The BW PASE Academy is for players that are aged from 16-to-18-years-old (before 1 September in the year you are joining the academy.) This is the age bracket where you are eligible to enrol onto an education course with our official education partners SCL, as well as being eligible to participate in the leagues that we enter.
Yes. We are a sports/education programme, you can’t do one without the other. The reason for this is simple. We appreciate that all our student-athletes want to play football at the highest level possible, however, it is important for all our players to understand the importance of the solid foundation that education provides. This will give our academy players options in the long term, whether that be to move on to full-time employment, attend University or even win a soccer scholarship in the USA.
Through our official education partners SCL, the BW PASE Academy offers a wide range of education courses for our student-athletes, from A-Levels to diplomas and extended diplomas in Sports, Personal Training and Business.
There is no cost to join the BW PASE Academy. All fees associated with the delivery of the sports/education programme are covered by either the BW PASE Academy or our official education partners SCL. The only cost associated with the academy is an annual fee to purchase the training and travel kit, which is heavily subsided by academy. The kit set is supplied by academy kit partners PUMA and will include training quarter zip, training t-shirt, training shorts and socks, as well as travel quarter zip, travel bottoms and backpack.
Each student-athlete’s training schedule will be dictated by their education timetable. There are up to four training sessions per day on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday to provide student-athletes with ample opportunity to train within their education timetable, as well as each Wednesday being designated as the academy match day. Student-athletes are expected to participate in between two to four training sessions per week, whilst also participate in a match day each Wednesday. It is important for the BW PASE Academy to monitor every student-athlete’s training and match time. Over training can lead to injury, whereas not training enough will result in student-athletes falling behind on their development programme.
There are a variety of leagues in the BW PASE Academy participates in. This is to ensure we compete in different competitions that will accommodate every player’s current ability level. The leagues we are currently affiliated with are the National League Youth Alliance, ECFA Premier, AOC Premier, AOC Championship and AOC Regional Divisions. We also participate in several cup competitions, including the FA Youth Cup.
Of course, our player pathway is designed for this exact purpose, to enable our student-athletes to progress into our First Team, whilst even progressing beyond our First Team, too. The BW PASE Academy has a rich history of players graduating into the First Team here at Meadow Park.
Yes, we provide student-athletes with transport to and from all away matches from Boreham Wood FC. However, it is the responsibility of the student-athlete to travel to and from Meadow Park, for training, education and matches, whilst ensuring their punctuality is always upheld.
Unfortunately, we cannot offer our student-athletes accommodation. As such any student-athlete applying to join the BW PASE Academy should always be mindful of the traveling commitment and consider if the BW PASE Academy is a viable option for them based on their location.
Yes, however from time-to-time there may be restrictions placed on student-athletes involvement with their grassroots team, dependent on their academy training and match schedule. We do request that any player continuing to play grassroots football on a Sunday make us aware and informs us of their training and match schedule, so this can be factored into their training programme with the academy.
We have a full-time medical department that are present for all training sessions and matches. If a player sustains an injury, our medical team will assess their injury and provide a rehabilitation programme until their return to play, which shall be administered under the medical team’s supervision. Every player will be looked after by our medical team throughout their time with us, as well as covered under BW PASE Academy’s player insurance cover.
