Tottenham’s John Allpress: why young players need to be given a ‘long audition’ to showcase their talents
Player | Journey | John Allpress | 10.11.21
Young players should be assessed on ‘progress not perfection’ and coaches should be looking for a ‘trajectory of improvement’ says Tottenham’s John Allpress. Image credit - Alistair Berg, Digitalvision
Learning:
- Why players need time and support to get through ‘bad times’
- Player development should focus on ‘progression not perfection’
- How to provide a variety of experiences and opposition for young players
Young players need a ‘long audition’ to showcase their talents and should be assessed on ‘progression not perfection’, says John Allpress, Head of academy coach development at Tottenham Hotspur.
“Actors used to walk on stage to an audition and straight away a judge would say ‘no, thank you’, explains Allpress, who worked as FA National Young Player Development coach for 13 years between 2000 – 2013.
“Just by looking at them they had decided 'you're too tall, too big, you've got the wrong clothes on, you've got the wrong colour hair – get off'.
“So, it didn't matter how much talent you had, you had no chance to shine.”
Allpress, who helped devise the FA Youth Award and FA Advanced Youth Award during his time with the FA, uses the analogy to stress that young players in football need a ‘long audition’ rather than a snap judgement on their abilities.
