Stress and Strain in Academy Players


A number of studies have looked at the challenges facing Academy players as they try to navigate the difficult transition to senior football. Nick Holt and colleagues looked at the experiences of a group of 18-19 year old players. Like Michael and Graeme, the first challenge they often faced at this age, was living away from home. The most common stressor, however, related to their social rather than family life. For example, one player said “Your friends who are not involved in football, they want you to get involved with what they’re doing… The hardest word in the English dictionary is no, but that’s what you’ve got to say most of the time.” The first team coach, also reinforced the importance of players sacrificing aspects of their social lives: “We just try to tell the kids to live their life right to be a footballer and you’ve sometimes got to say ‘forget your mates who you go to school with when they’re going out on a Saturday night [because] that’s no good for you.’”


The study describes four psycho-social skills that are critical to securing a professional contract: discipline, commitment, resilience, and social support.


All four can be clearly identified in Michael’s journey to professional football, with resilience and social support especially important during his loan spells and subsequent injuries. Holt argues that successful players learn how to use parental support as a source of resilience. In particular, mothers and fathers provide emotional support, which enables players to turn to their parents, as Michael did, for comfort, moral support, and security during times of stress. Parenting styles that promote autonomy, as described in earlier chapters, can also equip young people to be more resourceful and resilient when they encounter stressful situations later in life. The model predicts that by possessing all four of the psycho-social skills players give themselves the best chance of making it as a professional:


“In short, if a player maintains a disciplined lifestyle, makes the necessary sacrifices, develops a strong commitment, is able to rebound from setbacks, and receives adequate social support, he potentially increases his chances of moving on to the next level [of professional football]. If not, it is more likely that he will (a) stay where he is until these conditions prevail, (b) be released from his club (in which case he may re-enter the sport at a lower level), or (c) drop out.”


Foundation phase (8-11)


Strong Technical Ability


Drop Out


Discipline (eg. lifestyle)


Development phase (12-16)


Resilience (set-back)


Social Support


Drop Out


Commitment


Professional phase (17-21)


Becoming a Professional Player


Drop Out


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