Weekly Rant…. One thing to never trust in children’s football

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Still hearing far too much of this recently

For a long time we just ignored it but it needs to be highlighted to parents.If you’re thinking of joining a football group away from a regular grassroots team then please be cautious if the opening lines on a website or the first thing their coach says is:

‘We have links to pro academies’

Or

‘We’ll get you trials’

Believe us – when your child is good enough, they will get their chance regardless of where they train.

You don’t need to be conned into thinking trials are only available from those with ‘contacts’.

Scouts are everywhere.

It is their job to find the best talent.

Our question to these people is – what do you do if you know a child isn’t good enough but you’ve promised them they’ll get a trial?

Would you send them anyway?

Because, if you do, you do realise you run the risk of smashing that child’s confidence to pieces, don’t you?

Parents main focus should be development and enjoyment (which often go hand in hand).

Ask these places things like:

What is their curriculum

What experience their coaches have

What training their coaches get

Testimonials from other parents

There is absolutely nothing wrong with providing pathways for the players who need it.

But there is absolutely EVERYTHING wrong with making that the only focus and luring unsuspecting parents into paying for training on the premise that their child will get a trial somewhere.

We’ve had players successfully get into various academies and of course we celebrate that.

But that is not the only thing that football is about.It’s about giving opportunities to EVERY child who wants to play.

The child who wants to go as far as they can.

The child who wants to get into a grassroots team.

The child who just wants to be able to join in with their friends in the playground.

Hope that helps