During the last three years 21 players have been signed to professional football clubs from the Coerver® Coaching Performance Academy based in Coventry.

Last month, U12 player Matthew H from Nuneaton became the latest player to benefit from the Coerver® Coaching programme. Matthew has progressed into the professional academy system when he signed for Aston Villa FC having been selected from over 60 players in his age group that had trials with the club.

Matthew visited the Performance Academy centre in Coventry to say farewell and thanks to the Coerver® coaches that have helped him realise his dream. The thing that is most remarkable about Matthew’s story is that he only started to play football 2 years ago and has spent the last 20 months in the Coerver® Coaching  Performance Academy.

Scott Wright, UK Director Coerver® Coaching said “The concept behind Performance Academy is to give players a professional level of support both on and off the pitch. We have different levels of ability within the programme which are all catered for, the big requirement for us is that the players need to want to learn and work hard while they are with us but also while they are at home.

We have had enormous success in terms of players progressing to professional clubs from our programme in the UK over the years and particular this centre in Coventry which is testament to the fantastic work that the staff here have done and continue to do and of course the application of the players and the commitment of the parents, it really is a team effort!!.  Our long term aim in the UK is to emulate our programme in Japan over 300 young players have gone on to play professionally in the J-League.  After 17 years they are starting to see real progression through to national team level.  During the Under 17 World Cup in Mexico in June, there were five Coerver players in the Japan squad which is a remarkable achievement.”    

Matthew’s  Mum Jenny has been thrilled by the progress that her son has made during his time with Coerver® Coaching Performance Academy and said  “We first brought Matthew to the Coventry site at the end of January 2010 and after the first training session he said he loved it and wanted to train. 

Matthew initially attended once a week and then this increased to twice a week and we immediately noticed a difference in his game. Although we always knew Matthew was at a disadvantage amongst his peers as he had started playing football quite late, we saw him flourish in the environment at Coerver and this gave him a lot of confidence.

As Matthew progressed we noticed his understanding of the game improved, his decision making, his technical skills and he wanted to try his new skills whenever he played. 

Matthew played in a cup final for his junior team and it was during this game that Matthew was spotted by a scout from Aston Villa and was invited into the club for a trial. Matthew was told that he had to be better than the players they already had at the club. This meant he had to work hard and was required to train 3 times per week and play matches against the likes of Chelsea FC & Tottenham Hotspur FC which proved to be a great experience. 

Matthew stepped up to the challenge and worked extremely hard trying on every occasion to put into practice everything he was learning. While on trial at Aston Villa, Matthew made a decision when asked that he would try playing in defence. This showed a level of maturity as all boys seemingly want to score goals. However, Matthew saw the opportunity and grabbed it and for him it paid off.

At the end of the trial period, Matthew was told by the club that they wanted to sign him. Matthew as you can imagine was over the moon and the hard work had paid off. Coerver as part of the whole program gives players an insight into all positions. I cannot thank Coerver enough and it was definitely money well spent and I would always recommend the programme".

Scott Wright said of Matthew “Matthew is a prime example of a young player who has worked extremely hard and has benefitted immensely from the environment that we provide here at Performance Academy. 

It is great from our point of view that Matthew has been able to make the step up to academy football even though he has only being playing football a short time. This shows, in Matthews case, that in a short period of time, our training programme has not only given him a solid technical foundation to build upon but also the understanding of transferring his skills into game situations which is the basis of the modern day Coerver Coaching programme.

We wish Matthew luck in the next part of his football education with Aston Villa FC and I’m sure if he continues to apply himself in the way he has with us over the last 18 months, he will do well”.  

To find out more information on Coerver® Coaching Performance Academy and to book your FREE trial session, log-on to http://www.coerver.co.uk/performanceacademy