The Oakwell Academy

Is anyone else worried about our Academy.
10 games played,2 draws, 8 lost. Whats going on?
Are producing a team of loosers?

We didn't get this when Mark Smith and Colin Walker was at the Academy.

 

Understaffed,wrong people in charge.More experianced people needed to run and coach the teams.

 

Could be that

The latest crop of youngsters, as a whole, are just not up to the standard that other clubs have in their academy teams. That's not to say they aren't dedicated, hard working individuals, but in any competitive arena there are always individuals who are more skilful than others. If that were the case you'd have to question our scouting system. And a recent statement claimed that some of the young players we have in the academy could go on to be better than this club has ever produced. That doesn't look likely considering how the team is performing. Maybe they were referring to even younger players.

Maybe it's the coaching set-up. I know very little about that, so I couldn't say. Whatever the reason, the results from the academy are not very promising.

 

RE: Could be that

Mark Smith wasn't at the academy last season ... yet the team finished third in their league and had a decent youth cup run. I think we should get off the backs of the coaches and let them try and get on with their jobs. Out of last years academy side the first team have taken Nathan Jarman, Scott Flinders, Nathan Joynes, Thomas Harban and Ryan Laight. Heslop is on work experience with Kidderminster. Any team that loses 6 of their best will struggle to cope

 

RE: Could be that

Its not a case of getting on the coaches back but the facts are we are coached by a physio who I believe was in the army and never played the game.I'm not knocking Mick Tarmey as such because he is a nice guy but he could do with some help from somebody who knows the game inside out.The man who runs the academy Mr Hancock well what kind of experiance has he got to run such an important part in our football club future.Maybe the fella from Man.Utd had a point about the way our academy was run.

 

RE: Could be that

At last some one who will stick up for the Academy.

We know the clubs scouting is poor. I have done for years. See some of my previous postings.

I don't intend to knock the lads in the Academy but I would question the effect of loosing 8 out of 10 games on their confidence. The poor kids must be getting knocked for six every week. How is this going to produce players with a winning mentallity.

Mark Smith wasn't at the Academy last season but how many of the players he had were?

Don't forget that my concerns come from a background of being a Coach who has been involved in the grassroots of Junior Football for 16 years and have been a qualified FA coach for over 10 years.I come from a reasonable knowledge base. I am in a good position to compare our Academy with that of all our local rivals.I mix on a regular basis with our "rival" Academy Coaches and have even turned down a scouting position with Nottingham Forest because of my loyalty to BFC. Our Academy coaches do not attend the Sheffield & Hallamshire Coaches Association sessions even though all the top coaches from our local rivals do.

I know the people involved in the Academy and something of their back ground. I also know the FA requirements for Academy status, and I am mystified how we are still an Academy and not a Centre of Excellence.I don't wish to name names but I know that some of the guys in the Academy have less experience than myself and I know the FA regulations would not allow me to coach in an Academy.

It would be nice if someone from the Academy came on here and answered my concerns.

 

I go to watch the accamemy at most of their home matches but am not connected to the club or any of the accademy players. In my view the current problems are as follows:

Barnsley can only afford to take on 6 students per year. Most of the teams that we are playing take on far more than 6.
The team this year is very young. A difference in age makes a tremendous difference for example between 18 year olds and 16 year olds because of differences in height, strength and endurance.
The young players are in important positions. The first choice keeper has been injured for much of the season and a 16 year old is deputising. The 2 full backs are very young and consequently get a chasing most weeks. The forwards are very young - if you look at the results, scoring is the teams biggest problem. We have even tried Rob Atkinson at centre forward in recent weeks.
The older players are playing 2 games per week (they also turn out for the reserves) and may well be tired.

It is hard to assess the potential of the team given the age gap between them and the opposition. It is far more difficult to be patient with young players than to write them off as a group simply because of a few bad results. They will improve.

However, I do think that there is a point to be made about the scouting and coaching staffs. The team had a bad start to the previous season and it was Stuart Watkiss (now the Kidderminster manager) who turned it around. The opposition always contains a scattering of foreign lads. Ricardo Vaz Te(Portugese) scored 5 against us last year in a 6-1 home defeat by Bolton.

Finally, I will make the point once more that the purpose of the accademy is to produce players. Of the team that finished second under Mark Smith, only Robbie Williams has come through.

 

I know the 2 full backs! ff

 

Thanks for that very informative piece.
I had no intention of having a go at the players.
Part of my concern is that they are loosing most weeks and the effect that can have even on the most talented player.

If they are being beaten almost every week wouldn't it be better to play them at a level where they can develop.

Academies are about player development and producing a well rounded individual not just winning. But there has to be an element of success for the players to feed off.
That is basic psychology.

They need the best coaches in the club at the Academy, not a physio, an Uncharted one at that,and a Sunday League Manager. The higher the standard of player the easier it it to coach them, not the other way round.

You dont need to be a psychologist to know the effect constant loosing can have on a player. How long will it be before the lads start to leave the Academy because of the set up and be lost to the game for ever.

We have 1st class Academy facilities run by 3rd rate coaches. It's time we brought quality into the Academy.

 

tarmey coached before he became a physio..and he has completed the nesscessary badges

 

agree.....

person in charge now got rid of all the most qualified coaches when he took over.
Allegedly....

 

RE: agree.....

one two he'll be coming for you

 

3,4....

he can knock on the door !!

 

5..6

hit him with a stick

 

7...8

Tek em on a date

 

As I said earlier I know the back ground of the people in the Academy.
I know the level of coaching they have done.I know Mick Tarmey and Dave Hancock, and their back grounds.

Why aren't they coming on here to tell us why they should be running the Academy.
What qualifications do they hold?

 

I think you have

some good points

perhaps your concerns and comments should be directed to the club rather than an unofficial internet forum..

 

tarmeys fully qualified unless the chairmans a liar.

 

You can't say that about the Chairman on here.

He is 100% honest.

I read what he said in the Chronicle and also what Dave Hancock said.
However, I did not find the comments very specific and they did not go very deep.

He did not say how we were meeting the FA requirements, only that we were.

When the Man.U guy made his comments about the Academy he was only relecting my own thoughts after witnessing it's decline over the last few years.

I also noted Dave Hancock's statement that the club was going for quality not quantity. Do the Academy results show a developing squad?

 

why should they come on the internet to prove their worth?

how would they even know you'd asked them?