not messi-ng around

Not messi-ng around

If you want to be the best, you have to learn from the best, that is the motto currently doing the rounds at the AFC Junior Youth Academy after a recent visit to Barcelona. The Catalan giants have long been revered as the finest side on the planet, both in terms of their results and their style of play, and they have achieved that status by breeding an impressive number of their own stars. While Aberdeen pride themselves as being the best Youth Academy in Scotland, an assertion backed up by the number of youngsters currently in the first team, our ambitions go further than that, which is why Gavin Levey, Head of the AFC Junior Youth Academy went to visit Barcelona along with AFC Community coach Scott Duncan and goalkeeping coach Shaun Beattie to see how it’s done in Spain.

Gavin told RedWeb Lionel Messi “We went over to Barcelona for a study visit, to find out more about their Junior Academy. They have the reputation for being the best in the world, so we wanted to see what they were doing.

“I went there under the false impression that we were going to be blown away by seeing hundreds of kids training every single day, all housed at the same place, in fantastic facilities but what actually blows you away is the philosophy.

“The U12s train the same hours per week as us, an hour and a half, three times a week. They do have a fantastic training ground, but their U11s and 12s are training outside on the astroturf pitches. Our U11s and 12s train at the Sports Village which is arguably the best in the country, so they are playing on a similar surface. It’s not all about the money, it’s more about the fact everyone is singing off the same hymn sheet. The main thing that is different is a joined up philosophy from the U8s right through to the first team. The drills seven, eight, nine year olds are doing are the same as the ones the first team would be doing.

“It is a joined up approach from the word go. The all have the Barcelona style of play.

“Even when you watch the eight year olds, you can see their movement being like Messi and Iniesta because they model all their youth players on what they want for their first team. They actually bed in the shape of the team in seven a side games at seven and eight years old. They are taught about the shape and the movement.

The three AFC coaches “They are also taught good habits. The young kids at eight years are treated like the first team. Both teams walk out onto the pitch as if it was a Champions League game together. Before the game they then walk up and down shaking hands with each other like the first team do. They come over to the side of the pitch and clap the parents after the game. Just little things, but it was very impressive.

“You look at their first team and see how many players have come through, that is because they know what they are looking for in their youth players. That is not something that costs money, it is just people having the same belief in what they are looking for when they are producing players.

“If a player was to have to move age groups, or have to move teams for whatever reason, if he was playing centre midfield, he would still know what the wide players’ movement should be. Therefore by the time they get to the first team level it has been drummed into them for years before and that is why the Barcelona movement is so good and why they are such an exceptional side. They could almost play blindfolded and still know where their team mates would be.

“They want youngsters and coaches with an individual character and personality so they can express themselves on the pitch, but their key qualities have to be the same throughout.

Barcelona youth players “It sounds very simple what they are doing but if it was, everyone would have copied them by now and would be having similar success! To get where they are has taken years of hard work. It is not just something that has happened overnight. It was actually Johan Cruyff who put in place the first building blocks. Most of their coaches have had a part to play in the development of the Barcelona style over a lot of years.

“There is very much the ‘I can, we can’ approach. It is cultural as well. Spain has its own style of football, Scotland has its style of football. They are quite different.

“The first thing the Barcelona coaches said to us when they did a presentation for us was that “This is the Barcelona way, the Barcelona methodology. We are not saying this is the best way, we are not saying this is the only way but this is what we do”. When we sat in a room with their coaches for four hours, we got as much information out of them as we could. It is then for us to go and share that information with other coaches in the North East of Scotland.

“I also recently went on a trip to the Ukraine which was interesting as well. Their style of play is very different as well. It is very high tempo, high energy. Learning off other people is very important. These trips make you realise that you can do things better, you are always learning and always take something away from them.

“That said, I think we are doing a lot of good things at Aberdeen. What was reassuring to see was the fact we tell all the kids in our Academy all the time to build from the back. Barcelona preach the same thing. They want their defenders to attack and want creative players. They do not like kids playing the long ball. They say the best form of defence is possession. Short passes are safe. Long passes are dangerous.

Barcelona youth players “It was interesting because we went to watch some local boys club games as well. There were overweight kids and other kids of all shapes and sizes and of different abilities. It was not a great standard but they still built from the back, their movement was still good, they still showed skill and creativity which was obviously imbedded at a young age”.

Gavin has been a full time coach with the SFA for over 10 years now and is one of the most respected youth coaches in the country. He also worked for Dundee United and Ross County and has an Honours Degree in Sports Coaching and also has his Youth Licence. His role at the club recently changed as Aberdeen Football Club restructured its Youth and Community departments as a consequence of Jim Crawford’s retirement, although the senior community coach will continue to work for the club in a part time capacity as the Junior Academy skills coach.

The AFC Youth Development department will now be divided into two complementary sections – Youth Football Academy, focusing on the age groups 13- 17 years and the Junior Football Academy, concentrating on the age groups 8-12 years. Neil Simpson continues as Head of Youth Development whilst doubling up as Head of Youth Academy, whilst Gavin was promoted into a newly created post as Head of the Junior Academy.

“I am still in a transition period but I am enjoying it. I have got out and about and presented our vision to the sponsors so they know what is going on as they are a vital part of the Youth Academy. I have presented it to all the parents, I have presented it to all the coaching staff. I have also presented it to all the local boys club co-ordinators because they have to be part of this as well. There is no point is us trying to keep everything to ourselves. We have to get everyone in this area working together. Barcelona youth players

“This job can be frustrating at times because everyone is looking for something overnight. When you are working with these young ones, it is a long term plan you are looking at and there is much to look forward to. Jim Crawford’s Advanced Programme kicked off four years ago. It works on the players’ individual skills and on working with both feet so they form good habits early. All our players from the U13s down have been through the centres and we are seeing the difference.

“All the kids we are getting through now are technically far better. They have still got to have the hunger and desire to go on and make it but if we can equip them at a young age with the tools of the trade they stand a better chance of making it as a player”.

FC Barcelona trip

From left to right – Pere Gratacos i Boix (FC Barcelona), Scott Duncan, Shaun Beattie, Gavin Levey, Victor Sanchez Llado (FC Barcelona), Joan Vila i Bosch (FC Barcelona), Inak i Alsonso (Spanish FA).

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