so many academies

[Jeda]

How do you choose

ask 10 people and you get 10 diffeent answers :? the federation is no use, there's SFA on thier web site

looks like anyone can set up an academy

my brother sends his kid, i'm not sure why when he's a coach.

[teddles]

It's tough mate and I understand where you're coming from.

You can really only make your decision based on the coach - what he teaches and how he does it. That means you're relying on word of mouth really.

I'd suggest you NOT waste too much time asking your mates. Their input is important because like you, they have to suffer the coach's teaching style, but realistically, you need to look further afield - your own coach, parents who can relied upon for good advice, people who've been in football for a long time and know the personalities.

Take Milan's academy for instance. I've watched one of his training sessions (he took my lad's team for a session a week or so back) and talked to men who know him as a player - not a huge knowledge base but it's a start. I'm no footballing expert but as we watched, I talked to a couple of parents from the team who can be regarded as such. The man was one of the country's greatest defenders and played at World Cup level ... so he knows football. Watching him coach, (or rather, listening to him coach), he has a strong accent but once you get used to it, I don't think that's a problem. He's also strong on praising good work and correcting incorrect work. He works on a small pitch, deliberately, as his teaching revolves around skills and teaching players to make space. Then you look at what he's offering - 16 sessions for a reasonable fee. I'd suggest he's good value and you'd learn a lot.

Is he better than anyone else?

I don't have a clue - there might be better out there, there are almost certainly worse.

Does he suit you? Dunno mate, that's a personal question. My son lapped up his session because it was the sort of training and coaching style that suits my son.

When asking others about a clinic, you want to seek out players who have similar attitudes and needs to you. There's no point asking the lad who's into flashy ball skills and scoring goals if you're a workmanlike defender who wants to work on player to player skills rather than pure ball skills - you both want different things out of a coach.

Recomendations?

If my son wanted to go to Milan's academy, I'd happily fork out the money. I'd send him to the Bolton Wanderer's clinics again based on what he got out of them last time. But I'll stop short of recomending them over anyone else because I don't know the others that are out there.

The other thing to consider is your own club's pre-season. I don't know where you are in the hierachy (and even then it depends on your coach), but my lad will probably be in preseason a month after the trials finish and is still in training leading up to the trials. A break from football won't do him any harm at all

[TheLearnedScholar]

It's tough mate and I understand where you're coming from.

You can really only make your decision based on the coach - what he teaches and how he does it. That means you're relying on word of mouth really.

I'd suggest you NOT waste too much time asking your mates. Their input is important because like you, they have to suffer the coach's teaching style, but realistically, you need to look further afield - your own coach, parents who can relied upon for good advice, people who've been in football for a long time and know the personalities.

Take Milan's academy for instance. I've watched one of his training sessions (he took my lad's team for a session a week or so back) and talked to men who know him as a player - not a huge knowledge base but it's a start. I'm no footballing expert but as we watched, I talked to a couple of parents from the team who can be regarded as such. The man was one of the country's greatest defenders and played at World Cup level ... so he knows football. Watching him coach, (or rather, listening to him coach), he has a strong accent but once you get used to it, I don't think that's a problem. He's also strong on praising good work and correcting incorrect work. He works on a small pitch, deliberately, as his teaching revolves around skills and teaching players to make space. Then you look at what he's offering - 16 sessions for a reasonable fee. I'd suggest he's good value and you'd learn a lot.

Is he better than anyone else?

I don't have a clue - there might be better out there, there are almost certainly worse.

Does he suit you? Dunno mate, that's a personal question. My son lapped up his session because it was the sort of training and coaching style that suits my son.

When asking others about a clinic, you want to seek out players who have similar attitudes and needs to you. There's no point asking the lad who's into flashy ball skills and scoring goals if you're a workmanlike defender who wants to work on player to player skills rather than pure ball skills - you both want different things out of a coach.

Recomendations?

If my son wanted to go to Milan's academy, I'd happily fork out the money. I'd send him to the Bolton Wanderer's clinics again based on what he got out of them last time. But I'll stop short of recomending them over anyone else because I don't know the others that are out there.

