Repton’s Football Performance Pathway | Repton School

Performance Pathway

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THE FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE PATHWAY

DEVELOPING MORE THAN just FOOTBALLERS

 

The Football Performance Programme is about more than football, it is about the holistic development of the individual.

 

"An issue with football development in the UK is that it defines the young people in its care. Young people developing through football begin to believe that they are just ‘footballers’ and this is what solely defines them.

At Repton, we help pupils become outstanding footballers while ensuring they understand they are much more than that. Football should be the springboard to a participant's success, not the thing that limits their future.

The dream is to create a programme of education that allows outstanding football players to stay in school and simultaneously benefit from the highest level of football, academia and pastoral care. Since 2010 this Performance Programme has helped many pupils to do exactly that."

Luke Webb, Technical Director of Football

 

 

WHO IS IT FOR?

Quite simply, true STUDENT-ATHLETES. It is for young people who know they are worth more than one thing. Young people who want their football careers to excel alongside their academic studies. 

CAN YOU BECOME A PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLER WHILE at REPTON?

Although the Football Programme aims to help pupils unlock their talent and discover who they truly are, rather than become a professional footballer, the simple answer to this question is, yes. So far seven alumni of the programme have gone on to gain professional contracts upon graduation.

A lot of schools will boast that a professional footballer attended their school, but that player would have learnt their football at a football club, not the school. The football learning of the players on the performance programme takes place here, at Repton.

EXPECTATIONS OF PUPILS ON REPTON'S FOOTBALL PERFORMANCE PATHWAY

Futsal

Players on the Performance Programme commit to all aspects of the Football Performance Programme from July through to April each year. During this period, each week, pupils will participate in up to four football sessions, two strength and conditioning sessions, psychology and video analysis sessions, performance playground activities such as Dance, Yoga, Martial Arts etc, plus at least one competitive match.

During the Summer Term (April – June), pupils can play their chosen Summer Term sport option if they wish as the programme activities are structured around summer sports commitments. Players in the Senior school also have the option of joining the U18 full-time Futsal programme.

A pupil in the programme puts just as much emphasis on their academic studies and social skills as they do on their football. Application and curiosity inside and outside the classroom are a pre-requisite of participation in the programme.

 

ACADEMY STANDARD

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None of our players on the Football Performance Programme play at football academies. We are not a football academy. The football provision is comparable, and in many cases, exceeds that found in the club system, but we are focused on the holistic development of the individual, centred around their education. Players see the Repton Football Programme as the place that will enable them to become the best footballer they can be by the time they are 18 years old; something we continue to prove year after year.

Our coaches are professionally qualified and our Technical Director of Football holds the highest coaching qualifications in the UK (UEFA A Licence in Football and UEFA B License in Futsal). The programme, in its provision and delivery, is the highest standard of football, human and performance education on offer in the UK.

 

"In the academy system, an education is incredibly difficult to deliver due to the continued conflict of time between club and school. Here, the school is the club. A holistic education is absolutely central, not only because qualifications give young people a boost to their options should they not ‘make it’ or they have their professional opportunities curtailed by serious injury, but because learning makes them better players.

Football is a problem-solving sport. If someone is not taught to find solutions, they simply won’t attain their potential. When you see a problem on the pitch, you want to understand how to think your way round it. And that comes from holistic education."

Luke Webb, Technical Director of Football, in The Telegraph

 

 

HOW THE EDUCATION JOURNEY on REPTON'S PERFORMANCE PROGRAMME LOOKS

 

Junior pupil at Repton School's Football Performance Pathway

Juniors:

When pupils join the programme in Year 9 (B Block), they will participate in one term of Football and one term of Futsal with a full-fixture programme, alongside the holistic elements of the programme. During the Summer Term, pupils will continue technical football development in a non-competitive setting, alongside their Summer term sport option.


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Seniors:

Once in Year 11 (O Block) or if pupils join the programme in Sixth Form, they will become part of the Senior Performance Programme. This consists of two terms of football (July through to April) and a full fixture programme plus the holistic elements of the programme. In the Summer Term, there is the option to participate in Futsal with a full fixture programme playing the best clubs in the country (pupils can opt for a Summer sport option, instead of Futsal).


Senior pupils at Repton School's football Performance Pathway

All:

From Year 9 to Year 13 pupils will learn from the world-class syllabus created by Repton’s Technical Director of Football. Throughout a pupil's time at Repton, they will conduct a self-review process, guided by their coaches and player mentors, three times a year. These individual development plans will be targeted at the most important elements for their progression as well as helping them to take responsibility for their learning. They will be tracked over the player's five-year journey and upon graduation from the programme at 18, players will have a clear understanding and be able to take control of their progression.

Parents of pupils in the Performance Programme will also be involved in the syllabus and IDPs of their child. Parents will also have the opportunity to participate in a ‘parent in sport programme’ that helps connect the human and performance learning between coaches, parents and pupils.


Senior school pupil in goalkeeping training at Repton's football performance pathway

Goalkeepers:

Goalkeepers are not forgotten about at Repton. We appreciate the unique nature and specialism of the position and on one of the training days we have a professional Goalkeeping coach come in to deliver to our Goalkeepers on the performance programme.

GAMES PROGRAMME

Boys Performance Programme

In the Michaelmas term, pupils in Years 9 and 10, will play in the U14s or U15s school team, competing against the top schools in the country, as well as in ISFA and ESFA national cup competitions. In the Lent term, junior pupils on the performance programme will join together in one training squad and play a full term of Futsal, playing the best clubs in the country as well as competing in the FA Youth Futsal Cup. 

In Years 11, 12 and 13, pupils will play as part of the 1st XI (U18s) squad playing the best schools and EPPP clubs in the country. The 1st XI team will play in the Hudl Independent Schools League (The premier competition in Independent Schools Football), the ISFA Cup and ESFA Super League. Pupils will also participate in the FA Youth Cup.

Girls Performance Programme

During the Lent Term, pupils in Years 9 and 10 play in the U15s school team, competing against the top schools and clubs in the country, as well as in ISFA and ESFA national cup competitions. In the Michaelmas term, junior pupils on the performance programme will join the boy's football programme.

During the Lent Term, pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13, will play as part of the 1st XI (U18s) squad playing the best schools and clubs in the country. The team will play in the ISFA Cup and ESFA Super League. In the Michaelmas term, senior pupils on the performance programme will join the boy's football programme.

Our long-term vision is to enable players to compete in the senior women’s national league pyramid.

 

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