The video above is a schools cup final from when my u17s were u14. This is high school football and one of a few schools cups in England. The teams will contain players who play for professional academies and for local league clubs like mine (albeit most will be Div 1 local league). These players are now u17 and at the first stage of a pro career (if signed) more commonly known as an Academy sponsorship - one step down from being (formally) paid to play for a living. I happen to know what nearly all the players from the team in White (South Hunsley) are doing now in terms of football. Would anyone care to speculate: 1. How many have signed an Academy Scholarship and at what level (Premier League, Championship, League 1 etc) 2. Who they may be (names) 3. How many have progressed from u16 straight to Mens’ amateur teams (possibly with the hope of playing Semi Pro) 4.How many play u17 league football. 5. How many no longer play at all. I am curious as there is a lot of discussion about what is needed to be a pro etc and while u17 is not final, it is a very good indication of what type of career a player may have in broad terms.
Second thoughts, it may be better to say which shirt numbers rather than names for q2 as that/probably protects the lads’ privacy a bit better
I appreciate this is over an hour worth of video to watch and will not appeal to all as an exercise. I will therefore add a bit of immediate gratification to it with this post and give you those who are signed on Academy Scholarships (have put in a spoiler in case anyone would prefer to watch or skim the video before seeing) Those in Academies (Move your mouse to reveal the content) Those in Academies (open) Those in Academies (close) Number 4 - Championship Academy First Year Scholar - Defender Number 8 - Championship Academy First Year Scholar - Defender - has played for the club's u23 side Number 15 - Championship Academy First Year Scholar - Goalkeeper (A rumour I hear is that he has recently been training with the World Cup winning England u17 squad and is rated 3rd or 4th in his Club's keepers so could make a first team professional debut in a couple of years). Was not signed to an Academy when this game took place having been recently released by one where he was playing as a midfielder. This was a very low point in his 'career' and one which could have finished him off had he not changed position shortly afterwards. He spent more time out of the professional Academy system than in it and went on many trials but worked hard enough to make it to this stage - one many who have been in the Academy set up for years fall at. Note that all 3 are with Championship and not EPL Academies. Not a disgrace and the academies are highly ranked but hopefully a sign of how competitive it is and how, as parents and coaches, people need to be measured in any talk of making it to the pros. Would be interested to hear whether this surprises anyone and why Be constructive - these are still young men with only the glimmer of a career at the moment and bear in mind this is one game more than 2 years ago. What do people think of the level of the game? Yes it will be below that of an Academy game but it has Academy players in it. Will they have been learning from the experience still? Is there anyone you are surprised has not 'made it'? I can probably tell you where they are now and whether they ever made it to an Academy at any age. Above all, bear in mind they will have been 13/14 at the time of this game and this will have been the peak for some of the players.