In my opinion, the talent development methodology currently being deployed in North America is flawed. LTPD is a traditional and outdated talent development model that makes the incorrect assumption that young players develop at the same rate and go through the same journey. They do not and there is significant research to prove that!
See Research and Practice in Talent Identification and Development – Some thoughts on the State of Play
The good news is that you, as a young player can take control of your own player development pathway:
1) You can accurately assess and benchmark your current technical and physical performance levels against young academy players (at EPL professional clubs) of similar age in England. We have access to data that allows us to compare young players in North America versus academy players at professional clubs in the UK.
2) You can also supplement your own team training by training on your own. Young players at academies in Europe train 10+ hours/week. Our High Performance Online academy players currently train with me x3/week online via zoom and are provided with home training programs (via training App's) that allow our players to train independently for another 3+ hours/week.
3) You can sign up for supplemental training by qualified technical skills and performance coaches. For example, we offer two training sessions/week to players that supplements their team training. This training is based on the training methodology of our partner club, Fleetwood Town and our players receive over 24 hours of training by Fleetwood Town academy staff on an annual basis.
4) You can actively participate in the best youth development systems in Europe by selecting programs that are tailored to you as an individual player. We offer a direct pathway into the Fleetwood Town International Academy where players can get selected to travel to England and train like a professional player for short or long-term stays.
All these options are much less expensive than OPDL or the high costs many of you incur by traveling to youth tournaments across Canada or the US.
To be the best you have to do something different than everyone else. Get in touch and I will be happy to help you formulate your own personal individual player development plan and successfully compete with the top academy players in Europe.