This document discusses elite player development systems around the world, comparing England, France, Holland, Spain, and the United States. It finds that France's system, centered around youth academies, has been the most successful in developing players for their national teams based on recent international tournament results. England is seen to lag behind other countries in prioritizing youth development and coaching quality. The document advocates that England could improve by learning from successful models used in other countries like the Dutch emphasis on developing technical skills at a young age.
1. Worldwide Elite Player Development Are England so far behind? Steven Dillon, Tom Fawdry, Dominic Haynes, Scott Slater
2. Recent World Cup or European Championships Players Produced by Academies, both Men and Women Difference In Priorities How does England Compare? What Happens Next? Success – How does England compare?
3. Nicolas Anelka – Chelsea Thierry Henry –Barcelona William Gallas – Arsenal Samir Nasri– Arsenal Karim Benzema – Lyon World Cup Winners – 1998 European Championships Winners –2000 U21 European Championships Winners – 1988 Olympic Gold Medallists – 1984 France
4. Klaas Jan Huntalaar – Real Madrid Rafeal Van der Vart – Real Madrid Wesley Sneijder – Real Madrid Ryan Babel – Liverpool Roysten Drenthe – Real Madrid European Championships Winners – 1988 U21 European Championships Winners – 2006 & 2007 Holland
5. Bojan – Barcelona Fernando Torres - Liverpool Sergio Ramos – Real Madrid Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal David Villa – Valencia European Championship Winners – 2008 U21 European Championships Winners – 1986 & 1998 Olympic Gold Medallists – 1992 Spain
6. Freddy Adu – Benfica DaMarcus Beasley – Glasgow Rangers Clint Dempsey – Fulham Taylor Twellman – New England Revolution Natasha Kai – U.S Women Women’s World Cup Winners – 1991 & 1999 Women’s U19 World Championship Winners – 2002 Women's Olympic Gold Medallists – 1996, 2004 & 2008 Women's U23 Nordic Tournament – 2008 United States of America
7. David Beckham– L.A Galaxy / AC Milan Wayne Rooney – Manchester United John Terry – Chelsea Steven Gerrard– Liverpool Rio Ferdinand – Manchester United World Cup Winners – 1966 U21 European Championship Winners – 1982 & 1984 England
9. England – (The F.A – The Football Association) ‘To enjoy their football experience and improve their techniques.’ ‘To develop their movement and discover the benefits of learning.’ Worldwide Soccer Development Priorities
10. France – (F.F.F – French Football Federation) ‘To become a professional player with the maximum chance of succeeding. (This includes the four factors of soccer) ‘Keep up with academic studies so they can have a career in the event that a soccer career is not an option’ Worldwide Soccer Development Priorities
11. United States of America – (U.S.S.F – US Soccer Federation) ‘To promote the implementation of small sided games as a vehicle for match play for players under the age of 12 throughout the United States’ ‘To promote and encourage in appropriate developmental environment for players that is based on both age and ability characteristics’ Worldwide Soccer Development Priorities
12.
13. French Football’s Elite Youth Development “Now France is quite simply the world-wide example for the production of young footballers” Williams (2006) Guardian
14. National Technical Director (DTN) FFF Coaching Structure 8 National Coaches 27 Conseiller Technique Regional (CTR) 80 Conseiller Technique Departemental (CTD)
15. Lord Triesman – Independently appointed Chairman Sir Trevor Brooking – Head of Football Development Division 53 County FA’s The FA Player Development Structure
16.
17. “...set the standard in terms of ethos, pedagogy and general education” – Blaquart (2001)
18.
19.
20.
21. “An excellent complement to the activities of preformation. Selection for international matches gives the youngsters an international culture regarding tactics and irreplaceable experience of the highest level of football” – FFF’s justification of the National Centre de Preformation system – Morlans (2001)Clairefontain
24. First began preparations in 2001 under the supervision of Howard Wilkinson, the former Technical Director of the FANational Football Centre
25.
