Youth Player Progression - A Guide

It is the ambition of almost all community football clubs to successfully progress youth team players into senior football. In this article, we will explore the dos and don'ts of this practice and uncover the ten key factors that will cause your club to be successful.

The Ten "Dos" of Youth Player Transition

1. Do consider appointing a Director of Football - make it their strategic objective to achieve player transition.
2. Where possible, do introduce an academy or U23 midweek structure to your club to allow progression through stages. Consult with your local FA over how to achieve this.
3. Do keep records - know exactly how often and how much youth players have contributed to the senior side.
4. Do watch youth team games - try to have a senior representative at as many games as possible.
5. Do play youth players in their preferred position at senior level.
6. Do ensure your senior team coaches complete their CRB process via the club's safeguarding officer.
7. Do set individual as well as team targets - this is important to bring the focus of the player towards controllable, performance goals rather than solely on outcome goals.
8. Do set high expectations for youth players, just as you would for senior players.
9. Do listen to the player and to the parent, if relevant, about their objectives.
10. Do provide direct feedback to the youth team coach - let them know how their player got on and what they need to work on.

The Ten "Don'ts" of Youth Player Transition

1. Don't apply the same model with every player and expect it to work.
2. Don't select youth players as a punishment for a poor performance by senior players.
3. Don't select youth players and have them sit on the bench for 90 minutes. If they are good enough to be selected on the bench, give them some minutes.
4. Don't play youth team players repeatedly out of position.
5. Don't force youth players to play too many games in short spaces of time. Remember that they are probably still playing youth team and school/college football.
6. Don't judge a youth player on one single performance. Performance level can fluctuate greatly for younger players so judge performance over time.
7. Don't assume that youth players have the same access to transport to away games as senior players.
8. Don't assume that the reasons players are not transitioning are solely down to their U18s experience. Research shows that drop off begins at 14 years old.
9. Don't make youth players pay team fines or fees, to begin with. Cash flow for young people can be a real issue so be careful not to discourage them with something so simple.
10. Don't behave whimsically. Establish a strategy and stick with it. Youth players will be put off in they don't see a consistent approach.

For further reading, visit the FA's article on "Jumping the Gap".