about us
About Us
The idea for Young Football Academy came about in late 2019, although thanks to COVID-19, we didn’t welcome our first students until May 2021! Our simple mantra: ‘Love the ball, love the game’ forms the basis of every group class, one-to-one session and football camp we host.
Scotland has made some great progress at grassroots level in the last 20 years or so. However, the player pathway still dictates that children as young as 5 are put straight into a competitive team environment. Volunteer coaches are absolute heroes with the time they give to these kids, but with no more than a couple of hours per week at practice, and often with large numbers of players, they have very little chance of developing the individual child. At Young Football Academy, this is our main focus.
We strongly believe in our philosophy, and our students spend the vast majority of every session working with a ball. Our pre-school programme Lil Ballers welcomes children into group classes from the tender age of 18 months through to 6 years old. Focusing on new themes every couple of weeks, our fun and engaging games get them running and develop their balance, co-ordination and cognitive skills in a non-competitive and nurturing environment. As they move up through the three age-appropriate levels their confidence grows, and it’s amazing to watch them applying skills they’ve learned in previous weeks without even realising it!
Young Football Academy’s player pathway includes camps and one-to-one coaching sessions for age 6 upwards. The set-up offers an opportunity for our Lil Ballers students to continue to grow and improve through more advanced coaching techniques. But! Most importantly, the fun element remains and they will continue to fall in love with having a ball at their feet. Creativity is applauded too; we always encourage our students to express themselves with the ball, confident to try out new skills without fear of being mocked or criticised.
Meet our team of coaches below:
testimonials
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