10 Years Of German Academy Training.pdf

28
Certification Analysis of the Academies
Christian Gentner won the 2003 German
U19 Championship with Stuttgart.
can be improved,” is one of the mottos
of the employees at Double Pass, who
also provide information and consulting
services.
At that time, clubs busied themselves
intensely with the issue of how
the academies were to be optimised.
Overall they were aware that increasing
attention had to be paid to medical care
and other areas not relating to the sport
as such. Moreover, it became clear that
investments in the academies could not
continue to increase at a steady rate. So
the concept was adapted to the requirements
of the clubs in co-operation with
Double PASS. This meant that clear verdicts
of assessment emerged for the examiners.
And based on the transparent
criteria applied, the clubs knew exactly
where they stood.
Thirty-nine clubs and joint stock
companies took part in the first round
of certification from 2007 until 2009.
Along with the clubs of the Bundesliga
and Bundesliga 2, a few clubs from the
regional and fourth division also voluntarily
took part in the examination.
Twelve clubs (seven from the Bundesliga
and five from the Bundesliga 2) made it
into the top category with three stars.
Eight clubs received two stars, five clubs
received one. That the criteria applied
was very exacting is reflected in the fact
that 14 academies were awarded no
stars whatsoever.
Certification was up for round two in
2010. 23 clubs took part, the majority of
them eager to improve on their first result,
having given considerable thought to
the question of how best to achieve that.
In May 2011, the DFL and DFB will publish
a ‘Best -Practice Handbook’ to help the
academies improve their rating. Although
the system was not conceived to set of
any process of competition between
clubs, it nevertheless seems to have
driven the academies to ever improve
their performance. The DFL uses the results
from certification to allocate funds
from UEFA’s Champions League Solidarity
Fund (€7.5 million in 2009-10) earmarked
to benefit the youth work of clubs not participating
in the Champions League. A club
can make over €300,000 per season on
the back of a good academy.
Qualification of the 433 youth coaches in the academies
Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 in the 2010-11 season
Required state
Actual state
Pro licence 54
A licence 36
C licence 50
No licence 30
Pro licence 61
Total
306
B licence 96
Total
433
A licence 196
B licence 216