What do Barcelona FC instill in their youth academies

[Mike]

What is it that Barcelona do in their Youth Academies that makes them turn out so many great Players. Does anyone know what their training tactics are. How do they nurture the Children's talent.
In Ireland, it is usually win at all costs and Parents and Managers shouting at kids. The training is very cone related. The skills don't seem to apply in most clubs here, not saying that for all. Barca are great at passing and it seems that every club want their kids passing like them and work very hard at this but they don't focus on the other aspects like skills training and ball control in particular on the ground. All the Barca Players have incredible skill and individual talents.
Does anyone know how this is nurtured from a young age up in their youth system. They seem to have it to Perfection.
It would be great to learn from anyone with inside knowledge so I can help my little Fella, he loves learning so I keep trying to find the information to help him out. Thank you, Michael.

 

[Wouterinho]

I'm not saying I have any inside knowledge but I do know that the focus is on technique, not physical attributes.

Spanish players in general play on a small pitch for a longer time (than English players for example), this forces them to pass the ball around and find solutions in a small space. The small pitch also gives smaller players a better chance of graduating from the youth ranks because they aren't forced to play on a big pitch where bigger, stronger and faster players always have an advantage.

Another general advantage that big teams and the biggest talents have is the fact that they just train a lot. In your son's case; as long as he enjoys playing football, let him play as much as possible. Encourage him as much as possible to use both feet; it's the easiest to learn this as a young kid and it always gives you a big advantage if both your feet are equally skilled.

I've also read a book about FC Barcelona, here are some quotes on the La Masia training (rather cliché, but useful)

There are other vital concepts in the training of a Barça footballer. One, unusually for this team,
concerns the use of the head. As Xavi explains, it is about acquiring the vision necessary to make such
quick decisions on the ball.
“ In Barcelona there are many concepts we discuss at training sessions,” he says. “ ‘Keep your head
up’ is one. The ball is at your feet, but you need to keep your head high. If not, you’re not watching
the game. Another saying is ‘look before you receive the ball’. That’s a really important one for
shaping your stance to control first time and then knowing what move you have to make to release the
ball quickly to the next guy.”

A fútbol base education goes beyond the technical. The lessons are also psychological and include the
value of losing plus an ongoing debate concerning the balance between winning and learning in the
early years of development.

"In the fútbol base the priority is training and development, but the objective is to win.”

There are some other interesting training tactics that they use, but those aren't relevant for training an individual.

 

[Deco 20]

In short:
1. They keep to a concept/style of play that is virtually the same from the teams composed of 6-year-olds to the first team
2. Their reputation is so high they can choose between top talents worldwide
3. As the main team in Catalonia there's many local kids to choose between (and Catalonia has many good youth teams)
4. As the second most popular/joint most popular club in Spain they have loads of supporters -> more kids want to join
5. They have state of the art facilities and probably good coaches too
6. While there is still some focus on winning they don't usually just discard players who haven't grown as much as others, or focus on short-term things like physique, but rather on vital long term things such as ball control and technique
7. The kids have good role-models and the club is happy to give talents a chance

PS: It's not cheap, the club spends millions of euros every year on the youth setup

 

[Mike]

Thank you Wauterinho, that is very interesting. I like the physical note. I know here a lot of clubs rely on size. It seems mad as while they may be heavier or taller, those bigger players are just used for been physical and using the shoulder rather than been thought skills and self control. They are not shown a lot in terms of behavior etc and they often struggle when trying to manage skillfull players that are smaller without fouling them. Would you happen to know the name of the book on La Masia. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Mike]

In short:
1. They keep to a concept/style of play that is virtually the same from the teams composed of 6-year-olds to the first team
2. Their reputation is so high they can choose between top talents worldwide
3. As the main team in Catalonia there's many local kids to choose between (and Catalonia has many good youth teams)
4. As the second most popular/joint most popular club in Spain they have loads of supporters -> more kids want to join
5. They have state of the art facilities and probably good coaches too
6. While there is still some focus on winning they don't usually just discard players who haven't grown as much as others, or focus on short-term things like physique, but rather on vital long term things such as ball control and technique
7. The kids have good role-models and the club is happy to give talents a chance

PS: It's not cheap, the club spends millions of euros every year on the youth setup

Thank you Deco, very interesting that they stick to same style of play from a young age and don't just discard children. A lot of clubs could learn from that. It's great that they focus on technique, talent and skill. Many clubs don't know how to handle individual talents and therefore, the kids are left in limbo. Thank you, Michael.

