{"id":1366,"date":"2018-07-30T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-07-30T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/reports\/why-is-southamptons-academy-so-prolific\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T05:12:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T05:12:41","slug":"southamptons-academy-prolific","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/southamptons-academy-prolific\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is Southampton\u2019s Academy So Prolific?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Jul 30, 2018 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

Why is Southampton\u2019s Academy So Prolific?<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Coaching & Development<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/performance-institute\/articles\/southamptons-academy-prolific\/<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/section>\n\n\n
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Academy Manager Matt Hale and Head of Coaching & Learning Edd Vahid walk us through The Southampton Way.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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The Southampton Academy\u2019s vision is as ambitious as it is clear. \u201cWe aim to have a first team squad that\u2019s made up of 50% academy graduates,\u201d Edd Vahid, Head of Coaching and Learning at the Academy, tells the Leaders Performance Institute. \u201cSo any young player that comes through the pathway has that major aspiration and can make that transition.\u201d<\/h4>\n
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By John Portch<\/h6>\n

Such figures are unheard of, particularly in the English Premier League, yet Southampton, which has a Category One academy, the highest grade under the Elite Player Performance Plan, are perhaps doing a better job than most. Last season saw academy graduates James Ward-Prowse and Jack Stephens feature regularly in the Saints\u2019 starting line-up, while beyond St Mary\u2019s, the roll call of Premier League players who list the Southampton Academy their alma mater includes Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Theo Walcott. Gareth Bale, another graduate, has won the Uefa Champions League on three occasions with Real Madrid.<\/p>\n

The Saints have also become renowned for signing young players at comparatively small fees and nurturing their development before selling at a significant profit. However, the focus when the Leaders Performance Institute\u00a0travels to the Staplewood Campus to meet Vahid and his colleague, Matt Hale, the Academy Manager, is those players who enter the club between the ages of eight and 23.<\/p>\n

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As we settle into our seats in Hale\u2019s office, which formerly belonged to ex-First Team Coach Mauricio Pochettino,\u00a0 our eyes are drawn to a whiteboard that details every player in the Academy. Theirs are not the only names listed. \u201cI\u2019ve got the parents\u2019 names as well,\u201d explains Hale, \u201cbecause I think it\u2019s important to learn as many as you can, given the interaction you might have with them at some point.\u201d It is the first sign of several that the development of the person precedes their athletic development in this corner of England\u2019s south coast, even if one invariably follows the other.<\/p>\n

Matt, perhaps you could begin by describing the Academy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> We have about 180 registered with us here at Staplewood. They are either full-time in the older age groups, from 18 upwards, or they attend four to five sessions per weeks in the young age groups from nine to 16. During a typical week they would take a number of psychology, gym, technical and life skill sessions. It\u2019s a busy programme and it\u2019s something we\u2019ve historically had success with here at the Academy. We also have some sites outside of Staplewood, development centres for younger boys from the age of six, seven and eight upwards across the south of England, including places such as Bath and west London. Our philosophy is to find those best players and work with them on a pathway towards a scholarship at 16 and, ultimately, earning a professional contract at 18. We set standards and behaviours from an early age so that by the time they are 16 or 17 we\u2019re refining those skills and concentrating on the technical and tactical elements required to play at the highest level.<\/p>\n

What do you seek in young recruits beyond talent?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> We\u2019re very diligent in our assessments; most young players have a psychological profile completed on them; we\u2019d get an education reference and also ask our scouts what they saw in them. We also perform sport science testing to see what they can offer physically; that gives us an insight into their maturation levels, even predicted height, which is important for a centre-back or a goalkeeper. This all helps us to decide if we sign, retain, push them to a higher age group or, unfortunately, have to release them.<\/p>\n

Can you describe the vision and purpose you\u2019re trying to create in these young players?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> We want them to be talented footballers but we also want them to be good people. I was struck when I joined the club just over three years ago how often the staff would talk about the people they produced as well as the player. That\u2019s at the core of everything being done here; it\u2019s producing good footballers but it\u2019s also producing fine young men.<\/p>\n

How do you begin to put that into action?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> Our Academy Performance Plan helps; it\u2019s a detailed document that covers our strategies so that we\u2019re delivering across multiple disciplines; coaching development, sport science, psychology. Everyone has a defined role and can see how their contribution fits the global goal and everyone is responsible for creating the plan.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re very diligent in our assessments; most young players have a psychological profile completed on them; we\u2019d get an education reference and also ask our scouts what they saw in them.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

