BIFC ACADEMY OVERVIEW
[April 9th through May 30th]
The Bowen Island FC Academy is designed to provide extra training for those who desire it and focusses on skill development through possession-based sessions, focussing on ball mastery, 1v1 defending and attacking, evasive dribbling, shooting, shielding the ball, receiving the ball on the "back foot" as well as fitness, speed and agility work.
BIFC supports the value of like-minded players - many of whom may desire to pursue soccer at an advanced level (either on island or off) - to be able to train together and benefit from testing themselves. It is also equally important for other players to not feel intimidated or nervous about fitting in. Level specific training regardless of gender and/or age allows for this. Another undeniable fact of youth development is players develop at different speeds, times and frequency. In order to maximize their development players should be placed in an appropriate training level whenever feasible and for that environment to remain fluid.
BIFC Academy is offered in three groups Davies, Sinclair and Hargreaves, at two different times during the year (Academy Spring, Academy Fall). Our three Academy programs are named after prominent Canadian soccer talents that we feel have contributed to growing the game while aligning with BIFC's core values. We are not affiliated with these athletes but wanted to dedicate our programs to their endless endeavours to be the best footballers that they could be.
The number of groups are dependent on total registrations and so could be adjusted. The Academy program is focused on our Youth Team players but occasionally we may offer a spot to an older Mini House player who is excelling and has outgrown Mini House level. All players are assigned into one of the three groups based primarily on age, but also on skill, attitude, coachability and maturity. As a guide Davies is for younger players (U8/U9), Sinclair is for intermediate players (U10/U11), while Hargreaves is geared towards older players (U12/U13). The Hargreaves group may include some recent alumni players who are pursuing the sport at a high level. The first few sessions will be used to assess players after which some players may be moved to a different group. The BIFC Academy program is run by the Club TD.
