The Academy, Kirkby

The Academy is the training ground and academy headquarters of English football club Liverpool F.C., located in Kirkby, Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. It was opened in 1998 as a new state-of-the-art youth academy, replacing the older, more informal youth system, enabling the club to focus their youth development and scouting, employing new techniques and FA standards. The centre covers an area of 56 acres.

The Academy
Kirkby
The Academy in Kirkby, the training ground of Liverpool F.C.
LocationKirkby
Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley
Coordinates53°28′49″N 02°52′09″W
OwnerLiverpool F.C.
TypeSports training facility
SurfaceGrass pitches (8)
Synthetic turf (1)
Construction
Built1998
Tenants
Liverpool F.C.

Overview

It was overseen by Frank McParland. The Academy now allows the main training ground at Melwood to be kept solely for the first team squad and allows all the areas there to be kept in excellent condition. It also provides a stepping stone for youngsters to progress to the highest levels of football at Liverpool.

Scouts attend many local youth matches looking for talented boys. A boy will then be invited to attend training sessions at the Academy. They are currently taken in as young as the age of six. Former England International player Jamie Carragher started at Liverpool when he was aged just nine, with Michael Owen joining at eleven, and Steven Gerrard joining at the age of eight.[1] At this age, the boys start by simply attending after-school training sessions, but as they reach their middle-teens, their academic needs will be taken over by the Academy if they are deemed athletically talented enough. As such, the Academy has a lecture theatre and a computer-equipped classroom.

The Academy can handle up to twenty boys in each year group, although the actual number in each year group is usually around eighteen. Between the ages of eight and twelve the boys play in eight-a-side games of three twenty-minute periods. It allows the boys to play as defenders or as attackers in small groups within a system and is not as physically demanding as playing eleven-a-side matches.

There are four full-size grass pitches and one with a Polytan surface. There are also a further seven smaller pitches and an indoor arena. The grounds cover an area of 56 acres.

On the walls of the indoor centre hang the words 'Technique', 'Attitude', 'Balance', and 'Speed'. 'TABS' is the key word preached at The Academy.[2] Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has said the remit of the academy is to produce physically, technically, tactically and mentally elite players with enough quality to represent the senior side in the Champions League.[3] Liverpool won the 2005 Champions league with two locally born academy graduates starting in the final.

In 2017, the club officers revealed a plan of a proposed redevelopment of the centre with cost of £50 million. It is envisaged to incorporate the first team and the academy. The plan is expected to be completed before the 2019-20 season.[4]

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See also

References
  1. "Photos: Jordan's rise through LFC's ranks". Liverpool F.C. 23 September 2014.
  2. Griffiths, Ian (22 March 2003). "Just for kicks". The Guardian. London.
  3. "Alex Inglethorpe insists it is important for Stunning pictures of Liverpool's new training ground to bring through local talent". Liverpool Echo. 7 September 2014.
  4. Stunning pictures of Liverpool's new training ground
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