James Barlow is currently the Head of Coaching at Portsmouth Football Club. He had his first role at the club in 2020, as a Senior Academy Analyst, before moving to Assistant Professional Development Phase Coach for the U18s and now the Head of Coaching at the Club.

James has numerous experiences as a coach in a professional football academy in the UK, has Futsal coaching experience, experience of coaching men and women in football and experience as an official FA (Football Association) Tutor.

In this episode, James and myself speak thoroughly about what it is like to be in a professional football academy as a player. We speak about what you as a player need in your early years, the selection process academies in the UK undergo, the goal of an academy and many more interesting topic in and around footballing academies.

If you are a youth player trying to further develop and understand what you need in order to make it, this is the exact podcast for you! However, if you are just generally interested about the way of coaching with younger athletes, you too are in the right place!

All there is left to say is enjoy :)