Hi everyone, My son will turn 7 in about a month. He is about to finish his first recreational season and really enjoys playing. My wife and I are considering enrolling him in the academy program of Sporting Oklahoma, the academy affiliate of Sporting KC. My question is: Is 7 too young to start in an academy program? What have people’s experiences been with academy programs for 7-9 year olds?
"Academy" has such a wide range of meanings, and it will depend on the specific club on how it's run. Our local club's "academy" (for U8 & U9) is a "no cut" team. They train 1-2 times a week and have "play dates" with other "academy" programs. At those play dates, usually multiple clubs show up, some with multiple teams, and they'll play two games. Players may change teams (within the club) between the two games. Scores are not kept. Coaches have licenses (as opposed to being parent volunteers). Both of my kids went through the program and seemed to like it. I suggest finding out: * The cost * Level of coaches * Number of trainings * Location of trainings * Times of trainings * Number of games * Location of games * Times of games * Number of kids in the program Get all of that information and make a decision. Just because we were happy with our "Academy" program doesn't mean you will be. Another question... you say your son enjoyed playing. Was he good at it (compared to the other players)? Even if he's not, that doesn't mean he shouldn't do Academy, but it is something to consider.
That’s all very helpful, thank you! From what I’ve been able to tell so far, Sporting’s academy program is very similar to the one you described. To answer your question, yes, he is good. Tall and very strong for his age, good aggressiveness, and seems to have an instinct for how to play the ball, both on offense (chesting the ball down or using his knees) and defense (using his toes to poke the ball out of bounds if he’s beat.)
As long as you mean little "a" academy, i.e., a school for generally more serious players within a club (sometimes badged "development academy") and not capital "a" academy, meaning a part of a club where the players are expected to train to join the first team (whether MLS, USL, or other), that's fine. If it's the latter, then we'll all chime in with a reality check.
I think at age 7, all of the competitive clubs will have a similar regimen. Probably 2 practices a week (with opportunity for add'l) and league games and maybe a few tournaments. I would worry more about making sure he's having fun with his teammates and that the coach is a good fit for that age group. Some coaches aren't used to coaching 7 yr olds and have a hard time adapting. They should have certainly done the grassroots classes and ideally a few more. That club is probably a good one based on it's affiliation. My kid is 7 and is about done with his first year of comp. It went well. He gels with his teammates, the coach is great. And not that it matters at this age, but they won a few tournaments and they will likely win the spring league (they are the top team out of 19 teams here in U8 comp).
Our son started with one of Sporting's other academies in Kansas City this season as a U8. He's loved it and so have we. The growth we've seen from all the boys has been tremendous, and they've focused on development as opposed to winning. I'd go for it if he's loving soccer and wants to get better with players who are just as invested.
Our son's academy was U6 through U8, but they mostly separated the U7/8s from the U6s. U9 was called academy still and they all practiced together, but there were defined teams and league play for that. He didn't start academy until U7 coming from rec, but it was the best decision we ever made for his soccer education. Two practices a week and they played mini games, with no keepers and small pug nets one day on the weekend. They did a lot of 1v1 and 2v2 drills along with the usual ball handling/cones type stuff. Lots of coaches and constant interaction. When I say "coaches", many of them were teenagers from the upper teams along with 2 or 3 actual coaches. When my son was in it, I would have put him in the middle of the pack technically. Definitely not a super standout. Halfway through U9 and actually playing games, you really saw how much it helped him being in it. He also practiced a lot in the backyard, by himself, which reinforced what he had been learning. I would fully recommend jumping into an academy program, but I realize every club is different. We had a very good experience, so I can only speak to that.