Scotland Performance Schools

[tartanbrush]

With Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson leading the charge into a bright new dawn for the National Team, it sheds a very good light on the Performance Schools. Are we now starting to see the the reason these were started? Have we turned a corner in youth development?Two technically brilliant young players both with bags of potential and already looking the part at this early stage in their careers. I have noticed a large number of JD Performance school graduates in recent youth squads so who is next of the Performance Schools conveyor belt of Scottish Football Talent!

[Gordopolis]

Rip it up and start again! [emoji6]

[Ewan8472]

4 hours ago, tartanbrush said:

With Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson leading the charge into a bright new dawn for the National Team, it sheds a very good light on the Performance Schools. Are we now starting to see the the reason these were started? Have we turned a corner in youth development?Two technically brilliant young players both with bags of potential and already looking the part at this early stage in their careers. I have noticed a large number of JD Performance school graduates in recent youth squads so who is next of the Performance Schools conveyor belt of Scottish Football Talent!

Someone told me on another thread it is Calvin Ramsey

[AirForceWan]

I believe you're spot on with this. I wrote a piece for the Falkirk programme about the work these schools do in developing technically excellent players, as we've seen in Gilmour, Patterson & Ramsay. In Falkirks case we've recently signed Ben Weekes who graduated from the Broughton High Performance School in Edinburgh.

The programme needs to be expanded further to capture the areas lacking in expert coaching. Fife Elite Football Academy is closing at the end of the season due to it's main backer (Dunfermline AFC) pulled out to focus on starting up their own Youth Development Programme. This leaves a gap in the Fife area, where the closest performance schools are in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Dundee. Other areas lacking include the Borders, Highlands & Islands.

Here's a decent article on the BBC which covers the origin of the programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/19197560

Mark Wotte was quoted as saying, "We have to make sure that after 2020, there's a pipeline of very good football players coming into the national team." I think it's fair to say that allowing for Covid, we've met that target with Billy/Nathan coming through and many more at U-21s/below looking extremely promising. 

 

[Diamonds are Forever]

It will always be very hard to tell how effective they are because we'll never know whether these guys would have made it anyway and to what extent the performance school made a difference. If it turns out we're consistently producing really good players from them over the next few years then I guess it would be pretty conclusive but it's far too early to tell at the moment.

[bleedingums]

I remember listening to this podcast a few years ago.

I thought at the time that it gave a really good insight into the programme, being impressed by Brian McLaughlin and being hopeful for the future of the team as a result. It’s great seeing the full squad beginning to benefit from it now and hopefully there’ll be more to come.

[tartanbrush]

12 hours ago, AirForceWan said:

I believe you're spot on with this. I wrote a piece for the Falkirk programme about the work these schools do in developing technically excellent players, as we've seen in Gilmour, Patterson & Ramsay. In Falkirks case we've recently signed Ben Weekes who graduated from the Broughton High Performance School in Edinburgh.

The programme needs to be expanded further to capture the areas lacking in expert coaching. Fife Elite Football Academy is closing at the end of the season due to it's main backer (Dunfermline AFC) pulled out to focus on starting up their own Youth Development Programme. This leaves a gap in the Fife area, where the closest performance schools are in Edinburgh, Falkirk and Dundee. Other areas lacking include the Borders, Highlands & Islands.

Here's a decent article on the BBC which covers the origin of the programme: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/19197560

Mark Wotte was quoted as saying, "We have to make sure that after 2020, there's a pipeline of very good football players coming into the national team." I think it's fair to say that allowing for Covid, we've met that target with Billy/Nathan coming through and many more at U-21s/below looking extremely promising. 

 

I was actually just thinking about this the other day about the lack of performance schools in certain areas, Fife being one of them. Surely if the school's seem to be working the money that was made from qualifying for the Euros should be put into opening other schools in areas that require them.

[tartanbrush]

17 hours ago, Ewan8472 said:

Someone told me on another thread it is Calvin Ramsey

He certainly looks technically gifted as well. Just from watching our U21s team it is pretty obvious to me the ones that went to the performance schools. Marc Leonard and Dap Mebudes touch and technique were really good the other night

[Binos]

17 minutes ago, tartanbrush said:

He certainly looks technically gifted as well. Just from watching our U21s team it is pretty obvious to me the ones that went to the performance schools. Marc Leonard and Dap Mebudes touch and technique were really good the other night

Technically gifted is football now

Scottish football clubs need to wake up to that 

[Enigma]

58 minutes ago, tartanbrush said:

I was actually just thinking about this the other day about the lack of performance schools in certain areas, Fife being one of them. Surely if the school's seem to be working the money that was made from qualifying for the Euros should be put into opening other schools in areas that require them.

It’s a very real gap and the performance schools are missing out. I know anecdotally of a couple of Fife boys who were selected for these schools but the distance/cost of travel/time parents would have to sacrifice was too great and they didn’t end up attending.

Fife Elite closing is a crying shame, just as it seemed to be starting to bare fruit for us. I can see why the Pars pulled the plug, young Dunfermline based players were opting to sign for us over them because largely of the McGlynn factor and a more defined route to the first team.

