Global sports consulting

Visiting a football academy firsthand is the best way to see everything that goes towards the management of a training centre like Marcet‘s: a particularly interesting opportunity for industry professionals based in places without a thriving footballing community or access to leading institutions in this field.

“I came here to learn, to see how Marcet works,” explains Melissa Sherwood, head coach for the women’s team of the Saint Peter’s University, based in New Jersey City. “I want to learn how I can adapt European standards to what I do back in the US. I’m here in Barcelona for a fresh perspective, more knowledge, the intricacies of football management and how I take all this to my own work environment.”

“Marcet is just as much a training centre as it is a research centre  where investing in technology is clearly a priority”

Melissa, former Premier League player, has made her way over, alongside 12 football other professionals, for a 10-day visit to see how a european high-performance Academy works. The program they took part in included a series of instructive talks, every morning, on the different aspects concerning academy management: methodology, physical preparation, competition, evaluation, pedagogical model, new technologies, communication, residency, schooling, nutrition, physiotherapy and so on.

In the afternoon, the American group toured the academy to see how Marcet Academy puts every morning’s theory lessons into practice. “It’s clear to us all that what we’ve seen here is focused on the pro market,” says Melissa: “To the extent of our own resources, we’ll definitely be adapting what we’ve seen here to our own workflows back home and get the best out of our players.”

“I think it’s been a great experience,” adds Javier Wanchope, a former Costa Rican striker, currently training football players at Compton Community College and Total Futbol Academy, both based in California “What has struck me most is the methodology here, you could say it’s just as much a research centre as it is a training centre where investing in technology is clearly a priority.”

“Something I’ll be taking home with me is how important I’ve seen it is to work towards clear objectives,” says Javier. “We aren’t going to be able to imitate Marcet’s method top to bottom, but being here has got us thinking and asking ourselves new questions that I think will be very valuable to us. From what I have seen, the big difference regarding what we do in California is the passion that the children we’ve met here have: everything here has a meaning, a reason for being, a purpose.”