Pro Player Football Academy is Yorkshire's fastest-growing youth football academy, located in Wakefield. Established in 2014, the academy aims to bridge the gap between professional academies and grassroots football by providing a range of weekly sessions designed to nurture and develop young players.
Catering for boys and girls aged 4-16, Pro Player offers a unique Academy model structured around their Player Performance Pyramid. This model provides a clear development pathway for all players, with a bespoke approach at each performance tier.
What sets Pro Player Football Academy apart is their team of coaches, who are all current or ex-professional footballers. Not only are these coaches FA/UEFA qualified, CRB checked, fully insured, and first aid certified, but many of them also have academic qualifications in areas such as sports science or strength and conditioning. This level of expertise ensures that players receive a high standard of coaching on par with professional academies. To maintain quality, the academy maintains a maximum coach to player ratio of 1:12, allowing each coach to work closely with a small group of players and maintain the high standard of players in each age group.
The academy is based at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, which offers state-of-the-art 3G facilities and leading league standard training equipment. This ensures that players have access to the best training and development experience possible.
Pro Player Football Academy provides a range of benefits to its members. Weekly training sessions are led by professional or ex-professional footballer coaches, offering top-quality guidance and mentorship. Additionally, players have the opportunity to participate in regular games against professional development squads, private academies, and local junior teams. This exposure allows players to showcase their skills and potentially be recommended to professional clubs for trials.
The academy also offers video reviews and feedback to further enhance player development.
The team at Pro Player Football Academy consists of highly qualified individuals. Kingsley James serves as the Academy Director, while Scott Smith and Ollie Russon lead the youth development and foundation phases, respectively. Mark Goodlad heads the goalkeeper coaching programme, and Emily James handles business administration. The coaching staff also includes Aleks Starcenko, Michal Korbel, and Danny Greenfield, each bringing their own expertise to the academy.
Testimonials from parents and players highlight the positive impact of Pro Player Football Academy. Many parents praise the enthusiastic coaching, the fun and challenging sessions, and the extensive support provided by the coaches.
Pro Player Football Academy strives to provide an exceptional footballing experience for young players by combining top-quality coaching from professional or ex-professional footballers with leading league standard facilities. The academy's commitment to player development and success has made it a prominent and respected youth football academy in Wakefield and beyond.