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SFA Football Academies


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First time poster, long time lurker.

Sure a few of people are interested in hearing about the SFA football academies, currently ran at school's across Scotland trying to promote "technical skills" amongst young footballers (S1-S4). I currently work in one of these schools, but am not involved in the academy.

At the moment the best kids are selected (ones who already have schoolboy terms at clubs) and the kids are brought in from the surrounding area and are educated at these schools. They miss PE and a few other classes when they attend footballing skills classes ran by SFA coaches. It seems a good idea and was set up 4 years ago by that Dutch guy the SFA had (who's name escapes me) and now Brain Brian McClair is in charge as he is the new SFA performance director, looks like he is wanting to make some major changes...

The latest rumours on the football academy are that Brian McClair doesn't like that boys are having to come in from all over to travel to a central school.
Apparently it has been suggested building a residential SFA school - akin to the Ajax academy or the models in England, but more realistically (due to financial reasons) the football academies as we know it will be shut down and reopen in private schools.
So the boys would be enrolled at the private school, board there and attend football school SFA academy at the private school.
Personally I think McClair is saying "the parents are arseholes that are feeding these kids packets of monster munch for their tea. If we have control of their diet and a large proportion of their leisure time we can make better youth players".
While the private schools will be rubbing their hands at more fees and boarders coming in, it remains to be seen how these, on the whole, scumbag kids will cope in that environment, especially the boarding. The parents should look at it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to send their child to top schools, but it's anyone's guess how they will actually react.
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First time poster, long time lurker.

Sure a few of people are interested in hearing about the SFA football academies, currently ran at school's across Scotland trying to promote "technical skills" amongst young footballers (S1-S4). I currently work in one of these schools, but am not involved in the academy.

At the moment the best kids are selected (ones who already have schoolboy terms at clubs) and the kids are brought in from the surrounding area and are educated at these schools. They miss PE and a few other classes when they attend footballing skills classes ran by SFA coaches. It seems a good idea and was set up 4 years ago by that Dutch guy the SFA had (who's name escapes me) and now Brain Brian McClair is in charge as he is the new SFA performance director, looks like he is wanting to make some major changes...

The latest rumours on the football academy are that Brian McClair doesn't like that boys are having to come in from all over to travel to a central school.

Apparently it has been suggested building a residential SFA school - akin to the Ajax academy or the models in England, but more realistically (due to financial reasons) the football academies as we know it will be shut down and reopen in private schools.

So the boys would be enrolled at the private school, board there and attend football school SFA academy at the private school.

Personally I think McClair is saying "the parents are arseholes that are feeding these kids packets of monster munch for their tea. If we have control of their diet and a large proportion of their leisure time we can make better youth players".

While the private schools will be rubbing their hands at more fees and boarders coming in, it remains to be seen how these, on the whole, scumbag kids will cope in that environment, especially the boarding. The parents should look at it as a once in a lifetime opportunity to send their child to top schools, but it's anyone's guess how they will actually react.

"Scumbag kids".

Glad you're not involved.

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In all seriousness, Queen's Park, and another couple of non Premiership sides, seemed to be doing what they should be doing - teaching life skills, nutrition etc etc as well as the football basics, but because we don't have a pathway to full time playing, we're excluded from the elite system. The success of our system can be seen by the number of players at the top level who were with us at one time (stacks more than just the high profile ones). I'd like to think that McClair looks again at the sides that lost out on the elite status. But I'm not holding my breath.

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I love threads that start with rumours and present no evidence to back them up. What's your position, caller? Are those your words you are putting into McClair's mouth, in the hope of gaining some traction? Is one of your own children in that age group and so is directly affected? Maybe you see them in one of these private schools? Or maybe your kids are in a private school and feel threatened as we all know that their sole reason for existence is to keep the children of the wealthy away from the great unwashed.


Seems like a kite is being flown here. And I had opened the thread hoping for some interesting information, as well. I should have known better!
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I like how the original poster begins with the internet version of "long time listener, first time caller" on the radio, then follows it up with a "point" he feels "has been missed in the debate so far." And proceeds to say absolutely nothing.

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I actually had not one but TWO packets of Roast Beef Monster Munch earlier, fucking lovely by the way 8)

Controversial opinion. Pickled onion were, in my mind, the only Monster Munch in town. The ranking goes:

1. Pickled Onion

2. Beef

3. (And quite a long way behind) Hot and Spicy

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