Dr Chris Platts worked in Academia for over 15 years studying the work of professional footballers. He presented and published on the international stage before starting chrisplatts.co.uk
I help young players and their families to "look both ways as they cross the road". I want young players to go through their football journey knowing the full story, taking a more evidence-based approach to their career planning.
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.
Some clubs strive to develop the person before the footballer; some do not. The problem is that you don't know which club you are at until it is too late. Are you at a club that has a person-centred culture, or are you at a club that delivers what it has to, and that is your lot?
Players are often expected to balance their intense training and match schedules with their educational requirements. Yet, for many, the experience of formal education is far from a positive one. Last week, a parent of a player asked me how I explained this. What a good topic for a blog!
Love it or loathe it, the process of growing up and developing socially involves discovering our own spaces. It is something that has occurred in countless generations. But for young males who commit to professional football clubs, the process is different.
Perhaps the biggest lesson from this is that as a parent/guardian/family member, you need to understand this could be the culture of an academy, and watch for instances of it.
Whether this environment should be like this is a matter of wider debate, and plenty of debate exists. For us, however, at this point, what is important is that it is like this. This is an environment that you will have to thrive in to succeed in football
I thought I would put together a post that gives you an overview of the Relative Age Effect and how it might, ultimately, help you understand aspects of your child's development.
Not only do we need reliable data, we need to use data reliably.
It is easy to focus on the short-term rewards over the longer-term goals. For young people like footballers who are craving a professional contract, this is understandable. But that means that as parents, guardians and family members supporting those players, we need to focus on the longer term.
Claims that only 0.012% 'make-it' do little to advance our understanding of this topic and, therefore, are of little use for players trying to prepare for their careers or the parents and guardians supporting them. So let's dig a little deeper.
