anyone had a trial at a football club?

[alecstilleyedye]

my youngest son (9) is going on an open trial at crewe alex next week. has anyone been on a trial (or had a child that did); i'm not entirely sure what to expect other than i guess some drills and some sort of match, with some sort of coaches feedback at the end…

 

[Accy cyclist]

After hearing people mock professional footballers who end up at "dead end clubs" like Accrington Stanley. They should realise that something like only 1% of trialists make a living out of professional football. If your son is unsuccessful with the Crewe trial don't let it put you off. Some can see potential, some can't.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

we won't. unlike his father, he's a talented player with loads of speed and skill that i could only dream of. if nothing comes of the alex trial, he can (as is currently planned) play out next season with the team built up from the group he's in that have been training for two years on a saturday. if he hits 50+ goals next season (which is quite doable for an able striker in a league with some quite weak teams), we can re-evaluate and knock on the door again, if nobody takes an interest themselves…

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

They'll coach any flair or individuality out of him, keep him playing where he is

 

[alecstilleyedye]

They'll coach any flair or individuality out of him, keep him playing where he is

not the alex way. they play flowing, passing football, but not always successfully, as relegation to league 2 last season proved…

 

[Accy cyclist]

Why have you chosen Crewe? Is it because of the locality or their reputation as a club that sees players rise through the ranks to move on to top level clubs?

 

[Haitch]

The son of a friend once had a trial for Watford and was offered a place but didn´t take it. The logistics were too off-putting. It would have involved driving from London to Watford for training three times a week, plus matches. There were also subs and contributions to pay and fees for tuition because he would be missing so much school. The drop-out/rejection rate was about 99%. He decided to become a doctor instead.

 

[raleighnut]

After hearing people mock professional footballers who end up at "dead end clubs" like Accrington Stanley. They should realise that something like only 1% of trialists make a living out of professional football. If your son is unsuccessful with the Crewe trial don't let it put you off. Some can see potential, some can't.

I'm not a footy fan but living in Leicester it's hard to avoid it, but, Jamie Vardy was regarded as a no-hoper when Leicester signed him, look at him now.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

Why have you chosen Crewe? Is it because of the locality or their reputation as a club that sees players rise through the ranks to move on to top level clubs?

well my user name might be a clue, but also because there's a rule about clubs signing youngsters that live an hour or less away, so alternatives would be the manchester sides or, shudder, port vale or stoke city…

 

[Crackle]

lots of drills. If he can't keep the ball under control and at his feet the rest may well be moot. Check if they do want him whether he can still play footy elsewhere, many won't let him. Finally, prepare him to be rejected at some point as a worse case scenario if he doesn't develop as they want him to. it's a fairly harsh world competitive sport and football, is in my view, the worst, run by thick people at the lower levels because that's all they're capable of.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

[QUOTE 4300251, member: 45"]Be prepared for abuse, it's a big risk. If they take him on they'll push him as far as they can, and keep him until he's reached the limit of his potential. Then they'll dump him like an old mattress in front of the gate to a field.

It's a brave place for a young boy to go.[/QUOTE]
it is, but it's what he wants to do. he has the same temperament as his big sister, who decided at a young age that she was going to cambridge university, which, barring a disaster in her exams, her hard work and perseverance will achieve this august.

if he has the desire and dedication, he'll go as far as talent will allow...

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Friend of mine had trials at Chelsea and Aston Villa, he was a really good player but in the end just not good enough.

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

not the alex way. they play flowing, passing football, but not always successfully, as relegation to league 2 last season proved…

Their was an excellent programme on Radio Scotland yesterday afternoon (which is not on BBC radio playback, unfortunately) which had an interview with Dean Windass who spoke very well about his depression/suicide attempts and also about his son who has recently signed for Rangers, and his experience of being dropped by clubs in the past.

There was also input from a couple of other ex-players, including Billy Dodds who was fairly scathing about "football academies" in Scotland and their inability to develop players and support them properly from a young age and "dumping" young kids. His advice was to let kids play in local leagues, to not tie kids to contracts which prohibit them from playing, to encourage those who excel to play against lesser players, and at a later time when they become young adults and join clubs on a more formal basis to get rid of U17 U19 leagues and to bring back "Reserve Leagues" for pro clubs where young adults play against older more experienced guys as they'll learn more that way.

I sometimes watch the "academy" players near where I live; it does not look much fun to be honest with repetitive drills that serve no purpose other than satisfy the SFA handbook of how to churn out crap players. One of the coaches who I know said to me one night "Look at this kid here (pointing to a kid standing in midfield), he's brilliant on the ball." After about 10 minutes watching I commented "he's not touched the ball" to which he replied "aye, but when he does, he's great". I suggested he may want to "coach" the team to pass it to him more often if that was the case...

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Anyway, good luck to your son

 

[PaulB]

Friend of mine has a son of nine who's signed at Port Vale. He's a talented kid with a proven goal-scoring record and is regularly playing in an under 11s team despite his age. Father doesn't know whether to pack his job in to ensure his son has the best possible chance and so he can take him to and from school to games, academies etc.

I know two fathers whose sons have played in the Premier League and are obviously well made up at their kids progress and neither of them had to sacrifice much, if anything to get their sons where they did.

Obviously though, I know loads and loads of people who've had their football dreams smashed and it's par for the course. I also know loads who common sense told you they would make it but for various reasons, never did.

I also sat in a taxi up to Anfield on the way to one match a few seasons ago and shared it with the proud parents of a Slovenian kid who'd signed a contract with the Academy. He was only 17 and so to stop him being homesick and to continue to look after his interests, they'd packed their jobs in and moved over with their son. I heard a few weeks later though that Liverpool had let him go so all that sacrifice from the parents was to no great avail. A big gamble with incredible benefits if the kid makes it but you've got to accept that the dream can end at the drop of a hat.