Arsenal Women FC Player Development Programme

About the programme

The Arsenal Women Player Development Programme is part of the development pathway for Arsenal Women FC. The PDP provides training and games for girls from the age of 7-15 years old across 5 satellite centres. We would encourage all girls within the PDP to continue playing for their grassroots club & school. Within the PDP our approach is child centred, where we coach from the head down, rather than the feet up. As well as developing players technically and physically, we want to support every girl with their confidence, creativity, decision making & love for the game.

We want girls to:

• Learn to master the ball
• Learn to compete in a team
• Love the game

Training at the Arsenal PDP is innovative, game based and puts every young person at the centre of each coaching session. We want every player to feel empowered, take responsibility for their own learning and fulfil their potential on and off the football pitch. Our coaching team are experienced in delivering coaching sessions that allow high levels of decision making and engage each player from start to finish. We want every girl in our Player Development Programme to look forward to training, be excited by learning new things and be determined to treat every training sessions as “the” training session.

Across the 2019-20 season, the Player Development Programme will provide:

• 24 coaching sessions per venue, all 90 minutes in duration
• A Learning Journal for players & parents to support development and reinforce learning
• Mid-season player review
• Arsenal Training Top
• Player Development Programme Festival
• Access to Hive – an online resource for parents to stay up to date wit the programme
• Arsenal Women Junior Membership (including access to all home Arsenal Women WSL Fixtures)
• And much more

We will also be looking in introduce a new parents & players forum so everyone can have a voice and be involved in the decision making on the opportunities we create and how the PDP is delivered.

To ensure we are supporting every player in their development journey, we will also be starting a new PDP Plus session that will run twice monthly throughout the season. PDP Plus will be aimed at girls in the programme who are showing high levels of potential and performance.

Additional Opportunities

Across the season we will look to create many opportunities for girls to develop their game understanding and experience of playing for the PDP. These additional opportunities will be available at an additional cost, and will be limited in spaces, but will include:

• Fixtures against domestic and international club opposition
• Trips & experiences
• Additional workshops & learning opportunities
• Additional training during school holidays

Where & When is training?

Our training sessions will be available for girls aged Under 10, Under 12, Under 14 & Under 16 (dual banded age groups) and will run from September to April and take place at:

• Borehamwood FC, WD6 5AL – Monday – 17:30 – 19:00
• University of Hertfordshire, AL10 9EU – Tuesday – 17:00 – 18:30
• Rectory Park, UB5 5FA – Wednesday – 17:30 – 19:00
• Sandringham School, AL4 9NX – Thursday – 18:00 – 19:30
• Ashlyns School, HP4 3AH – Friday – 18:00 – 19:30

Any girls joining the programme will need to be between the ages of 7 – 15 on the September 1, 2019.

We will also be providing a Goalkeeper Specific training session that will take place on Tuesdays for girls in the Under 12, 14 & 16 age groups

Previous Seasons

Across the last two seasons the PDP has grown immensely, from 80 to 280 girls playing on a weekly basis.

We have been lucky enough to deliver over 60 fixture opportunities across the age groups at the PDP, trips to St George’s Park for over 100 girls to take part in training and games against local teams & clubs, and a Summer Player Development Programme, additional football & futsal training sessions during the school holidays and a trip to Cologne in Germany to experience football in a different culture.

We have also provided an FA Level 1 course for Development Programme Parents to help further understand the role of the coach, an Inspiring Females in Sport day to inspire girls to follow a career in sport and a Junior Football Leaders Award to help girls gain some experience and knowledge as a coach & referee.

Across future seasons we will continue to grow and develop the Development Programme to give the best possible opportunity for girls to be part of Arsenal Women FC and fulfil their football potential – and have a great time along the way!

Trials for the 2019-20 Season

We will be holding a trials for new players to join the Player Development Programme in July. The dates of the trials will be:

• Saturday, July 13
• Saturday, July 27
• Sunday, July 28

Each trial will last 60-90 minutes and will be a combination of small sided games and coached practices. We want every girl attending the trial to feel as relaxed as possible, show us what they can do and enjoy themselves – after all, football is meant to be fun!

To register for a trial place, follow this link and complete the online application form:https://forms.gle/oEuARrwbNbaGoYMN8

The deadline to complete the trial application form is Friday, June 14 (2019)

Contact information

If you have any questions about the Arsenal Women Player Development Programme, please contact Development Officer Tom Hartley on thartley@arsenal.co.uk