PLAYING PHILOSOPHY
Every group of players within the Academy will be coached and encouraged to play with skill,
passion, and intelligence. We will coach a possession-oriented game of football in which we will
attempt to build the ball up from the back, where pass quality combined with intelligent and
timely support and movement lead to progress and penetration through the thirds of the field to
provide goal-scoring opportunities.
The Academy's game style will be an "indirect style" of play as opposed to a direct style of play
football. In short, we will avoid random (and sometimes mindless) kicking of the ball; rather, we
will encourage our players to be creative in facing the multitude of challenges that the game
presents at any given time.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
While we demand that our players strive to be the best every time they take the field for training
or a game, winning is NOT the primary objective for the Academy coaching team. Our primary
objective is centred around, and driven by, our goal of developing players in a competitive,
enjoyable environment.
To achieve this objective, we must allow players to make mistakes even if we lose games in
doing so. This is the only way the coaching staff can analyse those mistakes, help our players
correct them, and ask them to try again the next time
In short, if our players are not allowed to make mistakes then they are not allowed to develop.
We believe that winning games will ultimately be a by-product of our ability to develop wellrounded footballers. Therefore, winning every game is not our primary objective and will NOT be
how we measure our success.
ACADEMY GAMES PLAYING TIME
Age
Format
Squad Numbers
Match Duration
Minimum game
time per player
U10 - Minis
U11
5v5 or 7v7
9v9
N/A
22
4 x 15 mins
4 x15 mins
Equal game time
Minimum 30 mins
U12
U13
U14
U15
9v9
9v9
11v11
11v11
22
22
16
16
4 x 15 mins
4 x 15 mins
2 x 30 mins
2 x 35 mins
U16
11v11
16
2 x 40 mins
U18
11v11
16
2 x 45mins
Minimum 30 mins
Minimum 30 mins
Minimum 30 mins
To Be Decided by
Coaches
To Be Decided by
Coaches
To Be Decided by
Coaches
St Peter FC Academy is dedicated to the long term development of young players
and to being an active part of the local community.
www.stpeterfc-theacademy.com