macmanson said:LCBblue said:He evidently has the right attitude to be successful at that high level of football and if he continues with that attitude he'll do well. I have a similar attitude, realism, perseverance and determination, the 'leader of the team' so to speak, now obviously he's new to the team so his confidence in communication on the pitch wont be high but if he can develop that 'chin up lads, keep playing our normal game' type of attitude he'll do well.
Good on him for the call and I'm sure he'll deffo enjoy the travelling, and he'll form a lot of new mates, just as I did all those years ago.
I'd imagine you'd need to be exceptional to make one of the Academy programs in England with the number of kids pushing for those spots. It's similar to how hockey is in Canada. Parents are paying $10,000 a year to have their kid play competitive hockey hoping they'll make it to the NHL with the reality being that roughly 1 in 10,000 kids playing will get a chance at the big time. If you aren't already playing top tier youth hockey at 12 years old, your chances are just about zero of ever making it as a pro.
As for my son, his can-do attitude generally applies to soccer and school, but not so much household chores. :) I guess you choose your battles though. Perserverance and determination is definitely something I've groomed into him through my time coaching him. I've always emphasized that he should do everything to the best of his ability, especially training if he wants to be a great player.
He's a bit of a quiet leader, as he isn't the most vocal but leads by example on the field. He's the kid still playing a 110% even when the game seems out of reach and has on several occassions willed his teams into wins. He'll be reuniting with a couple of old teammates on this team from his U9 & U10 team which he's happy about and knows a few others from school friends so I'm sure he'll fit right in. He's really enjoying the notion of being on a travelling team and getting to see new places. I'm happy for him to be getting the chance to take a shot at doing something he loves to do.
LCBblue said:I think the difference between academy football in England and Hockey in Canada is that academy football is free and you have to be scouted to play, whereas I gather from your description that by paying some fees initially, that anyone can go and have a trial at the place. Which in turn I suppose is a good idea as it includes a much wider variety of players whereas at Leeds, there are only a certain number of coaches and scouts so therefore they can see only a certain amount of Yorkshire.
Good on your lad, if he's the quieter type then that's absolutely fine. Richard Dunne was never the most vocal player but often inspired (possible clarkie bait...) the team to win games by his own performance, which obviously, drives on other players and especially at a younger age turns the mentality from 'Ugh, there's no way back now, gonna get my head down and sulk' to a more positive 'Yeah, if he's playing that I'm gonna too, get ourselves back into this game, come on!' Either way, it's a good quality to have that (I promise you this) will come into action in the later years.
You couldn't ask for much more than joining a new team with mates from school to discuss the result and performance of the team with on the next day at school. I'd love to have that but unfortunately it's just me from my school in the team. Which is good in a way, but to have a mate at the academy too would be brilliant.
macmanson said:LCBblue said:I think the difference between academy football in England and Hockey in Canada is that academy football is free and you have to be scouted to play, whereas I gather from your description that by paying some fees initially, that anyone can go and have a trial at the place. Which in turn I suppose is a good idea as it includes a much wider variety of players whereas at Leeds, there are only a certain number of coaches and scouts so therefore they can see only a certain amount of Yorkshire.
Good on your lad, if he's the quieter type then that's absolutely fine. Richard Dunne was never the most vocal player but often inspired (possible clarkie bait...) the team to win games by his own performance, which obviously, drives on other players and especially at a younger age turns the mentality from 'Ugh, there's no way back now, gonna get my head down and sulk' to a more positive 'Yeah, if he's playing that I'm gonna too, get ourselves back into this game, come on!' Either way, it's a good quality to have that (I promise you this) will come into action in the later years.
You couldn't ask for much more than joining a new team with mates from school to discuss the result and performance of the team with on the next day at school. I'd love to have that but unfortunately it's just me from my school in the team. Which is good in a way, but to have a mate at the academy too would be brilliant.
Yeah, he's survived the cut and made the roster for league play even though he suffered a knee injury that kept him out 5 weeks. His old team mates have mate the cut as well and he's made quite a few friends already. His knee injury has unfortunately put him behind in development a bit so he's going to have to work extra hard to establish himself in the starting lineup.
