The Development Phase Model

The end of the second term of the school year also saw the conclusion of our first six months of the new after-school 'Development Phase Model' for our students. Due to the interruptions of inter-school sports and some coaching illnesses over the course of the term, the model was occasionally compromised as we tried to deliver the best possible training sessions with some challenges. In consultation with our coaches and students, we have found that the model is working quite well and students are developing in groups that match their ability level at this stage of their football journey. 

There have been some students asking to move up categories, however, we emphasise the need for them and you as parents to trust our process. We always look at their current performance in training as the strongest indicator of their current level. Therefore, a consistent dominance of their current phase results in the coaches speaking after each session and at the end of a five-week cycle to determine if a player needs to be further challenged, or is unable to compete at the current level and needs to drop to another group in order to develop the areas that are holding them back. 

We understand that football development is just like the process of development in a classroom and also in life in general. We do not follow a pre-determined path that is chronologically based on our age or the number of years that a person has been playing organised football at club level. We have no control over what happens at club level for the majority of our students, with the boys playing senior football at Albion Rovers the exception to the rule. Irrespective of whether your child is in the Foundation Development Phase or all the way up into the Senior Development Phase, they are there because their technical, tactical, physical and psychological level is closest to their fellow peers that are in that same level. 

Over the next term, we will continue to monitor the progress of the new model and we may well experiment with some girls that are excelling in their phase joining a boy's session to find the optimal level that will take them from a comfort zone into the learning and growth zones.

Our advice to those that want to move up a level is simple: reflect on your session, set yourself some measurable and achievable goals, practice at home and at your club, and be mentally and physically present in each training session. The coaching staff will notice and your name will be passed up to the coach that is taking the group above your current group.

Simple.