Improving the Youth

A huge debate surrounds English football at the moment concerning the influx of foreign players and their possible detriment to the British game. The common consensus is that foreign players are to blame for the lack of British talent arising throughout the British leagues.

Personally I believe that the way youth football is governed in this country is to blame.

Recent developments have seen the FA place more importance on their youth system with a series of new schemes. The FA hopes to encourage the participation of young people through backing from Football League clubs, the national set-up and the government. By increasing numbers, they believe that more talent will emerge.

I do believe that the more youngsters involved in football, the better. We would see our youth benefit from a healthier lifestyle and a better social base. However, I do believe that we should separate those with talent and those without.
To succeed in anything you have to pit yourself against the best because you learn and adapt from their talents and experience. It should be the same in schools and junior Saturday clubs. Competition is a good thing.

There is plenty of talent in our youth systems. However, the exertion and pressure that is forced upon them means that by the ages of 16 and 17, a lot of them lose interest and become disillusioned with football. This leads to a loss in confidence and wasted talent.

I believe we do not nurture our youth talent properly and that is the reason we don’t see high profile British players coming through.

My ideas on improving the system are a little more detailed than what is suitable for this blog but the rough idea is that clubs start private football schools. This is a radical suggestion and a costly venture for any club so this is where our ‘Premiership big four’ needs to lead the way.

We already have private schools which provide a better education for the more privileged, and not necessarily talented, person so why not private schools for talented footballers?

By premier league clubs starting private secondary schooling from the ages of eleven to eighteen, we would be providing, talented and in most cases, under-privileged children with a higher chance of succeeding.

If we separate the talented from the not so talented, we would be able to focus on improving their footballing abilities whilst providing them with a top class education through their teenage years. The curriculum should stick to the basics; maths, english and science, but then incorporate subjects like physiotherapy, tactical lectures and include training schedules. The children would have fun whilst at school and their motivation and desire levels would be higher. Thus we then produce a more disciplined and developed young person.

This, I believe, is the answer to improving our youth system and a topic that the FA, the PFA and the Premier League need to address.