26. “There is already a massive problem with the lack of opportunity given to players of 17 and over. It will impact on the national team if we don't have players coming through from the academies” – Howard Wilkinson (2007)Conclusions
27.
28. The Breeding Ground of Dutch Football (FIFA) 29 league titles (Eredivisie) 4 times winners of champions league 17 times winners of league cup (KNVB Cup) Holland
29. ‘The Child is always the centre of their football not the coaching. Their whole attitude is based on a child and community based culture.’ (Cooper, P. English based Dutch UK football school) ‘Central within the club is the style of play (4-3-3), training, behaviour and house rules. Ajax strives to keep the way of playing football recognisable; attractive, offensive-minded, creative, fast, fair and preferably far away from the own goal on the opponents’ half.’ (www.ajax.nl) The Vision of Ajax
30. English Society & Culture (UNICEF, Child poverty in perspective: An overview of child well-being in rich countries, Innocenti Report Card 7, 2007 UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Florence.)
31. “At the moment anyone who’s any good quickly goes through the system and is coaching 16-plus because that’s the only place to get any money, whereas in other countries they pay quality people to stay in the 5-11’s and to stay in the 11-16’s” (Sir Trevor Brooking) Premier League only signed up to UEFA’s coaching rules in 2003 A View from the Top…
32. England must go Dutch to become world beaters Watford FC and the Harefield Academy Government Academies Initiative What Next?
35. Too much pressure on young players A severe lack of age appropriate coaching No obvious system to accommodate for late developing players Too much emphasis on results in all age groups A lack of ability to develop talent early and placing them in the correct environment (Allen 2008) Problems in the development of young players
36. “In the United States, we have sought to develop players in a somewhat backward way compared with the rest of the world.” (Allen 2008, p.17) “...we have been trying to fit younger players into an adult scheme based upon the mistaken notion that they will develop through earlier and more intense competition.” (Allen 2008, p.17) Problems continued...
37. The opportunities to mimic or copy from observing other players The freedom to experiment without the fear of being cut from the squad or benched Playing with and against many different players each day, allowing each player to adopt many different roles (Allen 2008) Street Soccer
38. “Long term player development is an issue that every football club in the world has to address and a number of clubs around the globe are turning to a proven and successful club in this field to help meet their objectives” (Everton Academy Online 2008) Illinois Youth Soccer Association Ontario Soccer Association FC Revolution New England Aztecs Making Positive Change In Player Development...The Everton Way
39. How did we conduct our research? Where did we find our research? Did we encounter any problems? Strengths and Weaknesses of mediums? RESEARCH
40. Identified contemporary issue within sport ‘European Culture for Elite Player Development’ Decision on approach, how would we tackle the subject? Initial general research of industry and topics Decided how would information be presented? Concluded on PowerPoint presentation Research Approach
41. Group delegated and divided workload Conduct individual research ‘Reported Back’ to group, presenting initial findings Confirmation of Topic – ‘Worldwide Elite Player Development’ Deeper individual and group research Initial Draft Research Approach Continued…
46. Accessible from various locationsX Response not always received X Not very personal X Computers not always available to access X Receiver may not be educated in that field X Research may not be reliable
49. Can be subject specificX Speed of delivery slows research down X Not always the priority of the receiver X Can get lost in the postal system Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Techniques
53. Can cover large quantities of peopleX Receivers are not always prepared to answer many questions X Few recipients replied to questionnaire X Often be time consuming Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Techniques
57. Information free of chargeX Sources not always reliable X Often too much information X Sources sometimes conflict each other X Not always up to date Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Techniques
58.
59. Highest Level on Evidence SpectrumX Not always easily accessible X Information not always up to date, due to embargoes X Journals sometimes incur costs X Difficulties obtaining journals Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Techniques
62. Reliable source as they have been publishedX Books often contradict each other X Often too much information X Only available in certain locations Strengths and Weaknesses of Research Techniques
72. Williams, A. M. And Hodges, N. (2005) Practice, instruction and skill acquisition in soccer: Challenging tradition. Journal of Sports Sciences Vol. 23 Issue 6, p637Referencing
