The Academy Pathway, Philosophy and Vision

Academy Pathway

Lincoln City FC Academy aim to maximise the development opportunities of all players throughout the performance pathway and be innovative in our approach to identifying players of suitable potential to join the club at all stages of development.

The Academy recognise that whilst having a clear and coherent playing and coaching philosophy is vitally important to optimising long term player development, this can only be truly realised through the delivery of outstanding staff who have both outstanding knowledge and expertise in the respective development phases. As such, the Academy have recently gone through a transitional period with the recruitment of both full and part time coaching staff who can realise these objectives a priority to help realise both our short term targets, and longer term aspirational aims. All of our phase lead coaches have completed both the UEFA A and AYA courses in the phases within which they work and have significant experience across numerous elite player development environments.  Our staff TNA included (Appendix 12), and the continuous monitoring of this document and upskilling of our people remains a core focus of both the Academy Manager and Head of Coaching. Whilst difficult in the short-term, the Academy are working towards all coaching staff completing their Advanced Youth Awards to further increase our all-round knowledge of physical, psychological, emotional and social factors that can underpin the way we coach and our approach to player development. In addition to the above, generating a pathway for ex Lincoln City FC first team players and scholars is a core part of our approach to ensure everyone leaves Lincoln with a future. At present we have ex-players on the coaching, medical and sport science staff and it is the intention of the Academy to provide outstanding development opportunities for our people to help them transition into the next stages of their careers.

Academy Playing Philosophy

Lincoln City FC Academy aim to optimise the development of our players throughout the development phases via a relentless desire to dominate the ball, attack effectively with precision but also recognising times to be patient, control the tempo of games and be measured in our decision making. When our teams do not have the ball we aim to regain possession at the earliest possible opportunity via a high intensity press, reforming to a compact and connected shape where this is not possible. In transitional phases our preference is to counter attack quickly and efficiently when regaining the ball and the opposition are out of balance and win the ball back immediately after turning it over through a collective, intelligent counter press. Our playing philosophy is detailed on our principles of play board which are displayed at relevant stations throughout the Academy and made available as visual learning aids on match days.

Academy Vision

Through a unique, innovative and individualised player development programme, Lincoln City FC will develop a first team squad made up of a higher percentage of Academy graduates than any other club in The English Football League who exceeds its position in the football pyramid year on year.

It is via these quantitative measures that we can take pride in both the achievement of our Academy but more importantly its impact on both the success and sustainability of the wider football club. Our vision will be achieved by recruiting, developing and retaining outstanding people who thrive in our environment underpinned by honesty, integrity and a relentless desire for continual improvement.

Ensuring we are at the forefront of innovation in both player development and player pathways, Lincoln City FC Academy will consistently achieve outstanding returns on investment by realising asset value for players across the performance pathway who will go on to achieve at the highest echelons of the game. Aspirational with our aims but consistently excellent with our standards and behaviours, we will continue to develop our reputation locally, regionally and nationally as an outstanding provider of holistic player education where young people can thrive, succeed and achieve their potential.

“Taking responsibility and accountability for each individual journey, everybody leaves Lincoln City FC with a future”