Dr Rick Hayman

Associate Professor at Northumbria University, PFHEA, PhD in Sports Coaching, Husband, Dad, Coach, Likes to get things done.

[Ataque Futbolero @AtaqueFutbolero]

Él es Taha Ali, tiene 27 años, juega en el Malmö y fue convocado por Suecia para el Mundial.

Lo curioso es que toda su vida jugó FUTSAL hasta los 22, justo antes de debutar en FÚTBOL 11 en 2020.

Su nombre (y su gambeta) está dando que hablar… 🇸🇪🥶

[The Sporting Resource @TheS_Resource]

The man who helped sign Harry Kane at Tottenham, helped England win the Under 17 World Cup, and created the FA's entire Talent ID qualification pathway has a message for everyone involved in youth football.

Most of us are missing players and we've been doing it for years.

It's all in the comments.👇

Source: Project Footballer Youtube Channel

[PFA @PFA]

UEFA B coaching with Kyle Walker - a future manager?

[The Sporting Resource @TheS_Resource]

Tony Pulis spent almost a year filming a documentary series for Sky Sports called "Chasing the Dream," investigating the academy system in English football. What he found should concern every coach and parent involved in youth football.

91% of young players in academies never play a professional game, but it's what happens to them after they're released that he thinks needs urgent attention.

I've broken down his key points in the comments 👇

[The Sporting Resource @TheS_Resource]

Alex Inglethorpe, Liverpool’s Academy Director, is blunt about early ranking, it’s almost meaningless.

What a player is at 9, 12 or 13 tells you almost nothing about what they can become.

➠ Trent Alexander-Arnold not number one in his group.
➠ Connor Bradley not number one in his group.
➠ Jarell Quansah not number one in his group at that time.
And you could go through all of them.

Every now and again you see the obvious one, Jude Bellingham at Birmingham and Rooney at Everton. Clear standouts who stayed standouts. They exist, but they’re the exception.

⇢ Harry Kane shows the reality.
At Tottenham at 13 he was middle of the group at best. Not on the podium. Gold and silver medalist Harry Kane wasn’t anywhere near it according to Alex Inglethorpe when he was at Tottenham Academy then.

Then Brad Friedel came in one day and said “he finishes like Robbie Fowler”.
➝ No backlift.
➝ Hits the ball hard.
➝ Finds corners.
That single comment shifted the perspective.

These players didn’t announce themselves as prodigies, they grew. They changed physically, mentally, technically, socially.

Someone recognised the direction they were moving in, not the snapshot they were frozen in.

That’s often (not always) core coaching failure at youth level, adults obsess over the podium instead of the trajectory.
⁃ The best at 12 is often the earliest developer.
⁃ The middle is often the one with the longer runway.
⁃ The worst is often the one carrying the biggest biological gap.

Alex Inglethorpe’s message is brutal but accurate:
🔴 Stop judging children by where they sit in the pack.
🔴 Start judging them by what their behaviours, mindset and habits suggest they might become.

[Dr Rick Hayman @HaymanRick]

@MyFootballCoach Homeplan

[Sean Cumming PhD @phd_sean]

An excellent episode detailing some of the great work that @ManUtd have done around the subject of growth and maturation in academy football and supporting late developers such as Scott McTominay https://t.co/Oh7nQhp2aa

[England Futsal @EnglandFutsal]

🚨 Futsal community 🚨

After a period of exploration and research, we have an important announcement to share regarding our youth futsal competition for the 2025/26 season as we look to integrate further with clubs and regional providers.

More to follow very soon 🙌

[Joel Cressman @JoelCressman]

In 2016, researchers compared the developmental activities of Bundesliga pros vs. national team players.

The difference was not in quality of coaching or innate athleticism.

Here’s what they found:

[Paul Spacey ⚽️ @PaulSpacey]

U13 Barcelona.

Look at the fundamentals:

- passing speed and choice
- first touch
- dribbling comfort
- movement off the ball

No tricks or fancy stuff needed!

[Steve Magness @stevemagness]

Youth sports in the US are a disaster driven by egos & money.

70% of kids drop out of sports by 13

Fear of failure & pressure to perform from parents & coaches is one of the biggest reasons

We need to do better

Here's my youth sports manifesto for parents. It's important:

[Brendan Cropley @BrendanCropley]

"Academic resilience positively influences FE learner mental well-being, engagement and retention, and thus is an important personal resource for sustaining higher levels of functioning during demanding academic situations" - great work from @HannahWixcey

[Kevin Middleton @coach_kevin_m]

I am a huge fan of using mini goals in training.

Here are 8 variations of using 4 goals that work on different principles of the game.

Comment or DM for a PDF version

[Neil McCarthy @NeilMcCarthy74]

Relative age effect inverts when looking at career performance in elite youth academy soccer: Journal of Sports Sciences: Vol 0, No 0 - Get Access https://t.co/Sa7LzCryBo

[Kevin Middleton @coach_kevin_m]

“Everything that goes on in a match, you can do in a rondo” - Barcelona and Ajax legend Johan Cruyff.

Everyone has their favourite rondo, the image contains some of mine. Each is aligned to a principle/area of the game

What are your favourite Rondos? Feel free to share below

[Gabriele Morganti @MorgantiGab]

Relative Age Effects and Place of Early Development Constrain Male Youth Italian Swimmers’ Developmental Experiences is now available open-access here: 👇

https://t.co/EvRrHJAVnL
@Sports_MDPI #sportsmdpi

Thanks to all the authors involved! 😊

[Jamie Taylor @Jattaylor]

Hedge Trimming or Tree Felling? Context and Systemic Factors in Talent System Recruitment and Selection Decisions

Many congratulations to @IanCostello1 for the latest output from his Professional Doctorate @DcuPerformance

A fine example of someone embedding inquiry into their work at @Munsterrugby

https://t.co/XZpwo1WCRL

@AineMacNamara_
@dcu_shhp

[Jamie Taylor @Jattaylor]

"This unique 20-year analysis shows that junior success in male ice hockey is positively related to early maturation, while adult success is inversely related to advanced maturation"

Niklasson and colleagues (2024)

Excellent work @TLexercise

https://t.co/GtmpLPbWHD

[Journal of Sports Sciences @JSportsSci]

Talent development in female soccer: Developmental activities of professional players in England.

A study by @matthewandrew23 and colleagues.

https://t.co/oF5Lh7KqII

[Phil Kearney @kearney_phil]

Good weekend for @fionnfitzgerald contributing to Dr Crokes winning the Kerry Senior Football Championships and then his latest paper on maturation in youth sport appearing online:
https://t.co/ijkjAJrsDA

@PessLimerick @Dr_MarkCampbell @phd_sean @MTU_ie