The Youth Academy at Liverpool was set up to help bring the youngters on Liverpools books through to the first team and beyond. In the past Liverpool have produced a few youngsters but in todays modern game the onus is on the clubs to produce their own players rather than pay hugely inflated transfer prices for new players. In the past players such as Robbie Fowler and Steve McManaman and Dominic Matteo have all progressed through the setup at Anfield. Today though with the aid of the academy we can nurture youngsters on even better with the hope that even more youngsters can go all the way to the first team. In the last couple of years even three players from the 1996 youth cup winning side are now all regulars for the Liverpool first team. These three are of course Michael Owen, Jamie Carragher and David Thompson. This year they have been followed through the ranks by Steven Gerrard and there's more to come on the youth conveyor belt. There are big hopes for the youth sides at Anfield and the state of the art facilities at the academy let the coaching staff here pick out the best players.
The academy is housed in the Kirkby area of North Liverpool and not only has it got outdoor pitches but it now has state of the art indoor pitches where the surface is designed to act exactly as grass. So good is the surface, that for the first time slide challenges can be made, safe in the knowledge that injury will not be produced by the surface. The academy first opened its doors in late 1998 and had been well supported all the way by people like Steve Heighway, Director of Youth at Liverpool. The new academy area now allows the main training ground at Melwood to be kept solely for the first team squad and allows all the areas there to be kept in tip top condition. What it also provides is a stepping stone for youngsters to strive for. Their initial aim is always to leave the facilities in Kirkby to train at Melwood as this means they are progressing.
The facility in Kirkby has a total of twelve pitches, four of which are full size. The reds have a large number of scouts operating within a short distance of the academy now to find the best youngsters. With a ruling possibly coming to effect soon as well that all young players must live within a certain distance of the ground as well this becomes particularly important. As well as scouting trips the coaches operate in schools around the Liverpool area to help the young children in the community to develop their footballing skills. Such is Liverpool's training into mental toughness and ability they try and make players equally comfortable in multiple positions to make them more valuable at later dates. This has been demonstrated of late with two of the recent graduates, Jamie Carragher a midfielder adapting to being a centre back and Steven Gerrard having played at right back as well as his natural central midfield role. The academy though isn't all about football and education is forced on players to ensure that whatever happens to them they can become better educated. This is important whether the player makes the grade or not. As football is such a short career many players will have to adapt to something else once they leave the game.
The academy now has to produce players for two separate leagues each week. The FA Premier Academy leagues operate at both under 17 and under 19 level. The academy as a whole helps with around 200 young players in total with the two academy teams being the main routes through to the reserves and first team. All the players have an aim to to play for the first team and they can all see that the aim can come true given a lot of effort. Since the opening of the academy other teams have sat up and taken notice with other such facilities now being sought after at other clubs including Rangers in Scotland.