Interview With Derby County Academy Manager Kevin Thelwell
January 14, 2008
Coach Gary Littlefield caught up with Kevin Thelwell of Derby County last week to briefly discuss the academy and its assessment practices. Here’s what Kevin had to say.
Can you give the younger Ziga Zoga members an idea of what is expected of a player while on trial at the academy?
The first thing to recognize here is that there is quite a stringent process for trialing at the Academy. Trialists will either be within our development system of support or will have been identified through the scouting process. So they are usually of a good standard on arrival. With this being the case we ask them to do three things; Listen well / work hard / Make sure you enjoy it! And hopefully the rest will take care of itself.
Once accepted to the academy, how often and what forms of assessments are there?
The boys at all age groups are continually being assessed both informally and formally on a weekly basis. This can include; Fitness testing – Assessed in all components on a quarterly basis Technical / Tactical – Weekly review (Informal) / Parent meetings (Quarterly) with a Mental Weekly review document (Formal document). The review and evaluation process is very important to both the staff and the players to ensure that they are continually on the right road for progressive development. This element is taken very seriously especially at the older age groups.
The emphasis this week has been on self assessment, can you give an example where a player has assessed himself correctly and an example of the opposite?
All players between the Ages of 11 and 16 are issued at the beginning of the season with a self assessment handbook. This allows the players to make comment on specific areas of their game on a weekly basis. The coach will review these comments and add to it on a monthly basis. We feel this process provides players with the opportunity to think seriously about their game and develop their own perception of how they are doing with guidance from the coach on a regular basis. This handbook also allows the player and coach to communicate and discuss on a regular basis to ensure they become of the standards required at the Academy.
Last of all can you comment on individual goal setting?
Following on from the last question at the end of the month players identify with the coach where they feel they can improve and this is then taken forward through games and training for the next month. This process is really important as it helps players to strive for continual improvement with guidance and support through key individuals. Such goals are very simply; very relevant to the individual, realistic in terms of achievement, recorded (Through the Handbook – allowing progress to be traced) measurable.
So, what are your thoughts and how will you Get Stuck In?
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