Quote Originally Posted by Lawnmower View Post
Be very careful.
From what I've heard
A lot of 'academies' are no more than soccer schools which you end up paying your kid to go to.

If either comes back to you then there may be a choice to be made, but at 5 he should just be having fun with his mates and as near to home as possible.

Ridiculous that clubs are even approaching kids at this age imho
I can’t speak for Swansea’s set up,but that is exactly what Cardiff’s ADC is.It IS part of the pathway to the academy, but honestly there is a massive gap between the two.How do I know this?,I coached at the Vale ADC for 4 years until last year when I questioned what I,and more importantly,the kids were getting out of it.At best,for the majority it is extra coaching,with admittedly the better footballers within their age group.There aren’t many that make it through to the academy, and I believe that this season after yet another shake up in the organisation, the majority are run on a franchise basis.