My daughter was also spotted by this club and asked to join their U12 Girls Academy team. She's a keeper and probably more agressive than boys her age when it comes to playing. She's among the top 5 outfield players in addition to being the team's best keeper option, so she'll likely be a starter. Our women's national program is far better than our men's team unfortunately. :)
LCBblue said:macmanson said:Yeah, he's survived the cut and made the roster for league play even though he suffered a knee injury that kept him out 5 weeks. His old team mates have mate the cut as well and he's made quite a few friends already. His knee injury has unfortunately put him behind in development a bit so he's going to have to work extra hard to establish himself in the starting lineup.
My daughter was also spotted by this club and asked to join their U12 Girls Academy team. She's a keeper and probably more agressive than boys her age when it comes to playing. She's among the top 5 outfield players in addition to being the team's best keeper option, so she'll likely be a starter. Our women's national program is far better than our men's team unfortunately. :)
Hi mate, been a while since I heard from you. Anyway, that's great news about bothy your son and daughter! It's great especially to see your girl getting herself involved at such a high level, so many girls at that pre-teen type age lose interest in sports and turn to boys, make up and short skirts. So it's great to hear about that.
Good that your lads not injured too, awful being out injured; so frustrating. Good that he's making new friends too, nothing worse in my opinion than a team at odds with each other.
Best of luck for the roster!
LCBblue said:macmanson said:Yeah, he's survived the cut and made the roster for league play even though he suffered a knee injury that kept him out 5 weeks. His old team mates have mate the cut as well and he's made quite a few friends already. His knee injury has unfortunately put him behind in development a bit so he's going to have to work extra hard to establish himself in the starting lineup.
My daughter was also spotted by this club and asked to join their U12 Girls Academy team. She's a keeper and probably more agressive than boys her age when it comes to playing. She's among the top 5 outfield players in addition to being the team's best keeper option, so she'll likely be a starter. Our women's national program is far better than our men's team unfortunately. :)
Hi mate, been a while since I heard from you. Anyway, that's great news about bothy your son and daughter! It's great especially to see your girl getting herself involved at such a high level, so many girls at that pre-teen type age lose interest in sports and turn to boys, make up and short skirts. So it's great to hear about that.
Good that your lads not injured too, awful being out injured; so frustrating. Good that he's making new friends too, nothing worse in my opinion than a team at odds with each other.
Best of luck for the roster!
macmanson said:LCBblue said:Hi mate, been a while since I heard from you. Anyway, that's great news about bothy your son and daughter! It's great especially to see your girl getting herself involved at such a high level, so many girls at that pre-teen type age lose interest in sports and turn to boys, make up and short skirts. So it's great to hear about that.
Good that your lads not injured too, awful being out injured; so frustrating. Good that he's making new friends too, nothing worse in my opinion than a team at odds with each other.
Best of luck for the roster!
Yeah, been a while for sure. Been keeping busy with the lad's training and coaching his and the daughter's Futsal teams and playing myself. Doing the 7-a-side leagues 2-3 nights a week to try and regain my youthful fitness. :)
My son's team has some good comraderie, although I think they may have a bit of work on their hands with their setup. The midfield's a little weak for the level they will be playing at, so that comraderie is likely going to be tested this year.
Unfortunately, the boy thing hasn't escaped the daughter's interest but we're hoping that the sports will help her develop some positive self esteem so she doesn't look for it with the boys and such.
Nah cba.mcfcliam said:LCBblue said:Hi mate, been a while since I heard from you. Anyway, that's great news about bothy your son and daughter! It's great especially to see your girl getting herself involved at such a high level, so many girls at that pre-teen type age lose interest in sports and turn to boys, make up and short skirts. So it's great to hear about that.
Good that your lads not injured too, awful being out injured; so frustrating. Good that he's making new friends too, nothing worse in my opinion than a team at odds with each other.
Best of luck for the roster!
You going later you part timer?