[tartanbrush]

4 hours ago, Binos said:

Technically gifted is football now

Scottish football clubs need to wake up to that 

Is that where things may come unstuck when players leave the school's and are taught completely different methods at certain clubs to what the learn at the school's? I'd like to think most clubs are going down the technical route but I'm not sure all clubs have elite level coaching in Scotland

[ArabFC]

16 hours ago, Diamonds are Forever said:

It will always be very hard to tell how effective they are because we'll never know whether these guys would have made it anyway and to what extent the performance school made a difference. If it turns out we're consistently producing really good players from them over the next few years then I guess it would be pretty conclusive but it's far too early to tell at the moment.

It's fairly obvious (to me) that the kids coming through these days, especially at United are 'technically' better than those who came before them.

Don't see how giving more good coaching to them could ever be anything other than a positive.

[tartanbrush]

1 minute ago, ArabFC said:

It's fairly obvious (to me) that the kids coming through these days, especially at United are 'technically' better than those who came before them.

Don't see how giving more good coaching to them could ever be anything other than a positive.

Dundee United have always had a good track record of producing players. Who's the boys to look out for coming through at United just now mate? 

[tartanbrush]

4 hours ago, Enigma said:

It’s a very real gap and the performance schools are missing out. I know anecdotally of a couple of Fife boys who were selected for these schools but the distance/cost of travel/time parents would have to sacrifice was too great and they didn’t end up attending.

Fife Elite closing is a crying shame, just as it seemed to be starting to bare fruit for us. I can see why the Pars pulled the plug, young Dunfermline based players were opting to sign for us over them because largely of the McGlynn factor and a more defined route to the first team.

From a club point of view I was always sceptical of the Fife Elite Academy, Dunfermline always seemed to be putting in more than anyone else but we didn't see any real fruits from that. I always backed it though for the greater good hoping more Fife kids would end up coming through somewhere and eventually play for Scotland. Did Kieron Bowie not come through Fife Elite? With the German takeover we seem to be going our own way on this now so we will see what ideas they have. I always found it interesting why more clubs don't take Celtics approach and link up with a local school to put the extra training into the young players curriculum

[Binos]

3 hours ago, tartanbrush said:

Is that where things may come unstuck when players leave the school's and are taught completely different methods at certain clubs to what the learn at the school's? I'd like to think most clubs are going down the technical route but I'm not sure all clubs have elite level coaching in Scotland

Just look at the coaching personnel at the clubs

Cloggers from the past who will still be handing out clogger advice 

[tartanbrush]

1 minute ago, Binos said:

Just look at the coaching personnel at the clubs

Cloggers from the past who will still be handing out clogger advice 

To me this is where we are failing, who is coaching the coaches? To make elite level players we need elite level coaches. I actually don't see any up and coming Scottish coaches at first team level never mind the ones in youth football. The very fact Billy Stark is in charge of our u19s chills me to the bone. 

[Enigma]

3 hours ago, tartanbrush said:

From a club point of view I was always sceptical of the Fife Elite Academy, Dunfermline always seemed to be putting in more than anyone else but we didn't see any real fruits from that. I always backed it though for the greater good hoping more Fife kids would end up coming through somewhere and eventually play for Scotland. Did Kieron Bowie not come through Fife Elite? With the German takeover we seem to be going our own way on this now so we will see what ideas they have. I always found it interesting why more clubs don't take Celtics approach and link up with a local school to put the extra training into the young players curriculum

Bowie did but it’s worth pointing out he didn’t spend much time there and went from Glenrothes Strollers through Fife Elite to Raith Rovers quite quickly. Dylan Tait was a youth player at Partick Thistle before Fife Elite. It will be interesting to see what our future approach is to youth development. I suspect it will either involve our tried tested picking up of 7/8 guys on development contracts but from various sources, not just Fife Elite, or perhaps we’ll see a return of an u20 team.

Edited November 14, 2021 by Enigma

[TheScarf]

Shite coaches has always been the issue.  They promote the rapid 6 footers and release the better players who are tiny. 
 

I’ve been to national under 14 tournaments as a coach where every shout from the coach when watching other games was ‘channels! Hit the channels!’ Fucking brutal. 

[Binos]

10 minutes ago, TheScarf said:

Shite coaches has always been the issue.  They promote the rapid 6 footers and release the better players who are tiny. 
 

I’ve been to national under 14 tournaments as a coach where every shout from the coach when watching other games was ‘channels! Hit the channels!’ Fucking brutal. 

Other nations stop playing channels and started keep ball in the 90s 

[parsforlife]

4 hours ago, tartanbrush said:

Is that where things may come unstuck when players leave the school's and are taught completely different methods at certain clubs to what the learn at the school's? I'd like to think most clubs are going down the technical route but I'm not sure all clubs have elite level coaching in Scotland

In all fairness technique should be well drilled by the time players are 16/17.   Once they get to that age its about tactics, patterns of play and beginning to develop on physique.  You can argue those things aren't being taught right,  but they are what should be taught at that age.