 

[Wouterinho]

Thank you Wauterinho, that is very interesting. I like the physical note. I know here a lot of clubs rely on size. It seems mad as while they may be heavier or taller, those bigger players are just used for been physical and using the shoulder rather than been thought skills and self control. They are not shown a lot in terms of behavior etc and they often struggle when trying to manage skillfull players that are smaller without fouling them. Would you happen to know the name of the book on La Masia. Thank you for your reply.

Barca: The making of the greatest team in the world.
(by Graham Hunter)
The book isn't about youth development, it's about every single aspect of how the current Barcelona became (one of) the best team(s) ever.
However, their is a small part dedicated to youth development (it's titled:" The breeding ground')

 

[Tezemery]

One of the most important things about early youth development is working with the ball, in the UK much of the emphasis is on winning at all costs, which of course is not the way to improve. Its commonly said about Barca's young teams that they dont win everything like you would expect because its not about winning at that age.

The best thing you can do for a kid is focus on the main things passing, control, movement and keeping your head up to read the game, all of this can be done in rondos and thats a massive part of Barca's youth success is the focus on that.

 

[Mike]

One of the most important things about early youth development is working with the ball, in the UK much of the emphasis is on winning at all costs, which of course is not the way to improve. Its commonly said about Barca's young teams that they dont win everything like you would expect because its not about winning at that age.

The best thing you can do for a kid is focus on the main things passing, control, movement and keeping your head up to read the game, all of this can be done in rondos and thats a massive part of Barca's youth success is the focus on that.

Thank you Tezemery, it's good to know this stuff to help him keep advancing. In Ireland, it is much about winning at all costs too aside from we're he is now. A lot of teams at young age will score a goal and then retract and try defend it at all costs, it's not very much exciting to watch or much benefit to the kids. Thanks again, Michael.

 

[Mike]

Barca: The making of the greatest team in the world.
(by Graham Hunter)
The book isn't about youth development, it's about every single aspect of how the current Barcelona became (one of) the best team(s) ever.
However, their is a small part dedicated to youth development (it's titled:" The breeding ground')

Thank you Wouterinho, it will be nice to have for more information. We got a nice one with mainly photos over the years from the Barca Store, it was around 50 Euros.

 

[Mike]

Brasilian Soccer Skills, Futsal

I was curious if kids training in Barcelona Academy are thought Brazilian soccer skills too, the little chops and various skills the Brasilians would use. Do the kids work with smaller balls or if Futsal is used for part of their training.

Thank you, Michael.

 

[Mike]

Training Tools at Youth Academy

Hi, does anyone know what type of training tools if any Barca academy uses to assist the kids development, reaction, speed, agility etc. Thank you, Michael.

 

[Mike]

Natural Talent, Gifted Children

Hi, Barcelona main Team seem to have a serious selection of naturally talented and gifted players all with different abilities and are stunning to watch.

In their Youth Academy, do the Club focus on each child as an individual and work with them on their particular talent to excel the kids and bring them on.

Thank you, Michael.

 

[xaviniesta]

i belive they work as a group and then later select the few really bright ones and they get the chance to play with older kids. thats how it basicly works there since cruyff.

 

[Mike]

i belive they work as a group and then later select the few really bright ones and they get the chance to play with older kids. thats how it basicly works there since cruyff.

Thank you Xaviniesta.

 

[Yugi]

I guess not, why would they teach stuff like that anyway, kids either have it or not

it´s about talent and hard work nothing else