Top Tips for Getting Your Academy Off the Ground
How to start your football academy off on the right foot
In 2012, Skillz Managing Direction, Ashley Thomas, decided that it was finally time to pursue his dream of starting a football academy and to create something for himself. With £800 in his back pocket, some flyers, good connections and a passion driving him forward, Ashley started Skillz UK. He has grown his business from just 10 kids attending a weekly Saturday morning session, to over 800 kids attending sessions every week.
Growing your football academy can often feel like trying to do a bicycle kick for the first time. The competition is tough and differentiating yourself can be difficult. It can be easy to feel disheartened or not know where to start. Lucky for you, Ashley from Skillz football academy recently came on the ClassForKids podcast to discuss his most helpful tips for not only surviving, but thriving as a new football academy.
Differentiate your business with a clear ethos
So what makes a good football academy? According to Ashley, it’s important, even from the outset, that your business has a clear purpose driving it towards success. Having a clear ethos is an excellent way to differentiate yourself from your competitors, but in order for it to be effective, you must believe in it.
But what does this look like in the day to day running of your academy?
- [.blue__text]Create a place where you and your coaches can teach kids in an exciting and engaging way.[.blue__text]
- [.blue__text]Make sure that everyone in the business understands your ethos and shares the same passion about making sure every child has the same amazing experience at each session.[.blue__text]
Inside Scoop: Although skills and sessions are important, Ashley believes that kids will only return if they have had fun and are being taught by passionate coaches that understand how teaching kids differs from teaching adults. This ethos has driven Skillz from the very beginning, allowing them to grow and express a clear purpose to everyone that comes into contact with the business.
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Many football academy owners might not think of themselves as business owners, even if they have the potential to become successful. This often means that the owners don’t start out by considering the long-term goals of their business.
Top Tip: Ashley from Skillz Football Academy suggests that taking your business seriously from the outset and considering your long-term goals will help your football academy to avoid missteps early on. Rather than asking yourself what will help your football academy right now, you’ll ask yourself how you can improve the academy to reach bigger goals further down the road.
Early on, Ashley decided to split his business into a few different brands to avoid diluting Skillz football academy too much. He knew that each brand would have different goals and customer bases that he’d be targeting differently. He was also aware that it would be easier further down the road to improve the brands when they were separate and specific. Ashley knew that splitting the business would be a better long-term solution for his business and this mindset has now allowed him to follow an ambition he has had for a while: to franchise one of the brands!
An exciting future awaits Ashley. He has already grown his businesses immensely by implementing a few things from the very start: have a clear ethos, hire the right people, find the right systems and keep a business mindset. Ashley wants to continue to improve the brands and make them better for the kids, the parents and the coaches. And, as every football player will know, having the right foundations means there is no limit for how far you can go!
Find out what [.blue__text]ClassForKids features[.blue__text] other football academies are loving!
Felicia Bugge
Felicia is our resident Content Specialist. She is the mastermind behind most of our blogs, emails and Tiktoks! When she isn’t planning the next big email campaign or chasing participants for Tiktoks, she can be found travelling to new exotic places, reading the latest booktok book, or converting friends to using iPads for notes and calendars!
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