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Calling all UK Littens!!! 🇬🇧 I need some help/advice please. My grandson, pictured above, loves football. Has played since he was very young. He has been contacted by Buckswood Academy and offered a place at the academy to study and play football for his junior and senior year of high school (he will be 16 next month). Living in the US, I know nothing about Buckswood. Does anyone know of them or make a recommendation. A reference I and...
TheSpineView His parents could reach out to would be awesome. Any advice on what to expect? We feel this is an awesome opportunity for him but want to make sure we are making the tight decision. @Andrew65 @Cupcake12 @Sleepswithbooks 1mo
kspenmoll Just wow! 1mo
Bookwormjillk Wow! 1mo
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Sleepswithbooks @TheSpineView - That‘s awesome!! I‘ve never heard of the school and know NOTHING about his sport. I am a super big help 🙁 1mo
TrishB All of the big football clubs in the UK have their own football academies- I hadn‘t realised there were independent schools offering this. I would like very closely whether any students have progressed into football teams if that is his future aim. (16 is very late for football academies in the U.K.) 1mo
TrishB Look at the inspection reports on their website. The school has gone from inadequate to meeting standards in 6 years. I would definitely be looking into why. New structure/funding/management. The inadequate report and quick turn around would raise concerns for me. 1mo
TrishB Sorry - don‘t mean to sound negative but I‘m Director of Academic Quality in a university and this is part of my job! These are the questions I would ask. 1mo
TheSpineView @TrishB Don't apologize. We want the facts good and bad. While my grandson is a very good player, not an elite player, it is not his goal to play professionally. He wants to play football at university but nothing beyond that. We are hoping the experience of studying aboard will benefit him in life. Thanks for the info. 1mo
rretzler Both of my sons were club soccer players from age 8 through HS. My younger son played on our state‘s ODP (Olympic Development Program). We found that there are many overseas soccer schools that are offering the same thing, and our impression is that most are just trying to make money. I can‘t speak for the school that you mention. Neither of my sons went on to play college soccer - my younger was definitely good enough, but my husband played… 1mo
TrishB I think from that perspective it looks absolutely fine. I wouldn‘t want him going in with the expectation that he will get a place at a club. And studying abroad for any young people is a major plus for confidence, totally agree. 1mo
rretzler …all four years eons ago. My best advice if he wants to play college is to get him on the best club soccer team you can, if he is not already. You might want to look into ODP, but tryouts for it start in the fall. Club tryouts are usually in the spring. If you live near an MLS team, they usually have academies, as well as club teams. Contacting your states youth soccer program could help answer questions, I‘m sure. 1mo
TheSpineView @rretzler He is already a starter on the top soccer team in SC. He has also benefited from professional instruction that my son has paid for. His goal is to get in a small or midsized university and be able to play the game he loves while getting his degree. 1mo
TheSpineView @TrishB We are well aware that even in the US it would be extremely unlikely that he would ever play beyond university. He truly loves the sport. I see him playing as an adult for recreation and maybe coaching young kids later in life. We are fortunate that he has very strong academics so he can go to most any school here even if he doesn't play. 1mo
The_Book_Ninja @TheSpineView … @TrishB is correct to look at their credentials as a school. You don‘t want him going to one that is poor. A lot of lower league/semi-pro clubs have arrangements with local colleges for example, Enfield Town and Barnet College. In these programs, The college gives them the qual and the club does the training &, in theory, they cherry pick the football talent. However, unless the kid is exceptional, they may not see 1st team action… (edited) 1mo
The_Book_Ninja @TheSpineView ..It looks like this program has no club affiliation and if their educational credentials are not that good either, then I‘d avoid them. My son went to a dedicated soccer college that primed him for application to US colleges (his dream) They were affiliated with a local semi-pro team and also played in an inter-college league. At the end of his qualification they set up showcase matches where visiting US reps could scout players (edited) 1mo
The_Book_Ninja @TheSpineView Final note. Trish is also correct that all top professional clubs have academies. However, the use of “academy” is often freely used by clubs, schools & colleges & has a vague or no guaranteed meaning relating to quality of education & can be intentionally misleading. A pro club academy will offer a good player a scholarship which is usually a pretty poor education but the football is elite and a pro contract is the (rare) goal. (edited) 1mo
Mrs_B You might want to look at the ESFA website to see how the academy have performed in recent school competitions. It's not a school I had heard of before, and I work in a school with a LOT of sport going on! I think Trish has given you some good advice there. 1mo
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