Cardiff Academy or Swansea Academy

[qccfc]

My little lad is 5 years old (almost 6) and was recently scouted at a football festival by Swansea. They asked if he would like to attend their pre academy for a couple of training sessions. Despite the obvious reasons for not wanting to go I thought it would be a good opportunity for Thomas so I took him down. They train at a place called 'play football' which is similar to Gol in Cardiff. To be fair it was a very good set up and we were made to feel very welcome. To my surprise I wasn't the only Cardiff fan down there as there were quite a few kids from Cardiff, barry, Caerphilly etc.

Roll on a couple of weeks and I was contacted by his local team saying that Cardiff adc have asked if he would like to train with them. It would appear that they found out he was training with Swansea and wanted to have a look at him.

We have been to one adc session which was good, plenty of little games going on and again we were well looked after.

At the moment neither Swansea or Cardiff have really said if they want him to continue. It's all very relaxed and casual and they are both keen for him to carry on attending. Speaking to a few parents I will eventually be called in for a chat and either formally be asked to train on a regular basis or told he is not wanted.

At his age it's just for fun and I'm not getting carried away with the attention. At the moment as long as he enjoys it I'm happy to attend either.

The question is I can't really keep up going to both and sooner or later I will have to choose. As much as it pains me to say on initial impressions Swansea appears more professional but I'm new to all this so would appreciate some guidance.

Cardiff would of course be a lot easier but the feedback I've had from other parents is that Swansea is the better option.

Any thoughts?

Its a bit of a non-problem at the moment as you haven't really been asked to stay on at either. You may have the case where neither ask you to continue, or only one ask then you just go with the one that happens.

Personally i would go with the will of the child, he will be in the system and it will be more of a benefit to him if he enjoys it. I always recommend to players that local is sometimes a bit better because it is easier to get together with the friends you make at training, and thus enjoy the experience more. Its always a bit more difficult being an outsider.

At the end of the day less than 1% of the players will make it at professional level so you have to make it as much about enjoyment as the football.

[BLUETIT]

You should be asking your lad, not us.

[Zenith]

You should be asking your lad, not us.

Agree with this, if he is good enough to be in an academy it will matter more when he is 10+.

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

You should be asking your lad, not us.

All advice is good and it may just be that someone on here has put their child through one if not both of the academies and is able to offer some inside knowledge about the pros & cons of each set up.

Let's be honest - a 5 year old might make the choice based on something as simple as he prefers the look of one kit over the other.

[BLUETIT]

All advice is good and it may just be that someone on here has put their child through one if not both of the academies and is able to offer some inside knowledge about the pros & cons of each set up.

Let's be honest - a 5 year old might make the choice based on something as simple as he prefers the look of one kit over the other.

And (NSASWA), that's why it should be the childs choice.

So they are happy and contented

[THE DON]

All advice is good and it may just be that someone on here has put their child through one if not both of the academies and is able to offer some inside knowledge about the pros & cons of each set up.

Let's be honest - a 5 year old might make the choice based on something as simple as he prefers the look of one kit over the other.

Thanks, couldn't have put it better myself.

I'm just interested in people's opinions of the two academy's.

My five year old can't decide what to have for breakfast most mornings let alone which academy he should join. For the record he enjoys all his football and just wants to play, he really does not have a preference. From a parents point of view it would be interesting if anyone has some personal experience of either set up, good or bad.

[Barry Shitpeas]

You should be asking your lad, not us.

I disagree. He's five, most five year olds don't know what day it is. It should be the parents decision. He's doing the right thing by asking advice from people that may have experience of the local academy system.

For what it's worth, I'm wary about these academies. From talking to parents whose kids have been involved with both pro clubs and the private academies like PG10, there does seem to be a bit of a scattergun approach as far as the very young kids are concerned. They know that many parents can be flattered and excited about the idea of their child training with a professional club, who wouldn't be. So they invite loads of kids, sometimes expecting the parents to fork out for expensive training gear etc. A cynic might say it's a way of generating a bit of revenue and hoping to get the 1 in 100 that might be good enough to take on.
Having said all that, if you and your son enjoy it and get something out of the experience then the very best of luck to you.

p.s surely it has to be the Bluebirds!

[chris lee]

If it is possible to keep both of them going at the moment (different days i assume) then i would continue you that for the immediate future till you can gage the interest from either one in their interest on your boy continuing.

[B. Oddie]

You should be asking your lad, not us.

[Rock_Flock_of_Five]

Its a bit of a non-problem at the moment as you haven't really been asked to stay on at either. You may have the case where neither ask you to continue, or only one ask then you just go with the one that happens.

Personally i would go with the will of the child, he will be in the system and it will be more of a benefit to him if he enjoys it. I always recommend to players that local is sometimes a bit better because it is easier to get together with the friends you make at training, and thus enjoy the experience more. Its always a bit more difficult being an outsider.

At the end of the day less than 1% of the players will make it at professional level so you have to make it as much about enjoyment as the football.

Good advice!