EFL Youth Development Week | Starting the Academy Journey | James Hughes

As part of EFL Youth Development Week, head of pre-academy James Hughes discusses his role in depth and explains the process of players starting their academy journey at Swansea City.

Lifelong Swans fan Hughes has worked within the club's academy set-up for almost 10 years, recently transitioning into the full-time role of head of pre-academy and here, he describes the importance of that first contact with football for players beginning their pathway at Swansea City.

Like many academies, players' journeys start at under-nine level, and Hughes' role is to prepare and nurture those players before they make the eventual transition to becoming a Swansea City academy player. 

The academy system starts at under-nines. Our pre-academy is under-sixes, under-sevens  and under-eights. The under-sixes' age-group is relatively new," said Hughes.

“How we get those players, some are scouted in local grassroots teams and others we had playing in our regional centres. We’ve got four regional centres, Swansea, Carmarthen, Cardiff and Rhonda Cynon Taff. 

“In terms of players starting their journey, players are scouted through our network through our recruitment team, they go out and search for players who they think will fit into our system and suit our environment. 

“They’ll either be invited straight into the pre-academy or into our regional centres, which then they’ll have a first sight on our curriculum.

Swansea City launched it's new Pre-Academy Regional Centre Programme in last year, and they aim to provide talented young footballers across south Wales with the opportunity to develop their skills in a professional environment. 

The centres were launched in order to help the club to continue to identify, nurture and develop young football talent within local regions, and provide a high-quality training programme which is aligned with the club's overarching philosophies on and off the field. 

Hughes highlights the importance of having smaller numbers of players, with the initiative prioritising smaller, more focused groups to maximise individual player development and attention.

“They train once a week in the centres, they organise structured games amongst themselves and they will play each other. As a pre-academy, we’ll also host them for fixtures, which is great even for parents to see the standard. 

“This year, I wanted to make the regional centres as transparent as possible, to make sure they align with our pre-academy. Our centres are overseen by centre managers, and I try and get out more to see players.

“Every four weeks, we have a meeting to catch up on players who are doing well, and who we think we can bring into the pre-academy. 

“In the pre-academy itself, we look to have 16-18 squad players. The smaller squad numbers means we get more contact time and you see that their quality on the ball improves week-in, week-out. 

“The amount of feedback we can give the players and work with them individually is really beneficial.

“When you get to the under-eights, a decision has to be made whether they sign for the under-nines. We’ll have a selection panel to make those decisions, then come May players officially sign for the club and officially play for Swansea."

The focus in the pre-academy phase is fun and developing mastery of the ball, 1v1 skills and confidence through a holistic approach with the overarching aim to enhance their love for the game.

And whilst they first develop their love for football, the curriculum and identity remain aligned from the first-team down, and Hughes hopes his role is at the forefront of young players starting their journey and falling in love with the sport. 

"The biggest thing for me when I started in my role was that, the curriculum was no different to the academy," he added.

“At pre-academy, the information you give the players is slightly less, but the values remain the same. Everything we do from the first team down is exactly the same. 

“The ‘fun’ element is extremely important at this age, it’s a massive part of my job. I always try make my sessions fun, because at that age, one, you want the players to fall in love with football at the start of their journey, they want that first contact to be enjoyable. 

“At the same time you want them to relate that fun and love for football to Swansea City, if you get that right at the start it makes our job easier, but it also means we’re setting up players on the pathway whether it’s here or elsewhere, they remember they had that first enjoyment of football at this club."

With an extensive games programme, playing the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea weekly at their respective training grounds, Hughes stresses the importance of bringing and aligning families alongside the academy programme.

Many parents travel from Newport and Pembrokeshire and further afield up to three times a week on top of sacrificing weekends for their sons' fixtures.

“Our games programme takes us to some amazing places. It’s so important our players are exposed to all different levels. 

“Under-7s can only play FAW and grassroots teams, and sometimes they play up an age-group which gives them great exposure. 

“Something I’ve tried to do since coming into this role is making the fixtures manageable for parents, it’s not only the player on the journey with us, it’s their families too, they have to buy into this journey. 

“I try and get two home and two away fixtures a month. It’s trying to find that balance of commitment and player development as parents have to make their own way to fixtures. 

“One thing about being a coach is that you have to be open and honest, especially with parents, that’s how you sell this football club, because there’s no doubt there are choices to go elsewhere. 

“If the club does things the right way and the players are having fun, enjoying their football, parents will buy into that and they can see that you’re treating their child in the best way and they’ll trust you. It's not just about the whole journey as a player, but as a family."

The pre-academy lead admits his playing skills on the pitch weren't of a level to pursue a player career, but he always knew he belonged beyond the white lines helping others.

Swansea-born Hughes can proudly say he works and wears the badge of his childhood team everyday, but acknowledges there were times of uncertainty during the pandemic.

But his love for the football club ensured he wouldn't give up his passion for inspiring the next generation of players.

"I first started in the development centres as a volunteer. I'm a Swansea boy, and have been a Swansea fan my whole life," said Hughes.

"I always knew I wanted to work in football. One of my strengths growing up was that I was good with kids and I always knew how the get the best out of individuals.

"I put two and two together, and went down the coaching route. I just wanted to be involved in the club I love so much, and get as much experience as possible.

"Alongside that, I got my degree in Sports Coaching along with my UEFA B license and just worked my way up throughout my time in the club.

"I was made redundant during COVID, which was a tough time. I'd liked to say I learnt a lot about myself as a person during that time. I was offered a part-time role, which I did take.

"I actually was the kitman and driver for the under-18s during that time, just anything to continue to help within the club I love.

" I continued to work my way up, and it was a difficult period. Then this role came up, and with the help of everyone around me, they trusted me and here I am today."