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In your own words, what is \u2018The Southampton Way\u2019?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH: <\/strong>It\u2019s a football philosophy on the pitch and a culture off the pitch that we try to create, embrace and implement. The football side includes every age group from nine to 23 performing the same set plays with the same sets of team targets and coaching philosophy. It might be bespoke to the individual coach but also aligned with how we want them to teach our young players. The other side of The Southampton Way is the reference you will see around Staplewood to our Ten Commandments, which go a long way to developing them as fine young men as well as footballers. So if you were walking around here with Edd, the young players should come and shake your hand as well as Edd\u2019s when they see him; they should open the door for you as a visitor. Our under-16s and below must play with their shirt tucked in and socks pulled up; if they look smart and disciplined and I believe they\u2019ll play in a disciplined manner, that they\u2019re focused, concentrating. That\u2019s a policy of ours. And when they\u2019re a scholar, we give them a little bit more flexibility because they\u2019ve kind of earned their first job in football; so they have some freedom that that point to perhaps play with their shirt out as a reward, if they want to. At that point, they can also wear pink football boots, if they want to; but until they\u2019ve earned that scholarship they wear black boots.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of having everyone signing from the same hymn sheet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> Our philosophy is based on trying to find the best young players at nine and by the time they\u2019re 16 a lot of those strategies and commandments are in place, a lot of the work is done, and the behaviours and discipline are set; players know the standards on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

Why in your view are the best players the best learners?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> The pathway is challenging, so for a young person to transition through the pathway they need to be able to evolve and adapt, and that requires you to be an effective learner. That might be adapting to changes in your body during the youth development phase; you need to learn how to deal with that. It might be transitioning into senior football where perhaps there\u2019s a little more pressure and you need to learn and adapt. The best learners have an ability to evolve, process existing information within the pathway, and are able to perform, adapt and deliver in that particular situation.<\/p>\n

How is their development managed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> Each player has individual development plans delivered either on a six-week or 12-week basis. The purpose of those development plans is to give them clarity on objectives; to highlight areas they need to work on but also to talk about things they are doing well. Development plans present a nice healthy balance. There is also clarity on how you can maintain those strengths and clarity on how you might look to develop other areas. When in training and you\u2019re working on your non-dominant foot, for example, you\u2019ll get video clips from the analyst to support that process. Individual development plans are led by the player in consultation with the coach and influenced by the multidisciplinary team.<\/p>\n

In what ways can you test youngsters for performing in high intensity environments?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> One thing we\u2019re very mindful of throughout the pathway is to give the age groups different experiences in terms of competitions, games and training. So we take each age group away on tour each year on a type of tour or tournament; some of those tournaments in Spain or Portugal are very well attended; winning is absolutely everything to some of those teams that we come up against and we think that\u2019s very important too but it might not be absolutely everything to us. So they\u2019re in a fairly pressurised environment sometimes when they\u2019re playing abroad in different conditions, with very few supporters, and mostly the opposition. Those experiences are invaluable and give our players those kinds of experience that they might not necessarily have here every week. So we have a varied programme that we also send our players to different midweek games across the continent to experience playing European opposition; we bring European opposition here to play against us, as well as participating in the Premier League games programme that we\u2019re given. So they get a real varied access to competition.<\/p>\n

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EV:<\/strong> In the pathway, when you join at nine and perhaps transition through the under-23s, incrementally there are challenges every year; so whether that\u2019s the challenge of moving from 9v9 football to 11v11 football, whether it\u2019s the challenge of dealing with the changes your body goes through during the youth phase or what\u2019s going on in your mind; I think all of those changes help to develop a level of resilience. So at each level of the pathway they become more resilient and so playing front of a large crowd just becomes the next step.<\/p>\n

How do you measure their so-called softer skills?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> We\u2019ll have workshops in our life skills or psychology programmes; they might talk specifically about communication or a debrief from the coach that talks about their ability to communicate more effectively. I think it\u2019s largely through experience of putting them through situations where they have to communicate; they might have to lead, and that might be through a young player debrief; our under-9s, 10s and 11s sometimes call it \u2018Monday Night Football\u2019 when they share back on the game and they\u2019ll lead that in front of their peers to try and emphasise those leadership skills. It\u2019s probably difficult to measure and assess it in a tangible way but I think we give them enough experiences that should allow them to develop those areas.<\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> Again, it\u2019s being mindful and conscientious that we ask the young players to communicate with the coaches from a young age rather than just through their parents; if they can\u2019t make training that night because of something extra at school we ask the players to communicate with the coaches to let them know; even from the age of 10 or 11. Those little bits help the young players communicate with the coaches a little bit more. Every six or 12 weeks those young players will have a review with the coach without their parents; twice a year with their parents; so that communication is being built with the coach or different staff disciplines and the player because the parents aren\u2019t always going to be there to hold their hand. Even in the professional phase, as part of the education course, they will have to deliver a presentation at some point and we assessed on that and it\u2019s not directly linked to communication on the pitch but it\u2019s making sure they can speak to audiences and communicate in a way that gets their message across in a way that, for some of them, is quite a pressurised situation; they have got to deliver a 15 or 20-minute presentation, which they won\u2019t have done before.<\/p>\n

What subjects do they present on?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> It could be a module or a particular project they\u2019ve been studying during the academic course that they complete here; it could be on nutrition or what it takes to become a professional footballer; so they\u2019d have to go away and research it and present slides; the skill of delivering it is part of the communication they\u2019re working on, almost without knowing. They do the work that\u2019s relevant to their course but the delivery of the presentation is the key bit.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe think we have really good support structures around players, and many of them have a lot of support from home and their families, but ultimately the person that\u2019s going to make the difference is the player.\u201d<\/em><\/h3>\n

