ROCHDALE AFC ACADEMY From Centre of Excellence to Academy The 7 Year Plan

Transcription

1 ROCHDALE AFC ACADEMY From Centre of Excellence to Academy The 7 Year Plan Jamie Allen 1 st Team Academy since Under 8 (10 years) Club & Academy Vision realised

2 THE EARLY YEARS In 2008 the Rochdale AFC Board & Management Team developed a 7 Year Club Development Plan. This included a number of visionary strategies to ensure the long term sustainability of the club and to secure the highest league position possible with a target of The Championship. In terms of Youth Development, the Centre Of Excellence Management Team developed a Football Philosophy in line with the 1 st Team to enable consistency for staff and players alike which should also see more home grown talent getting the opportunity to represent the club at professional level, or to be sold on for a profit, backing up the financial strategy of the plan. A set of Performance Targets were also devised for the COE (see appendix) in line with the ambitions of the Board, and the plan. It is safe to say that the Youth Development targets were met from an early stage, and are continuing to be met on an annual basis, with COE/Academy players being offered professional contracts and making appearances in the 1 st Team. Will Buckley 11 goals as a 1 st year Professional with RAFC Recently signed by Sunderland for the Premier League

3 Annual Performance Targets 1.2.1c U Pros 1. Produce x1 U21 Home grown Player to PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PHASE U17-21 Appear regular in 1 st Team Squad 2. Achieve x1 U21 Home grown Player every 3yrs Transferred 3. Produce x2 U18 Players turning Professional 4. Develop x2 U18 Players to make Debut YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PHASE U Recruit 50% Full Time Scholars from Youth Development Phase U8 FOUNDATION PHASE U Recruit 50% Youth Development players from FoundaYon Phase 7. Produce x2 players in FP to progress annually through to PDP

4 THE ELITE PLAYER PERFORMANCE PLAN Rochdale AFC - Developing the England Players of the Future In 2011 the FA, Premier League & The Football League came together to form the Solidarity Agreement and devised a new Elite Player Strategy & Quality Assurance framework to support clubs. This was to be known as the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). The EPPP is a new and exciting partnership which will revolutionise the way we plan, deliver and monitor elite football programmes for young people. It is a framework made up of 10 Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) devised by the Premier League, The FA and The Football League: Vision & Strategy Leadership & Management Coaching Education & Welfare Games Programme Sport Science & Medicine Player Development & Progression Talent Identification & Recruitment Facilities Financial Sustainability Academy Players on track to achieve Scholarships Under 11 Under 16 COACHING & DEVELOPING ROCHDALE AFC PLAYERS OF THE FUTURE

5 THE PROCESS All 92 clubs will apply to sit in a "Category" from 1-4 with 1 being the highest, based on things like the number of full time staff, facilities and levels of resources on offer to players and their families at each KPI. The success of the application is based on an external audit against the criteria for each category and the levels of resources the club has at each KPI. This proved to be an onerous task for all concerned as it entailed the setting up of new policies, procedures and working practices. It also involved numerous meetings, both internal and external and strained every member of staff to the extreme, with very strict deadlines and massive increase in workloads, both football and non-football related. All the policies, procedures and documented evidence had to be brought together and collated into a new and subjective scoring system known as the audit tool. Rochdale AFC Academy have recently been awarded their target of Category 3 status. This means we have the licence to operate a full Academy from Under 7 s to Under 18 s, and can continue to produce players such as Will Buckley, Matt Hughes, Jamie Allen, Scott Tanser, Joel Logan, Darcy O Connor, Calum Camps, Andy Cannon, Johnny Diba, Connor Ronan and so on!

6 VISION & STRATEGY Rochdale AFC has a clear functioning Vision & Strategy with a Club & Academy Football Philosophy of Possession Based Fast Attacking Football devised and implemented by ALL staff at the club, showing the way we want to develop young players to represent our 1st team. These have to be shown as fully inclusive and link from the Academy to the 1 st Team and to be fully embedded in the day to day operation of the club. This achieved 100% at the recent audit! (KPI 1) Johnny Diba Misangu 1 st Team squad in first year of apprenticeship Academy since Under 8 (8 years) Linking the Academy to the 1 st team

7 LEADERSHIP & MANAGEMENT The Leadership & Management teams had to be developed and implemented to lead the various functions required by the EPPP framework. The club also had to develop a comprehensive staffing structure (see appendix) made up of Full Time, Part Time, Commissioned Services and even volunteers. This basically increased full time staff from 2 to 6, and increased the workload of part time coaches to ensure all 130 Academy Players had a Performance Clock showing training minutes, game minutes, sessional and weekly Learning Objectives, with feedback to show progress. This extra work put in by the coaches scored 94%! (KPI 7) Leadership & Management scored 90% against a Category 1 Academy! (KPI 2) Darcy O Connor / Joel Logan Scott Tanser / Jamie Allen 4 x 1 st Team contracts in 1 season 2013 Linking the Academy to the 1 st team

8 RAFC Academy Management Team 2.1.2a/c/d/e/f/h meet every week Academy Manager Tony Ellis Head of EducaBon Alistair Linden Head of Recruitment Ronnie Cusick Head of Coaching Rick Ashcro3 Head Academy Sport Science Gary Thompson PDP Lead Coach Rick Ashcro3 YDP Lead Coach Chris Brown FP Lead Coach Anthony Thompson RAFC Technical Board 2.1.3a/b/c meet every 12 weeks RAFC TECHNICAL BOARD BOARD Andrew Kelly CEO Colin Garlick 1 st Team Manager Keith Hill Liaison Coach Chris Beech Academy Manager Tony Ellis

