The Importance of Shadow Squads

There is a saying that goes: to have control of the youth is to have control of the future. Which is essentially what football clubs do with their academies, investing and controlling their own future.

It has long been accepted that in order to make it as a professional footballer you will need hard-work, talent, perseverance, elements of luck and if we’re being honest,the right opinion in most cases.

A football club’s academy ties them to the community as well as providing the opportunity for local talent to mould their craft in the hopes of being the next generation that wears their shirt in future.

The dream of academy football is very much idolised by many young hopefuls and rightly so given the level of coaching, facilities and all the other dynamics that come with being in a professional football academy player.

With most academy age groups only bringing on certain number of players in a youth squad, there are other routes to keeping a hold over the local talent who have the potential for academy football but they aren’t seen as ready just yet.

Some football clubs will have shadow squads or development centres something of this variety that essentially gives talented players the opportunity to receive high-level coaching 2 to 3 times a week, with some playing regular competitive fixtures. This idea has come in different variations: Centre of excellence, development centre or soccer schools but the premise remains the same.

The importance of these initiatives shouldn’t be overlooked and be even more popular than they are currently are. They provide some mutual benefits for everyone involved.

However, the Shadow squad application means different things for different clubs with ultimately the same goal of keeping talented players within the club’s own reach despite not having them contracted to their academies or U23 set ups.

Shadow Squads at youth level

There are some clubs within the English Football League who provide shadow squads for mainly the ages of 7-16. Stevenage Football Club are a great example of employing this initiative close to their academy set up.

Stevenage provide a development centre allowing young players to receive academy standard technical coaching whilst being presented the opportunity to be scouted by club’s academy scouts.

Their Player pathway model keeps players with academy potential at arm’s length giving them similar developmental attention as the academy players.

Players involved in this pathway model play competitive fixtures every 6 weeks in Stevenage colours whilst still being able to play for their local grassroots sides.

A great model that allows them to enjoy playing regularly with their grassroots club whilst keeping them amongst the best local talent outside of the academy in order to supply their own academy.

Leeds United, West Brom, West Ham United, Peterborough and Northampton Town are notable amongst other clubs who use a similar format where the tier is below academy team.

West Brom’s FDS in particular provides the opportunity to compete in European tournaments in West Brom colours.

These pathways are very important to everyone involved in the models. For the players the obvious, they are provided with high level coaches who assess their progress frequently, opportunities to play against or train with the academy and still enjoy regular football.

This also looks good on their ‘’football cv’’ so to speak, if their time at these centres come to an end without any progression, having that experience and being improved by academy coaches will be favourable in the eyes of other academies or semi-professional clubs.

The parents of these young players also become more accustomed to what type of relationships they can have with academies.

Whether it be discussing their child’s individual progress regularly or planning so they are able to commute to training or matches may be a new experience for them to manage and an indicator to see whether or not it’s possible to fit it around their lives.

Scouts are able to observe a localised group of talent that have been refined closer to their academy principles, which makes it easier to determine which players are ready to be integrated into the academy sides.

Clubs ultimately form closer bonds and relationships with their communities whether it be the local schools or surrounding grassroots clubs. Providing their players with good quality coaching to perhaps improve the standard at local level as well as school football teams.

Development centres and shadow squad formats reignite a belief for these young players that there is a pathway and a bridge to academy football which has been difficult to achieve for many young hopefuls.

National Football Youth League

There are of course opportunities for players older to stay within the eyeline of professional clubs. Set up in 2002 the NFYL established a partnership between professional football clubs and the education system, to give talented footballers a chance from 16 and above.

There is a point where players who strive to be a part of a professional football club have to turn their attention to what other routes in life to take and education is the foundation to it.

A lot of professional clubs have produced a ‘’shadow squad’’ to allow players post-16 an opportunity to play competitive football alongside education. Players who don’t earn scholarships, out of the system.

The clubs involved provide a professional environment that their players maximise their potential with their books as well as their boots.

Those who haven’t been on the radar of any professional club until this point have an opportunity to flourish in this high-quality format. The NFYL essentially holds all the best talent outside of the academy talent in the various ‘’shadow squads’’.

Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Norwich, Reading, Brentford, Portsmouth, Everton and some clubs outside the football league all have squads for either U19 level or U23 level for both men and women.

The National Football Youth League is a grand example of the impact shadow squads can have on the lives of talented footballers. There are many success stories to come from this initiative with players earning professional contracts.

With some even playing international football, this truly is an attractive prospect for those who may have fell out of the system or really didn’t get their opportunity to push for another chance at their dream whilst being educated for a potential life outside of football.

With all the stories of how some released players lacked the proper pastoral care when not being offered a chance to continue post-16, the NFYL’s importance can’t be understated as they have a chance to compete against quality footballers’ pressure.

Most of these clubs will try to ensure those who don’t get picked with professional contacts will push them opportunities at levels in the pyramid that will provide them with a platform to go even higher.

Final thoughts

The shadow squad format in whatever its format or name for younger or older player gives them a bridge to the profession they want.

The academy infrastructure has been glamourized for so many years to the point children are stressing themselves about making it when this stage should mainly be about enjoying the nature of the sport.

I have always thought it strange to gauge the metrics of children with regards to football as there is a lot physical development to come which drastically changes things.  Then again there are some phenoms who display amazing technical quality at the youngest ages.

Nevertheless, these shadow squads give them the ability to improve technically with progressive opportunities for a wider cast of talents who may not be ready just yet to take on academy football. It’s almost a cheat code for some clubs in some respects.

For the players post-16 the NFYL has an important part to play for the development on and off the field for hopefuls. Whether they’ve been part of the system or not the high-level of quality in this infrastructure is a great opportunity.

Similar to the US collegiate programme where young hopefuls will look to be picked up as student athletes by some universities/colleges in America in the hopes of boosting their on-field and off-field development for opportunities later down the line.

Americans have long spearheaded the impressive sport-to-education system that allows them to produce the highest quality of athletes as well as alumni. Now in football this was a lot down to the lack of academy system in America but you can see the similarities there.

It’s nice to see a programme like this in England adopting the student-athlete level in a sort of merger with the shadow squad format that some English clubs already have.

The importance of these shadow squads aren’t to be overlooked as they give players a chance to prove some opinions wrong.