What is unique about the BW PASE Academy, is not only do we have a direct pathway into men’s first team football, unlike many of the programmes of our kind that have no true affiliation to a senior Football Club, but we also have a track record of over 20-years of providing alternative exit routes for our players.
Whether that be to go onto University both in the UK and the USA on ‘soccer’ scholarships, as well as entering either professional and semi-professional football, or even to go directly into the work place using the knowledge and skills gathered whilst on the programme studying your chosen education course.
Our player pathway is simple and has six tiers. Some players may only ever stay at one tier, others may progress through all tiers, whilst others may skip levels out completely during their progression. Over two decades we have seen all scenarios play out, and ultimately it doesn’t always boil down to the player’s talent, but their attitude, discipline and desire.
We start with our category 2 and 3 groups who play in the National League Youth Alliance, as well as the AoC Sport Leagues, which is operated by the English College’s Football Association. These leagues provide frequent competitive football for our players to develop in a professional environment alongside likeminded players and coaches.
The next level in our player pathway is our Under 18’s group. This is a very competitive level, of which we target to win both the league and cup titles every year. This group will also get the opportunity to play in the prestigious FA Youth Cup, and if drawn at home, these games are played within our Meadow Park Stadium and on those occasions the players are treated identically to the first team in every aspect.
The progression from our Under 18’s group is into our Under 19’s National League Football Academy group. The National League Football Academy is a newly formed accreditation given to only the best Academies of our kind that satisfy a demanding criteria in terms of facilities and coaching staff. We are one of around 26 academies across the whole country who met the grading criteria and play within the southern section. In addition to this league, our Under 19’s will also represent the Club in the National Cups, including both the National League Youth Alliance and English College’s FA National Cups, which we target to win year-on-year.
Boreham Wood FC has a rich history of providing a clear pathway from the Academy into the First Team. Year-on-year, Academy players train daily with our First Team squad, as well as earning squad numbers and places within our senior match day squads.
Our staff structure complements our player pathway from Academy to First Team because we also have a number of First Team coaches/players who couple their First Team duties with coaching roles within the Academy, namely Ross Weare, Jordan Kelly, Brandon Bevans and Femi Ilesanmi. This structure provides great synergy between the Academy and First Team and only assists the club with creating an achievable player pathway to senior professional football.
Of all the progressions along our ‘player pathway’, making the jump to become an establish First Team player is probably the hardest to accomplish and in truth should be broken down into the smaller, more achievable milestones. We recommend players target milestones such as, inclusion in First Team training, earn your squad number, make the bench, make an appearance in the Herts Senior Cup, and so on, before making your full First Team debut.
