Why Brentford want all their Foundation Phase to play grassroots

This was “subject to player-by-player circumstances and individual development plans.” However, TGG understands that few clubs, especially at the top level, are giving approval for their youngsters to do this.

There can be a variety of reasons, including Academy matches clashing with grassroots fixtures and a lack of faith in grassroots provision. Brentford are going further than any other club in encouraging all of their Foundation Phase to take part in grassroots sport (not just football) as part of their quest to be “admired as the most caring and progressive Academy in the world.”

Presenting at the TGG Live Conference, Brentford Academy Director Stephen Torpey said: “We’ve made the decision to give every single one of our U9s to U12s the opportunity to continue to play grassroots sport, because we believe this has unbelievable benefits.

“There is a rule, 155, in the Premier League handbook which gives every club the opportunity to allow their children to continue to play grassroots football with permission from the Academy, so we are going to do that to everybody.

“They have all got written permission – we are encouraging it, we want that to happen. Not only do we want them to play grassroots football, we want them to play grassroots sport, because we know multiports can play a huge part in athletic development and has multiple benefits.

“We have reduced our training nights to allow this to happen, we are looking to move our games to different days, to allow them to continue to play grassroots football. This is a huge decision we have made as a club, because we feel this is not only morally correct but has so many benefits going forward.”

Subscribers are able to watch the whole of Torpey’s presentation in the TGG Members Area. To find out how to become a TGG Member, click HERE.

Enabling room to take part in grassroots sport is one of the considerations for Alex Pike, the club’s new Academy Games Programme Co-Ordinator, whose responsibility it is to “make sure the games programme is fit for purpose across the age groups, including matches, tournaments and tours.”

Pike joined the Bees in October from Swindon Town, where he was the Academy Manager.

Brentford closed their Academy in 2016 and re-opened at Category Four Level at the start of 2022/23. They were promoted to Category Two in the summer, becoming the first club to jump two categories in one go, and now hope to go to Category One by the start of next season.

Torpey was appointed Academy Director in October 2023 after almost a decade with Manchester City and describes the project he is overseeing as “the most exciting in UK youth development.”

Speaking at TGG Live, he outlined the benefits of allowing players to take part in grassroots sport.

“There is research that suggests it will improve cognitive development and increase empathy and patience,” Torpey said. “When some of our older players are working with younger players, how do they interact and how do they work?

“It increases the diversity in role models within the group and enhances the social skills that our children are going to need to take into the wider world and also if they are going to be successful in transitioning into the senior football world.

“It (participation in grassroots sport) enhances motivation and commitment. We all have our favourite food, but if we ate it every single day from eight to the age to 18, I think we would fancy a change.

“Allowing our young people to carry on playing in grassroots helps us in this motivation. There’s also increased self esteem and confidence. Imagine you’re working so hard in your Academy every single day, but you’re just not feeling the positivity, because it is so tough and you’re learning every day.

“Now I get the opportunity to go and train in my grassroots team, where I can show these things I’ve been learning, and I feel so good about myself. I’m not always under pressure, I’m not always there trying to fight my way through this.”

Torpey also spoke about the “transferable skills that come from different sports”, including “improved physical development, which comes from variety.”

This is something TGG has written about before. In 2018, we revealed that Manchester United had introduced taekwondo into their Academy programme, with Andrew Deer, a former European Championship bronze medallist, coming into Carrington to teach the sport.

United’s Head of Performance at the time, Tony Strudwick, told TGG: “It was great for footwork, balance and agility. For us, it’s all about increasing the bandwidth of movement of our players and there was a really nice transfer of skills between the sports.

“For example, in taekwondo, the athletes are very adept at closing down space and backing off, which is a useful skill in football too, for defenders in particular. If you’re not careful, all the young athletes do is play football. You’ve got to improve that multi-sport participation, so we’ve also done things like gymnastics, boxing and sprinting in the Academy.

“If players are faced with movement problems, they come up with movement solutions. There’s compelling research to show that kids who specialise in one sport very early on are much more susceptible to injuries. It can lead to overuse and imbalances.

“And apart from anything else, we want to create a fun and stimulating environment for the players, instead of a structured, sterile one. This is helping them to learn, adapt and be creative.”

The difference here was that United were bringing those other sports into the club, whereas Brentford are allowing their youngsters to go out into the community to take part in grassroots sport.

Often, clubs prefer the controlled environment of the Academy and there can be a lack of regard for grassroots provision and facilities. Former Manchester United First Team Coach Rene Meulensteen, who started off working in the club’s Academy, told TGG: “The Academies are all up to standard, but you have to widen the base. Grassroots is key.”

However, he added: “The biggest problem in grassroots football here in England is the facilities – they’re crap. For young kids here in Wilmslow to play, first you have to get the dog shit off the pitch, the grass is too long, there is chewing gum all over the place.

“Here, where I live, you drive around the M60 and see 40 fields, all in a poor state. The youth are playing on rubbish pitches, crap.”