Parents always ask us “How can my son or daughter get to be a professional footballer?” Let’s start with the basics – to get scouted for a pro club, you need to firstly be good enough and secondly you need the opportunity to be seen by scouts and coaches.
In terms of being good enough– make no mistake it’s a very high level you need to get to, especially in the UK. You are competing against pro academy players who have access to around 10 hours of high quality coaching and training, high level fixtures and excellent facilities. The sad facts are that if you don’t have access to these things, it’s very easy to fall behind the players you are competing against and players may never be able to catch up.
In terms of being seen, the UK has a fantastic scouting network but we are aware that in many countries opportunities to impress are often very hard to come by. Even in England, players sometimes struggle to be seen, especially if they are living in an area with relatively few pro teams. This leads to players and parents becoming frustrated and sadly many talented players with great potential, give up on their dreams altogether.
How Good Is Your Child’s Current Football Environment?
So from the above it is clear that if your child’s current football situation “isn’t right”, they are going to struggle. This could mean:
• They are playing in a team where others are not as serious or talented as they are.
• There is a lack of top quality coaches, facilities, physical and tactical training.
• There is not enough high level training time or good quality fixtures.
• There is a lack of opportunities to play pro clubs or in front of scouts
Parents often describe, a feeling where they know their children talented but recognise they are falling behind pro academy player standards. They feel frustration and fear that their children will not fulfil their football potential and there can be feelings of guilt for not supporting your child’s dreams.
UK Football Schools – A Perfect Football Solution?
UK Football Schools are private schools in the UK which provide a professional level football alongside academic studies. We have personally vetted the best prestige football schools in the UK and have created a shortlist of schools we are confident recommending which offer:
• A professional academy environment with quality coaches and significant training time.
• Top quality facilities including great pitches, gyms, and video analysis opportunities.
• A level playing field compared to pro club academy players they are competing against.
• Regular opportunities to play and impress professional club academies.
• Regular access to a huge scouting network through our company events.
• Coaches with contacts across the world who can provide opportunities.
I am sure you can imagine the progress your child would be able to make if given superb levels of football development and regular opportunities to impress. We would never promise anyone they are going to be a pro footballer, but we can assure you that in this sort of environment, parents will be giving their children an incredible opportunity to do so. The amazing success stories our chosen prestige football schools have, with multiple player signings every year, illustrate just what is possible.
Education To Suit Different Abilities And Aspirations
Parents we work with are usually successful and realistic and many want their children to have a fantastic education which they will always be able to rely on in later life regardless of what happens in their football. UK Private schools are world famous for their education and we have schools to suit different academic levels and aspirations. The schools we work with are designed so that education is scheduled in around football and work in perfect harmony. This allows players to study as they would at any normal private school, but also get many hours of football training in also. Indeed, many schools leverage football if for example homework isn’t being done and we do find that if a child is happy on the pitch, their school work usually benefits.
What’s Next?
We would love to help you find the right prestigious football school for your child. In our (admittedly biased!) opinion, we know the football schools market and the routes into Pro football better than virtually anyone you will find. We run the world’s largest football trials company, have a network of over 80 pro clubs and are the UK’s largest football schools specialist recruiter having helped place over 1,000 happy students into schools. Our ethos is to work for clients as though we were advising close friends or family members and we believe that is why so many of our clients come from recommendations.
We have a range of packages available to you and would love to get the chance to help you make the right decision on which school to choose. If you haven’t already, please do get in touch about our package options and it would be a privilege to assist you.
