Quote Originally Posted by thehumblegringo View Post
I agree with you that results at u9 u10 or even u15 mean nothing at all and give no insight into how many players may make the grade in the futute but ambition/drive/workrate are what the coaches are trying to instill at a younger age to give the kids a mindset for success.

Like i said earlier, these young kids are continually being pushed where you often see kids playing 1, 2 and even 3 years up in order to challenge the kids progress.

I think a strong team is far more likely to produce a strong player cos i have seen how this internal competition is pushing the players on collectively and individually.

I know that the aim of the academy staff is to present the kids with challenges in order to put demands on the kids mentally to kind of condition them so they can cope with the mental rigours of their development.

It's a tough world and having witnessed it fairly closely i have nothing but respect for any footballer who makes it all the way to the professional game.
Interesting, particularly this bit. I was thinking about how personalities change with puberty, but I guess that there is still conditioning that can be done.

It's an unpopular view, but I think that footballers are broadly worth what they earn as to make it as a pro they have to be the absolute creme in a highly competitive and lucrative industry.