The Bristol City Youth academy has often promised much and
delivered, arguably, disappointingly.
That was certainly the impression given by the club this summer with a
revamp ordered by Derek McInnes, frustrated at the lack of options available to
him.
Many thanks to both Lee and Trevor for this interview, and let's hope the anticipation Trevor has for the next few years bears fruit and can start to bring youngsters - ideally locally born and bred - into City's first team.
In the first of a couple of articles on the youth set-up at
City, guest writer Lee Molland got in touch with ex Bristol Roversfullback Trevor Challis and got a fascinating insight into some of the
workings of City's Academy and what happens behind the scenes.
Hi Trevor, thank you
for agreeing to chat to us today, can we start by asking you about your
professional background and how you’ve ended up at Bristol City?
I played football from
very young age and trained at Arsenal and Queens Park Rangers as a child and
signed professional forms for Q.P.R. at 18.
I made my first team debut at 20, playing 14 times in the Premier League
1995-96 season. I played for England at under-16, under-18 and under-21’s. I spent seven years at Q.P.R., then moved to Bristol Rovers with Ian
Holloway. After my time there I then
played for Telford United, Shrewsbury, Weymouth and Eastleigh.
I ended up coaching at
City because I had an interest in coaching as my career was ending. I wanted to coach children at the highest
level and in the South West that team is Bristol City. I coached the under-13 age group, then the under-14
‘s. The then Head of Recruitment Kevin Scott
left for Stoke City and I applied for the vacant position and got the role.
What is your role
within the Academy set up?
I am the Head of Academy
Recruitment which means I lead a team of recruitment officers in the South West
to watch and monitor the best young footballers and try to ensure they sign for
City ahead of our rivals. I also oversee
the running of our development centres in Monmouth, Gloucester, Wiltshire and
Bristol.
Talk us through the
restructure of the Academy and what the Elite Player Performance Plan means?
How will this benefit young want to be footballers?
There have been huge
changes in the academies in England with more investment from the Premier League
(around £300 million) being invested in youth football. With this investment the Premier League wants
to see more accountability in academies with four different level of academy.
Level 1 academies can now recruit into their
academies nationwide and have to have the best elite facilities for the boys to
train at. This includes outdoor and
indoor astroturf, classrooms for day release training, hydrotherapy pools etc.
Level 2 academies (the
level Bristol City are in) can only recruit boys within a 1½ hour drive which
is regionalised, but also have to provide facilities for schooling.
The variance is shown
by the fact that Level 4 academies can now only recruit boys at under-16 age
level for youth team football.
The benefits for the
boys will be an investment in better facilities, and more coaching contact time
with the implementation of the day release programme at all age groups.
What are the
facilities like at the Failand Training ground?
The facilities are good
at Failand with the best grass pitches in the South West for academy
football. The club own four pitches
which the first team train on daily, and a pitch for the under-18’s and under-16’s.
The schoolboy pitches
are leased from QEH school, as are the changing rooms which isn’t ideal as there
is no gym or any indoor coaching areas.
How often do the boys
train and to what standard of coaching?
The hours the boys
train increase as the boys get older. The
under-9 age group train for 1½ hours, three times a week, and play competitive
games on a Sunday. The same hours apply for the under-10 and under-11’s.
The under-12 to under-16’s
train three times per week for two hours and play competitive football on a
Saturday and Sunday. The coaching the boys receive is excellent with all coaches
having a UEFA B licence as a minimum.
What are your
thoughts on the standard of children playing in youth football?
The standard varies
across the board, with the better being in the younger age groups (under-8 to under-11).
We generally find the standards drop the
older the boys become, and it is a lot harder to pick an academy standard boy in
the under-12 to under-16 age groups. This
is because the standard of coaching the boys receive at junior football is not
as elite as that received by the boys at the academy and bad habits generally
creep into the boys games.
What age do the boys
first come into the academy?
We start recruiting
the boys at 6 years old, this is called the pre academy group (6-8). The
importance of recruiting the best boys at 8 means the foundation coaches can
implement their syllabus with the most co-ordinated and elite boys, whilst the
academy now goes up to 21 for the first time this season.
How far does your
scouting network reach out?
I personally have
contacts based in London and the Midlands who recommend boys to Bristol City, especially
at under-16 level and above. In our
region we have teams of scouts who work in South Wales, Gloucester, Wiltshire, North
Somerset, South Gloucestershire and, of course, Bristol.
What hope can you
give the local boys of being spotted?
The scout will look at
technical ability, but will first and foremost look at the boys character and
desire to work, listen and learn, we call this dogmatic. Without this willingness to work hard in a
game we will see a boy who will be probably a poor trainer without the ability to
learn (fixed mindset), so we look for the boy with the open mindset.
What are your hopes
for the future of the Academy?
With our new
facilities at Filton College, the increase of staffing and the increase in
coaching contact time as well as finance it is a very exciting time to be
involved at the Bristol city Academy. We
hope to have more boys being promoted into the 1st team and we
believe over the next 2-4 years it could potentially be a very exciting time
for youth development.
Many thanks to both Lee and Trevor for this interview, and let's hope the anticipation Trevor has for the next few years bears fruit and can start to bring youngsters - ideally locally born and bred - into City's first team.
I enjoyed your article on Trevor Challis and the details relating to the BCFC academy, I have had past experience with the academy in that I have worked closely with them and Pete Coleman in the past whilst running a Backwell Youth in the Somerset Floodlight league, assisted by Gerry Sweeny and Pete we had 6 players turn professional one became and
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One comment I would like to make strongly is that its great to have boys looked at when 6 or 7yrs. However these things should be considered, 1. What are the boys skill levels at this age, 2. what part of his current age year is he at. 3. should other boys be listed for future viewing, 3. Once the boys have been taken from there clubs, where do they carry on being coached correctly.
In my experience boys develope to the necessary standard at different periods and this why the likes of Southampton and other clubs come in and pick up what may have been a local player of the standard required.
Whilst young the important thing is teaching attitude and skill, strength and application can come later, this is a modern coaching theory adopted by foreign clubs. There is I believe a gap to be filled at this young age.
Thanks for your comments - some interesting thoughts! I think we're still way behind much of Europe in our approach, apart from the occasional, forward-thinking club. Let's hope Carlos Anton and Tinnion can help that change with us!
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