What makes a youth development programme ‘elite’?

Coach | Approach | 10.03.2023

The culture of an academy programme will play a large part in determining the production of professional players, says John Allpress. Image: Getty images

Learning:

-     Creating a culture of high performance

-        Skills and characteristics of elite performers

-       The difference between ‘good’ and ‘elite’ footballers

Calling a development programme high performance, or elite, doesn’t make it so. High performance, or elite, is a mindset above all else, not a realm reserved for the chosen few.

There is no entitlement. Being elite must be earned and it doesn’t come easy. Even at the very top of professional football there is the first team squad and within it the super elite core group who stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Compromise and conformity have no place in elite sport. Truly elite behaviours are underpinned by critical thinking and a willingness to learn new ways of doing things, either on or off the pitch, or in the gym.