Scottish FA

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• Scottish FA
• Midlothian Council

Scottish FA School of Football Preparing for a
life through sport
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• Scottish FA School of Football

Aim
To run an athlete development pilot project which
will recruit the young football talent at age 12
and provide an individualised programme that will
enhance the young players educational, physical,
psychological and social development
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Scottish FA School of Football
The Long Term Athlete Development Model
10 years of extensive practice 10,000 hours to
become expert
Improved Performance
Lifelong Participation
Physical Literacy
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Scottish FA School of Football
Football is a late specialisation sport and the
Long Term Athlete Development model has the
following stages

• Desire to play
• Learning to Play
• Developing the Player
• Preparing to Compete
• Preparing to Win

6-9 years 9-12 years 12-16 years 16-18 years 18
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Scottish FA School of Football
Windows of Optimal Trainability
Developing the Player 12-16 years

• Peak Speed Velocity (2)
• Peak Strength Velocity (12)
• Peak Aerobic Velocity
• Continued Technical Improvements and Physical
  Literacy

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Scottish FA School of Football
Developing the Player
Athletes who miss this stage of training will
never reach their full potential, regardless of
compensatory programmes they may participate
in Istvan Balyi 2002
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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Talent ID

• Meetings with parents and young people
• References from teachers
• Reference from coaches
• Skills tests
• Physical tests
• Observation of games
• Observation of training

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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Staffing

• Football Coach Scottish FA
• Sports Scientist Scottish Institute of Sport
• Strength Conditioning Coach Scottish
  Institute of Sport
• Speed/Power Coach Scottish Institute of Sport
• Physiotherapist/Doctor Sports Medicine Centre,
  Hampden

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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Timetable - example
AM
PM
EVE
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• Scottish FA Football Academy

The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Programme individualised according to test
results and development age For each player

• Modified school timetable
• Active recovery and regeneration swimming and
  flexibility
• Physical development sports specific strength and
  conditioning
• Speed and power
• Co-ordination and technical

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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
The Training Environment

• Educational environment
• Positive atmosphere
• Creative atmosphere
• Developmental culture
• Challenging throughout the educational and sports
  programmes

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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Management and Communication

• Local Authority and Scottish FA
• Head Teacher
• Head of PE
• SFA Regional Manager
• SFA Head of Youth Development
• Clubs Head of Youth Coaches
• Coaches/Scientists

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Scottish FA School of Football
The Scottish FA Midlothian Council
Monitoring Evaluation how can we tell if we
are successful?

• Regular evaluations of programme to check the fit
  within the school environment
• Educational evaluation school reports, results
  etc
• Skills tests
• Physical tests
• Coaches evaluation at training and games
• Selection for club
• Selection for national teams trials
• Use of technology