Soccer Gap Year Programs

   

What is a Gap Year?

Gap years are typically year-long breaks that students take either before or after their university experience.  During this time, students may participate in travel, volunteer work or other activities.

Several companies have designed soccer-related training abroad programs around student gap years.  These experiences allow high school students a chance to live, train and play soccer in a foreign country.  These gap years do not go against college eligibility for players who have just graduated from high school.

Many programs boast of placing their players on local league teams.    Young players placed in these leagues get the benefit of playing against older, stronger players.   Americans are  not used to the faster speed of play that is common in European soccer.

It is always a benefit to train with players who are stronger and faster.  For the player who hopes to return to the US and apply for a college team and possible scholarship, the experience can be of great benefit to their game.

Other programs are large enough that they form their own teams that then travel to play games against local teams.  Some of these programs provide ongoing study abroad programs as well.

Examples of Some Gap Year Programs

AIC (Italian Soccer School) in Assisi, ltaly offers programs for both girls and boys.  Bruno Redolfi, the Director, only takes a select few students on each year.  His students reside and study at a local boarding school, the Convitto Nazionale, Principe di Napoli. Bruno assesses players and places them on appropriate local teams to fit their level.  Additionally, they receive individualized training sessions with him and his staff. My son attended Bruno’s program when he was fifteen.

My son played on a men’s league comprised of 19 – 25 yr old men.  The positives included that this gave him the opportunity to train with older, more skilled players.  The speed of play was much faster.   On the negative side, he was knocked around a fair bit because many of the other players were much bigger and stronger.  You can learn more about his experiences on this blog.

One relatively new program that has grown consistently over the past two years is SportsMate360.  This group has started an Academy in Poland.  Poland is a smaller country but still has nine tiers of football.  SportsMate360 takes players, works with them and strives to have them placed with a Polish club within 3 months.  They have placed several players with mid-tier Polish clubs.

There are also several larger programs that offer Gap Year programs.  One benefit of attending  a larger program is that there will be enough players within the organization itself to form complete teams that can later scrimmage against each other as well as other local clubs.

My son attended one such club in Spain.   The Director has actually purchased and grown two teams within his club.  They have repeatedly been promoted.  Now, they currently play at the 6th and 7th levels of football in Spain.  This program has its own residence halls.  The boys live, train and play together.  These allow the players to work and train with other young players from around the world.

Eture is another company in Spain.  They have only been in existence for about five years, but have already established a solid reputation for their Gap Year Programs.  They have placed several players in top schools.

Where Can I Find Companies that Offer Soccer Gap Year Programs?

Click here for a list of companies that offer international soccer gap year for athletes soccer programs.  Many of these programs were primarily geared towards boys soccer.   As interest in girls soccer is growing, more and more of these programs now offer training for young women as well.

The benefits to training abroad extend far beyond just the soccer training  – earning a foreign language, developing independence, resilience and a gaining better understanding of other cultures and what it is like to live in another country.  These shared experiences create lifelong friendships.

 Assisi, Italy    AIC (Italian Soccer School) operates out of Assisi

Benefits of Gap Year for Players Who Want to Play Professional Soccer

For the more serious player who wants to become a professional soccer player, there are even more benefits to experiencing a gap year abroad.  Playing abroad will not only give better tactical and technical training but can help a player identify the level at which they actually perform.

Gap year soccer programs can also provide alternative routes for players who want to become professional soccer players.   Here, in the US, most aspiring players play for college teams and hope to gain enough experience and strength over their undergraduate years to earn them a place on a professional or semi-professional team after graduation.

This differs from the European model.   Most professional players are identified prior to University in Europe.  Some people still believe that if a player isn’t on a team by the time they have reached the age of 22, they have lost their opportunity to play professionally.

Unfortunately, the same FIFA rules that were designed to protect Minors from exploitation end up making it nearly impossible for minors to obtain soccer training abroad unless they hold an EU passport.  The status of being a student is the most common way around this, and many programs require only a language course to satisfy the educational requirement.  This is also the reason that many programs abroad continue to incorporate an educational element.  A minor is a player  the age of eighteen years.  You can learn more about exceptions to the FIFA Rules for Minors by clicking here.