Last week, I enjoyed attending a Careers Day at Doncaster Rovers Football Club. Nine professional clubs attended, with the majority of the players being under-18s. Some had been told they were being released at the end of the season and some were still in limbo awaiting a decision. I enjoy attending these days for two reasons, first, it is a great chance for me to speak with young players and test my research. I openly ask questions that test what I have found to see if players disagree or verify what I have found elsewhere.
Among the things I found still occur at various clubs included the "copy-and-paste approach" to completing B-Tec education. It is frustrating enough that these boys are offered mainly B-Tecs, but then they are rarely taught in a way conducive to learning. Second, for those who do A-Levels (a relatively new approach), I'm finding players having to miss training sessions to complete their A-Levels. What a great way to disincentivise a young male from taking A-Levels.
Why I was there
These debates surfaced on the day because I was there to encourage these young males to carefully consider university before deciding whether to go or not. This issue harks back to my own experiences of teaching at university, where I came across many a student who had decided to attend, having been released at 18. The process (although there were a few exceptions) became all too familiar:
