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The FA · free preview

FA Advanced Youth Award

Elite youth coaching: the academy system, growth and maturation, the age phases, talent ID, individual development plans and the multi-disciplinary team.

£3,600, including the first night at St George's Park each block and all meals · A Level 4 award, the same level as the UEFA A · age 18+ · 10 face-to-face days plus online workshops and at least three in-situ support visits

Take the courseCreate a free accountCourse fee: £3,600 in-game · with Full AccessCourse fees are in-game money, paid from your in-game wallet — never real money.

Free lesson · The academy system

The FA Advanced Youth Award: the real course

The Advanced Youth Award is The FA’s long-standing elite youth coaching qualification. It is a Level 4 award — the same seniority as the UEFA A — for coaches in professional academies under the EPPP. It shows you how to underpin a technical and tactical programme with the physical, psychological and social disciplines, tied to the Long-Term Player Development model.

  • Who it is for: academy coaches, aged 18 or over.
  • Format: 10 days of face-to-face learning, plus online sessions and workshops spread across the course, and at least three in-situ support visits to your own academy.
  • Attendance: full attendance of every in-person and online part is required.
  • Cost: priced at application; the fee covers tuition, resources, meals and the first night of each block at St George's Park.
  • One Level 4 at a time: you cannot be enrolled on it at the same time as the UEFA A, the UEFA Goalkeeping A or Leadership of Talent ID.

Content spans the three age phases — Foundation (5–11), Youth Development (12–16) and Professional Development (17–21) — and the four corners: technical/tactical, physical, psychological and social. You are assessed in your own academy on four kinds of evidence: session delivery, case work, programme design and professional behaviours, graded Pass, Merit or Distinction. Holding it opens senior academy roles and is listed as “desirable” for a UEFA Pro application.

Source: Coaching certifications reference · 15. Elite Youth Track

The syllabus: 8 modules, 31 lessons

  1. 1

    The academy system

    • The FA Advanced Youth Award: the real course free preview
    • Academy categories: what the audit actually measures
    • Three phases and the contact-hours curve
    • The leadership spine, the forums and the documents
  2. 2

    Long-term development, growth and maturation

    • Long-term development and the two clocks
    • Windows of trainability
    • Peak Height Velocity and bio-banding
    • The growth-spurt protocol
  3. 3

    Coaching the age phases

    • Foundation Phase: love the game, master the ball
    • Youth Development Phase: learning to play the game
    • Professional Development Phase: the last classroom, the first workplace
    • The right coach for the phase
  4. 4

    Identifying talent

    • What actually predicts elite performance
    • The relative age effect
    • Scouting and the gold-standard trial
    • Signing and releasing: the most tested judgement
  5. 5

    Individual development plans

    • What an individual development plan is — and is not
    • Writing an IDP: the five-part template
    • Playing up — and playing down
    • The dual career inside the plan
  6. 6

    Psycho-social development

    • Parents as partners, phase by phase
    • Identity beyond football
    • Mental health: notice, support, signpost
    • Growing up in the social-media era
  7. 7

    The games programme

    • Formats for each phase
    • Results are data, not the objective
    • Festivals, tournaments and going abroad
  8. 8

    The multi-disciplinary team

    • The MDT principle and the meeting rhythm
    • Case management: one plan, one voice
    • Data that answers questions
    • Return to play: an MDT case