Just Football Academy’s top tips for preparing to join a football academy
As a football training academy, Just Football get a lot of players through our doors every year. Understandably, not everyone is entirely as prepared as they should be for a professional, full time football training regimen. Most of this is down to this being an entirely new experience for young players.
So we thought it would be a good shout to offer up our top tips for anyone thinking of joining a football academy on how to prepare so you can hit the ground running, using the benefit of our own experiences.
Preparing to join a football academy requires dedication, hard work, and a strong commitment to the sport. Here are some top tips to help you prepare:
Develop your skills: Work on improving your ball control, dribbling, shooting, and passing skills. You can practice these skills by joining a local football club, attending coaching clinics, participating in football camps or even by yourself in your garden or local park/green space.
Build your fitness: Football requires a high level of physical fitness, so it's important to build your endurance, speed, and strength. You can do this by doing cardio exercises, such as running and cycling, and strength training exercises, such as weightlifting and bodyweight exercises. Keep in mind that up until this point, training will have been a part time affair and football training at an academy is full time, so getting used to every day fitness and PT before you join is a really good idea to avoid being a shock to your system.
Watch and learn: Watch professional football matches and learn from the players' techniques, tactics, and strategies. This will help you improve your game and develop your own playing style. Note that analysing a match is entirely different from watching a match as a fan of the game.
Maintain a healthy diet: A healthy diet is essential for maintaining your energy levels and supporting your physical fitness. Eat a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and complex carbohydrates. Just Football have nutritionists as part of our staff who inform and guide what our players eat and drink for maximum performance in their given role as a player, however, getting into the habit of eating a performance based diet before you join an academy will make this transition a lot smoother and easier.
Stay disciplined: Joining a football academy requires a high level of discipline, so it's important to be committed to your training schedule and follow your coach's instructions. Stay focused on your individual goals and work hard to achieve them. This point cannot be understated as it is a huge part of what takes a good player to being a great player.
Be mentally tough: Football can be a challenging and competitive sport, so it's important to be mentally tough and resilient. Learn to cope with pressure, setbacks, and failures, and develop a positive mindset that allows you to stay motivated and focused on your goals. It doesn’t matter if you get knocked down, so long as you keep getting back up.
By following these tips, you can prepare yourself to join a football academy and pursue your dream of becoming a professional football player.
If you’d like to explore what we offer or have a chat with one of our team about joining Just Football Academy, click the button below or fill out the form and we’ll straight back to you.