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It sounds like player accountability and empowerment.<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> \u201cWe think we have really good support structures around players, and many of them have a lot of support from home and their families, but ultimately the person that\u2019s going to make the difference is the player.\u201d We have a philosophy of every decision we make is based around what is right for that young player; all decisions are made on that basis. However, the player has to take some responsibility; so if they\u2019ve got an afternoon off in the under-23s, do they go home and rest or do they need to practice more? That\u2019s their responsibility to decide; sometimes you can create the environment and the framework but ultimately the player has to take responsibility.<\/p>\n

What are some of the challenges you are facing at academy level?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> The challenges are making sure that you\u2019ve prepared players for the realities of football. We all know that it\u2019s tough to become a Premier League star and many players go on to play at other levels of the game and they won\u2019t always have a plush pitch or a nice changing room or lots of staff around to support them; and I think it\u2019s our duty to prepare them, of course, for the top end of the game, but also to prepare them for the realities that they might end up at a different level of the game where they haven\u2019t got that network around them. So the challenge is making sure players understand the norm; it takes hard work, sacrifice and dedication to get to anywhere in life.<\/p>\n

Why is it important to provide psychological support for young players?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> It\u2019s not necessarily just for the players and I think the psychologists do a good job of influencing coaches and other support staff in terms of their interactions with the players. We broadly recognise a continuum that starts with wellbeing and concludes at performance. Psychologists play a fairly critical role in ensuring first and foremost that our players are demonstrating a good level of wellbeing and then trying to build upon that the skills required to deal with the environment; it\u2019s abrasive, it\u2019s challenging, it\u2019s full of obstacles, so a psychologist can nurture, alongside other staff, a player through the pathway.<\/p>\n

What do your education and life skills programmes look like?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> We deliver sessions and workshops delivered to them from an early age, 13 or 14 upwards, where they\u2019ll learn certain things like cooking, nutrition; they will learn simple skills such as sewing buttons on shirts or how to change the oil and water in a car; or tyres, car maintenance. Obviously that\u2019s as they get a little bit older and move towards the professional phase. They have a lot of different life skills presented to them both internal and external staff or guest speakers we bring in, particularly from other walks of life where they let them know what it\u2019s like, whether that\u2019s a military background or business; they will deliver key messages, such as hard work, sacrifice and dedication; and we also invite in schools and universities to talk to our young players about plan B, so that if they don\u2019t make it as a footballer here are other options you may wish to consider. We have strong links with universities both in this country and in the US and other countries that would come in and talk about other exit routes if they\u2019re not successful at this football club. So we put a lot of emphasis on our life skills programme, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> The thing I would add to that is the practical skills they\u2019re picking up in an implicit way up through the pathway. So potentially, compared to their peers, they\u2019re going to be more organised, they\u2019re going to be able to demonstrate more leadership, they\u2019re going to be able to communicate more effectively, they\u2019ve been encouraged to reflect, from an early age, they\u2019ve been encouraged to give and receive feedback, they\u2019ve demonstrated discipline with the black boots and tucking their shirts in, so I think they build up a host of transferable skills as well that should undoubtedly support them beyond their time at this football club.<\/p>\n

How do they respond to these non-football programmes?<\/strong><\/p>\n

EV:<\/strong> I think they\u2019re generally positive; we\u2019ve got some curious individuals and they\u2019re curious about what they have to say and what people\u2019s experiences are. Sometimes it\u2019s difficult for them to believe that could be them in five or six years\u2019 time but I think just sowing that seed can be helpful for them.<\/p>\n

What are some of the other exit strategies you may present to a player?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MH:<\/strong> At under-16, which is quite a significant milestone, you have to make a decision about a player, whether to give him a scholarship or not; or at 18 if it\u2019s a professional contract or not. We work hard with the families to create a profile and set a of video clips with their son\u2019s best performances and we work with them to send that to other clubs where they might have the opportunity of a trial or a contract; again we invite people in to speak to them about alternative routes whether that\u2019s a scholarship at a college or a university or some kind of other walk of life. We\u2019re working currently on trying to structure our apprenticeship at 17 or 18 to include not just a one size fits all education model; some players want to study A Levels, some players do not want to not study at all and what we don\u2019t want to do is set them all up for failure; so what we\u2019re working towards is a bespoke individual academic plan where they can choose whether it\u2019s A Levels or perhaps a trade like plumber or an electrician. And if it doesn\u2019t happen for them as a professional footballer, those who are perhaps not academically-minded might leave here with a trade, and perhaps play non-league football; and a person who might not have made it as a professional footballer but has a two A Level profile could go on to university; so we\u2019re trying to structure the academic programme to give them the best possible chance of being a success in whatever they choose to do.<\/p>\n

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This is article is also available as podcast. Listen here:<\/em><\/p>\n