Chelsea Academy is also known as the Cobham Training Centre. It is the training ground for Chelsea Football club which is located at 64, Stoke Road, Stoke D’ Abernon, Cobham, Surrey KTII3PT. Chelsea Academy is operated by Chelsea Fc for age groups under-9 to under-23. The Academy was instituted to develop the upcoming young football talents, provide coaching, health, network as well as lifestyle advice for players’ successful careers.
Chelsea Academy training complex was fully completed in 2008. Chelsea had an advantage in creating this academy for the future. Abrahmovich pumped 20 million pounds on the cobhams complex and has been regarded as an innovative achievement that has produced many successful players in the whole of Europe. There were installations of digital tools and facilities to help track the progress of players after each training session. It houses all the first Teams, the reserves and the women’s team with the best of facilities such as, a sauna, cold immersion pool, a media center and a steam room.
The Academy was awarded category one status for independent audit by the premier league in 2016. The audit was made to monitor the Elite players performance plan (EPPP) that was initiated in 2012 to improve the quality and quantity of local English players.
What Makes Chelsea Academy the Best?
Chelsea Academy has gained the reputation of being the best for years. This is because the Team won their first FA cup since 1961 and has since become the most successful Academy in England recently. The FA youth cup is highly rated.
Ever since Roman Abrahmovich took over as the owner of the club in 2003, He invested not only in the First Team but also in the Academy to have the best facilities available to players. The best staff was also scouted and were those who were successful in developing youths.
Chelsea Academy has created a great reputation for producing young players even from other clubs or competitive clubs. The question is why is Chelsea Academy good? Here are the answers;
Chelsea Academy has been awarded as one of the best in England/UK. This gives them the opportunity to get more young players, focus more on education and on the campus education from U14 to develop well rounded individuals and holistic players. Also, the academy is able to enter more international events and challenging tournaments as early as possible.
The Academy uses advanced tech and coaching methods to train the players to be the best in the field of play.
The Academy is equipped with a functioning specialist gym that can be used by all ages. Also, they employed the best strength and conditioning coaches all around the world who use Video analysis methods to point out areas that need improvement by the players. This makes them an Academy believed to have the best method that develops young players and premier league level players.
It is arguably believed by many people to be the best Academy in England because of the quality of top players produced and wonderful prospects. As they go through the age group, the players are allowed to play in multiple positions and develop to be all rounded in the field of play and have a winning mindset for their games.
The Academy has a lot of trophies to show a good reputation for the outstanding performance of the players.
The Academy also makes use of technical and tactical training programs for players with a special module for goalkeepers. The training involves the following phases; professional development,youth development, foundation, youth/professional and foundational development for goalkeepers.
How To Get a Chelsea Academy Trial
Here are some tips on how to get a trial at Chelsea Academy.
You have to be at the right place at the right time to get a trial. You can join a Chelsea soccer school to get an opportunity to be selected by scouts who regularly select young players and send them an invitation to trial at the Chelsea FC development centre.
Chelsea Academy sometimes offers players the chance to contact directly with the following details such as; players CV, Covering letter , Players statistics/ records( Age, Date of Birth, Height, Weight, Email details of attended trials, any representative honours, districts, country etc),player’s school, Lists of current teams fixture/location/ kick-off time and so on.