Ardmore Football Academy

For Juniors 8-12 years
For Teenagers 13-17 years

We are delighted to welcome you to the Ardmore Football Academy!

Designed by our Director of Football, Christian Damiano and the Academic Managers of Ardmore Language Schools, the programme is aimed at all players who want to improve their knowledge of English and their football skills in an international arena with young players from all over the world.

Each Academy has excellent football training facilities plus a wide range of additional sport and recreational facilities to complement the intensive training programme. Indoor sports facilities are also available. Accommodation and full board are provided in the Academy itself.

As well as immersion into ‘the beautiful game’ students will also have an opportunity to improve their knowledge of the English language. The football briefings and coaching are conducted in English and the students also enjoy the benefits of 15 hours of classroom English per week. The aim of the course is for the student and their parents to see progress and improvement in their footballing skills and English language abilities.

Taking Part

Who can take part?

Boys and girls from all over the world between the ages of 8 – 17 can participate in the Academy. Individuals as well as organised groups are all welcome to participate. For those coaches from overseas who bring a team of young players with them, there is the wonderful opportunity to observe coaching techniques and exhange ideas with the AFA coaches.

Who designed the course?

The framework of the Ardmore Football Academy was created by Christian Damiano who has coached at the highest level with the French National Team and in the English Premier League for the past few years with Fulham, Liverpool and Southampton. He is better qualified than anyone we know to share his knowledge of the game through our team of carefully selected football coaches. His passion and enthusiasm for the game is unsurpassed - he is a great ambassador for the modern game and a firm supporter of English football.

Coaching Methods

Football coaching and briefing sessions will be conducted by qualified football coaches - special emphasis is placed on the English game, study of English teams, football terminology. English lessons in the classroom will be conducted by native English speakers. Students will be taught in classes according to their level of English and ability and the lessons concentrate mainly on speaking and listening skills. Workbooks are provided and Certificates are presented to each student on completion of their course.

The programme has been carefully planned to ensure correct balance of intense training,
education and recreation. It is essential that players do not over train and risk injury before the start of the new season. The major aspects of football coaching are covered thoroughly in the course including:

• Individual techniques
• Technical circuits
• Goal keeping
• Free kicks and corners
• Dribbling and dummies
• Fair play

These coaching sessions are interspersed with practice matches, technical tests and daily briefings to complete an all round, fully interactive course.

Recreational activities and off-site visits

A number of off site activities are included in the programme. Players who are attending courses after the middle of August will have the opportunity to see a Premiership or First Division match (supplement payable). The players will be given the opportunity to make the following visits:

Reading Football Club - The home of the First Division team, the recently built Madejski Stadium and their magnificent indoor training pitch with artificial grass. Reading FC has one of the Country’s leading Football Academies.

Full day sightseeing in London (the home of several premiership teams such as Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur). You will visit the stadium of Chelsea Football Club for a full tour of the ground and have the opportunity to buy the kit and souvenirs of this great English club.

Price Includes

Football education - everything you need to know, in English, about the physical, technical and tactical aspects of the game, and the footballer's environment (the club, the stadium, the training facilities, the media and the fans) plus of course the famous English spirit of the world's best loved sport. Football education topics to be chosen from: Rules of the game, the human body, the English spirit, tactical team talks, diet, the playing areas of the pitch, football terminology, the team positions & management, the life of the professional footballer in a Premier League Club, the importance of the media, the supporters

Evening activities to be chosen from: disco, quiz evening, sports tournaments, Blind Date

NB. Lessons are interchangeable and may be morning or afternoon. Excursions subject to change

This section of the website contains brochure pages for you to download. The files are in PDF format and require you to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. This can be obtained, free of charge, from the Adobe website.

ARDMORE FOOTBALL ACADEMY Reading University (July/August) Ages: 8-12 & 13-17 Click here for more information