It's hard to image what really goes on day to day in the most prestigious football academy in the world, but the reality is a lot more normal than you'd expect. FC Barcelona posted a video on Youtube documenting 24 hours in La Masia that gives us great insight into what a day is like for football's next superstars.
Their day begins like any other kid: wake up, breakfast, school, etc. But everything starts to get interesting around 15:00, when academy students are allowed free time which includes a session with famous motivational speaker Victor Küppers. They then attended further classes meant to better their English language abilities and to help them achieve their baccalaureate. There is surprisingly a significant amount of emphasis placed on schooling and education for a program dedicated to the creation of famous football stars.
Then around 5:00 PM, La Masia as everyone imagines it begins. Training. This is where the Barça legends are created. This is what the whole program is created for. This is their passion. And rightfully so, with three hour practices every weekday, those players are trained and trained until they are molded into the perfect footballer.
The rest of the video shows what I like to think of the heart of the Academy, just a bunch of boys acting like normal, average kids. They play video games, they joke around, they hang out. They also happen to be a part of the strongest football academy in the world, but that's a side note. A lot of times these boys in youth programs are looked at for their future potential, and trained until they reach that point, but it's nice to see that they are really just normal kids who love to play football. It brings a sense of reality into a very unique situation.
This video gives us a real image of what The Masia is like for those who are in it, and I can not help but hope that one day I will see on those boys in the video actually on the field the next great football star.
I love that La Masia values education so highly for the players. I feel that today we often lose the value of education when it comes to children with such immense athletic talent. I know in the United States this is a huge problem with college athletes, and NCAA is constantly scrambling to figure out how to fix the situation. I think teaching children to value both education and athletics so early on like they do in the La Masia is a great way to keep them grounded.
ReplyDeleteLarkin Perrier
ReplyDelete-I think that La Masia is not only a business, but also an institution. The youth footballers go to La Masia to learn and train, which is the institution part of it. Once the youth footballers graduate and begin their football career, then we see La Masia as a Business. In order for La Masia to be seen as a business, footballers must first graduate and then be successful in their soccer careers. I would consider La Masia as more of a business institution that prepares youth footballers not only for soccer, but for life.
Definitely! They definitely get a relatively balanced upbringing, but do you think enough emphasis is placed on education? It might be hard for players who don't make it big to succeed after going through La Masia.
DeleteShocking that they only commit 3 hours a day to soccer training. For one of the most elite clubs in the world I would expect at least 2 hours in the morning and two in the evening. Regardless, this is probably good a thing because they won't burn out their players and overwork them and who am I to question a program that has produced football greats such as Messi and Busquets.
ReplyDeleteThe European and American youth sports developmental systems are very different. In the US, families have to spend outrageous amounts of money on travel teams and offseason leagues in order to expose their children to the highest level of the specific sport and to get attention from colleges/leagues. I personally like the European model better as the clubs realize that investing in youth players becomes much cheaper than paying transfer fees, and the players and families don't have as much of a financial burden. I doubt American teams will ever switch to this model, but it may have success in America due to the sheer number of kids playing sports.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point! However, in the European model the children are taken away from their homes at a really young age, do you think that that's a reasonable sacrifice to make? It may be cheaper on families but it's a tough call. Both systems definitely have their pros and cons.
DeleteMax Pauley
ReplyDeleteLa Masia is such a cool environment for young men to grow up around. The education appears to be up to par in comparison to local schools and these kids are developing solid self discipline in the process. I also really appreciate the age ranges shown at La Masia. I always looked up to the older players and did my best to lead by example for the younger players. It appears young men of all ages are together at some point or another in their day. How old can players be before they must graduate from La Masia?
La Masia is a really great place! Typically the boys leave La Masia around the age of 18, from then on it kind of depends on their future prospects and career. But they will definitely have a lasting impact from La Masia over the years of their life
DeleteI also find it to be extremely surprising that only 3 hours of La Masia's schedule is dedicated to football. It makes me feel happy that these kids within the program are living in a relatively normal manner compared to what I imagined it would be like to be apart of the one of the world's best football academies. This being said, I wonder if this video made life at La Masia appear to be more normal than it truly is.
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