In our new online course ‘ Identifying Potential Talent ‘ - developed in conjunction with the English League Managers Association ( LMA) sister organisation the PFCA we look at Hotspots - where players are born and grow up.The initial environment where a player first begins to play informal football is critical to the players development. A view below would show the origins of the present England World Cup Squad ( from this article here )
In the online course we examine other hotspot areas in the World like Merseyside and South London in England and the Paris conurbation in France and New Jersey in the USA
In the online course we use ‘ Google Maps ‘ as a simple way to plot hotspots in an area or country. The example here is of the birthplaces of the England 2017 FIFA Under 20 World Cup Winning Squad.(To see how to create a similar map on Google Maps see here - you will need to have a Google account if you don't have one.)
Tony Carr the former Academy Manager of the West Ham United Academy outlines below the aspect of ‘ Hotspots’ in London
Why is this important for coaches ? What are the factors which distinguish these areas to other areas? e.g. Proximity to training and talent development programmes? or the Demographics of these areas?
What would be similar demographic areas within your catchment area ? Can you use Google Maps to identify these hotspots ?
If you take advantage of the World Cup Introductory Offer for this online course you will have the opportunity of reflecting on these key questions :
- How to concentrate talent Identification on these areas to find future potentially talented players and /or or look at other areas ?
- How you concentrate talent identification on the areas with similar demographics . If so which factors to prioritise ? and where?
For more information of the World Cup Introductory offer for the online learning course ‘ Identifying Potential Talent ‘ AND obtain a free copy of the Sports Path Technical Report on the 2018 FIFA World Cup click here