Under-21 coach at The Hawthorns, about his career and got an insider’s look at the WBA Academy. Unlike the Baggies’ years as a yo-yo club, success […]
[…] is the age where boys become men and the final touches are being put on the developmental journeys of tomorrow’s stars. These players are products of elite level training in some cases of well over a decade. Whatever your thoughts on the English academy system, there is no doubting the capabilities of some of these young players. One of the men involved in this key stage of player development is Liverpool FC U21 Manager, Michael Beale. Beale is not only the manager of the Liverpool side for […]
[…] Jamie Vardy’s are out there who may not get seen or are lost to the system? Either way, Vardy needs to be applauded for taking the challenge on and finding a way back. Not every player is going to be suited to academy football or make it through the academy pathway. Some may not enjoy it, some may not be ready, but others just need time. Adults are in control of designing the definitions of age groups and cut off limits, yet we still […]
What is the Future of Academy Coaching? PDP Lead Researcher, James Vaughan discusses his experience from a trip to the Applied Psychology in Football Conference in Bilbao earlier this year. James shares some of the key questions and notes from the event. Earlier this summer I was lucky enough to attend the AIPAF III International congress of Applied Psychology in Football, held in Bilbao, Spain. This blog is based on the notes that I took at the congress, which were transcribed from discussions translated live from Spanish. The reason […]
[…] Sir Matt Busby, Tony Whelan and more. PDP Editor Dave Wright sits down with Paul to discuss his personal journey, sharing incredible stories of the culture and family values of the club and how he and his colleagues instilled them in the academy. Paul also speaks of his time coaching Paul Pogba, Jesse Lindgard and others, the use of mix aged groups, creative play and cage football. Having overseen 86 graduates at the Manchester United Academy, Paul is a man with a wealth of […]
Tom Mallinson is a UEFA A license holder who works at Nottingham Forest as the U16 coach. Tom has been part of the staff at Nottingham Forest staff for a number of years and worked his way up through the academy. Tom shares some of the methodology he uses with his players as well as giving us an in depth insight to the club player development approach and playing philosophy. Don’t miss this excellent interview with one of England’s brightest young coaching talents. Show […]
[…] Catalonia, his coaching career has taken him from Spain to Hong Kong, where he was named coach of the year twice, before a stint at A-League club Adelaide United. Between 2003 and 2009, Josep was Football Director of FCB Escola, a football academy which prepares young players for Barcelona’s fabled La Masia. Player Development Project’s lead researcher James Vaughan spoke with Josep about his education at FC Barcelona and how his experiences in different coaching environments have shaped his coaching style. PDP: Can you briefly […]
[…] we went on a journey inside the mind of one of The FA’s most talented young coaches. Micciche’s Evolution as a Coach After a number of years working his way through the academies of Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur, Dan became Assistant Academy Manager at MK Dons. Working under Mike Dove (Academy Director), Dan was responsible for working with a number of players who have gone on to professional careers, including Dele Alli – a young man taking the Premier League by storm with […]
We discuss coach innovation and development philosophy with Stuart English, Head of Coaching at the Brentford FC Academy, and one of most exciting young coaches in the game. PDP: Why is it important that long-term player development programmes have a clear philosophy? SE: A clear philosophy is of paramount importance within a long-term development programme because it allows the players, parents and coaches to have a shared understanding of the planned pathway ahead. It makes sure that everybody involved is aware of the demands […]
[…] days done but decades of learning in the bank in terms of game understanding, Senda has taken the unique approach of doing his apprenticeship working with very young players as a coach at Brentford FC within the club’s highly rated, category two academy. We asked Dan to explain his decision to begin working with pre-academy and foundation phase aged players (5–12) and why he didn’t just go straight back into senior football. “The decision was simple. I see so many ex-players come out the […]
[…] Dan Thomas, Lead Youth Development Phase Coach at Fulham FC. Dan has a vast amount of coaching experience and has been immersed in player development at Fulham FC for 10 years. Dan specialises in working with teenage players making the transition from academy to scholarships and discusses the non-linear journey that many players experience. He also gives candid insight into the Fulham FC philosophy and the world of academy football. Don’t miss another fantastic learning opportunity from one of England’s best developmental coaches. Show […]