football academy

The Football Academy is the first Football Academy of its type in the region outside of the Football League.

The main purpose of the Academy is to assist students aged 16 -19 years old into a semi-professional or professional career as a football player. However, the academy also realises the crucial need for all students to have a solid academic background as well.

The Academy will achieve this by way of high quality education, a wide range of different subjects from which to choose and a variety of different levels of qualifications to suit all standards. In this way, the academy can offer its students the best of both the football and academic worlds. The benefits of this policy will be a greater number of career path choices for the Academy student.
 

Who is it suited to?
The Academy is suited to students who are committed to a career as a semi-professional or professional football player. Students should be entering Year 12 in the September for the start of the academic year.

Students should be able to demonstrate a good technical ability and good potential to develop as a football player. Students will have to achieve GCSE or BTEC results that adequately meet the requirements of the academic course or courses to which they have applied.

The Academic Programme
The Academy’s academic programme provides one of the widest range of subject choices available in this type of scheme. Students can choose either from a BTEC Level 2 or BTEC Level 3 in Sport, these are both two year courses, students will also have additional courses such as the FA Football Coaching Level 1 & FA Football Coaching Level 2 Awards.
 

The Football Programme
Day to Day – How it will work?
As you would expect, time in the Academy is divided clearly between the football programme and the academic side. Each student’s continuing participation in the Academy will be subject to satisfactory performance in both the football and academic programmes.

Every successful applicant will be able to take advantage of between nine to fifteen hours football training or playing per week

The Academy football development curriculum will include:

The venues and surface types for the training may vary. The remaining time will be taken up by the selected academic subjects. Exact times and durations will depend upon the type and number of subjects selected.

Some of the academy students will be selected to play matches for Professional, Semi- Professional Football Clubs either with the Youth, Academy or Senior teams.
 

These games may be played during the normal curriculum hours, weeknights under floodlights or Saturdays.

The Application & Trials process
The application and trials process will involve the initial written application using the appropriate form, the preliminary and final football trials and the academic assessment and interview.

Questions are best asked at one of the trial events.

Initial written application:
In the first instance the student and their parents or guardians should read and understand this information leaflet in full and satisfy themselves that the Academy is the right place for the applicant.

It is essential that you make your written application at the earliest possible opportunity as places are very limited. Please do not delay in making your application. The application form should be completed in full and sent to the address on the bottom of the form.

A copy of the application form plus Soccerstar Football Academy FAQs can be downloaded at:

www.soccerstar.uk.com/academyapplication.pdf