9 Staffing Model 2.1.1a BOARD (AK) + CEO (CG) Academy Manager (TE) Academy Secretary(SA) 1 st Team Manager (KH) Liaison Coach (CB) Head of EducaBon (AL) SC + Medicine Co ordinator (GT) Head Recruitment (RC) Head Coaching (RA) Sport Science (KG) Senior Academy Physio (GT) Academy Doctor (WT) SCOUTS Match Analysis (DF) Strength + CondiBoning (CP) Ass. Physio (AB) Ass. Physio (RP) FoundaBon Lead Coach (AT) Youth Lead Coach (CB) Pro Dev Coach (RA) Medical Prov. Coaches x 8 S Beddard A Thompson N Simister S McElhinney Danny Lloyd Stuart Locke Gerard Jones Mark Finc Coaches x 8 Mick Flynn Chris Brown S Anderson Lee Riley Jason Lydiate Steve Lewis N Dempsey Vacant Pro Dev Coach (TE) Pro Dev GK Coach (RB)

10 COACHING The Rochdale AFC Academy Coaching Programme, in line with the EPPP framework is made up of 3 player development areas: The Foundation Phase (U7 - U12) - "Learning to Love the Game" The Youth Development Phase (U13 - U16) "Learning to Compete" The Professional Development Phase (Youth Team) "Learning to Win From a football and players point of view, the main area of the success criteria will be around the Coaching and Games Programme, and the Monitoring & Evaluation of each player within it. Therefore the Academy Manager, Head of Coaching, along with the Academy Management Team and the age group coaches have devised and implemented Age Specific Coaching programmes across the 4 corner (Technical / Tactical / Physical / Psychosocial) and Long Term Player Development models. These are linked to the Academy Football Philosophy and the Player Profiles and Positional Understanding resources utilised by the Academy coaches. The Academy scored 62% against Category 1 clubs for Coaching! (KPI 3) Louis Coyne Tyler Berry Kisimba Kisimba Harry Pratt Callum Schorah 1 st Year Apprentices 2014 Coaching from Under 8 to Under 18 Supported by a dedicated team of 17 Academy Coaches all at UEFA B and above!

11 EDUCATION & WELFARE The Education & Welfare of every single Academy Player is paramount to the success of the Academy. Although football is a team game, the drive to be successful is very individual and therefore individual programmes of football, education and support have to be developed to ensure all players are given an equal chance to fulfil their dreams of becoming a professional footballer. Recognising the effort and commitment of parents is equally vital to a coherent Academy. The Academy Head of Education has contact with every single school of all Academy players and communicates player reports to them on a regular basis. This is a huge task and is supported by the Academy Administrator. Players are educated at the Academy that their schooling and education is equally important to their future and any issues are related in a triangular communication process with Academy, School & Parent. The Academy does not operate a Full Time or Hybrid Model under the EPPP framework until the players reach the youth team. The Education & Welfare department scored 45% which is a phenomenal achievement from the Academy Head of Education who is a volunteer! (KPI 4). Callum Camps 1 st Team squad in first year of apprenticeship Nominated for Apprentice of the Year 2014 Academy since Under 8 (10 years) Linking the Academy to the 1 st team

12 SPORT SCIENCE & MEDICINE The Medical, Physical and Psychological expertise within the Academy really came to the fore in the Sport Science and Medicine section of the EPPP framework. There are 3 main areas to our Sport Science support: Prehabilitation - Injury prevention Provide Fitness Testing 2 times per season (3 times for U18's) Provide Individual Functional Movement Programmes to support any imbalances which maybe apparent from the Fitness Testing Provide Strength & Power programmes for age related players Provide weekly Physical specific programmes incorporated into the age specific Coaching Programmes Provide Nutritional & dietary advice and guidance Rehabilitation - Recovering from Injury In order for players to recover from any injuries as quickly as possible and get back on the pitch, it is absolutely crucial that they adhere to the expert advice given by the professionals. The medical team will liaise with Coaches & the Academy Fitness Coach to devise an individual Rehabilitation programme. Psychology - Attitude and Application in Training & Games Psychology plays a huge part in the modern game of Football and Rochdale Academy look to support all players in the 4 Corner and Long Term Player Development approach. We have commissioned Jon Radcliffe from Salford University, to provide a support package for players, parents and coaches through a variety of interventions including workshops and questionnaires for players. All players complete a Psychological Skills in Football survey. It is called the Athletics Skills Coping Inventory. This will provide valuable information in which to target the sport psychology programme at Rochdale AFC to best suit their individual needs. The survey is a well used and scientifically tested questionnaire which looks at the particular psychological skills and characteristics individuals possess. It will inform coaches programmes as to how best to work within specific age groups. With all this individual care and prescription the Sport Science and Medicine department scored an incredible 81%! (KPI 6)

13 TALENT IDENTIFICATION & RECRUITMENT The success of the Academy is only as good as the players the coaches are given to work with and therefore the Talent Identification & Recruitment department are ultimately responsible for bringing in the highest quality players. As with the vision of the club, this is a tough task with all the Premiership, Championship and League 1 & 2 clubs around us all looking at the same players. The Academy Head of Recruitment has a small number of scouts at each development phase and therefore relies on the Football in the Community team to support recruitment through it s numerous schools and community programmes. Academy coaches also bring in a number of talented players full of potential. The Talent Identification & Recruitment department scored 74%! (KPI 8) Connor Ronan Sold to Wolverhampton Wanderers in Academy since Under 12 (5 years) Academy Vision of developing players for the 1 st team or selling for a profit! Talent Identification at it s best!

14 FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY Finally, by showing the Academy Budget as part of the overall club budget, and meeting the Football League financial reporting requirements, the Academy scored 100%! (KPI 10) Andy Cannon Professional Contract 2014 Linking the Academy to the 1 st team, supporting the finance of the club.