The other thing to consider is your own club's pre-season. I don't know where you are in the hierachy (and even then it depends on your coach), but my lad will probably be in preseason a month after the trials finish and is still in training leading up to the trials. A break from football won't do him any harm at all

I Have a son involveed in the milan ivanovic's academy and yeah its great but he doesnt have much coaching experience and therefore he isnt teaching the kids evrything. sending your kid to a private academy isnt going to make your son better then any other kid unless hes in the under 12-13 when there learning about angles,switching etc to get ahead of the others. to be honest there is probably only to people in adelaide that i no of that can make ur son a better player. Today in our age and how the system works i advise that ur son should get nominated for all the FFSA academies so they get into the system therefore SASI etc can have a look at them. I no with my sons under 12 development team the coach evry 2 weeks sends in a report to martyn crook about ur sons development. Milan Ivanovic academies in the off season. FFSA academies in the normal season.

[TiTi Thierry Henry]

I'd send him to the Bolton Wanderer's clinics again based on what he got out of them last time.

y wud u send him to the Bolton Wanderes academy
where on the Bolton Website does it have the Australia program
and how do u kno that the coaches have been involved with Bolton
for all you know they could have just lived in England and follow Bolton in th EPL
you cant get sucked into Academies that have big names in their titles
same with the Arsenal Soccer Shools one
you go onto the Arsenal web site and it sayz nuthin about the soccer schools they do in
australia only england ones
that Bolton academy is a scam
the coaches are making thousands and all they teach your kids is what they think they know
i kno a lad who went there and did a 3 hour course and all they did were sprints and indurance stuff which the coaches timed
nothin else like games or skills just running
so what im trying to say is dont get sucked into the academies with big names

[TheLearnedScholar]

same with the Arsenal Soccer Shools one
you go onto the Arsenal web site and it sayz nuthin about the soccer schools they do in
australia only england ones

i agree with you on that one, it wasnt evn properly organised or anything.

[teddles]

I'd send him to the Bolton Wanderer's clinics again based on what he got out of them last time.

y wud u send him to the Bolton Wanderes academy
where on the Bolton Website does it have the Australia program
and how do u kno that the coaches have been involved with Bolton
for all you know they could have just lived in England and follow Bolton in th EPL
you cant get sucked into Academies that have big names in their titles
same with the Arsenal Soccer Shools one
you go onto the Arsenal web site and it sayz nuthin about the soccer schools they do in
australia only england ones
that Bolton academy is a scam
the coaches are making thousands and all they teach your kids is what they think they know
i kno a lad who went there and did a 3 hour course and all they did were sprints and indurance stuff which the coaches timed
nothin else like games or skills just running
so what im trying to say is dont get sucked into the academies with big names

Feel better now?

Though it's hard to tell with your inability to write coherently, I'm guessing you've heard differently, though with the attitude you've attempted to display, that's not surprising.

My lad did a week with them, and every minute was skills based. He learned a lot and on the strength of what he'd learned, the coach of his own team asked him to take a couple of special sessions to show them some of the things he'd learnt. Of course, he's also got the sort of attitude that coaches like - he listens, applies himself and learns.

Like any coaching situation, you only get out of academies what you put into them - see, there's a catch in everything

[TiTi Thierry Henry]

Feel better now?

Though it's hard to tell with your inability to write coherently, I'm guessing you've heard differently, though with the attitude you've attempted to display, that's not surprising.

My lad did a week with them, and every minute was skills based. He learned a lot and on the strength of what he'd learned, the coach of his own team asked him to take a couple of special sessions to show them some of the things he'd learnt. Of course, he's also got the sort of attitude that coaches like - he listens, applies himself and learns.

Like any coaching situation, you only get out of academies what you put into them - see, there's a catch in everything

mmmmmmmm
tell me sumthin though
wheeeeerrreee on the Bolton website does it say anythin about the academy they do down here??????? or any where?
sure the your kid may get sumthin out of it but that doesnt change the fact that its actually
a scam
these men just put a big name on their academy so that parents will think
"oh hang on they're from Bolton well i must send my kid there coz he'll go to Bolton if they like him"
wtf
thats why its better to go to an academy thats started out in SA like Milans