The FootballCV Concept
Almost every boy's dream is to play professional football.
There are hundreds of thousands of youngsters who have the same dream but only a few will be able to boast in years to come - 'I played the game for a living'. And what a living that can be for the top professionals.
TESTIMONIAL FOR GLEN JONES
"The two trials George attended organised by FootballCV, at Northwich Victoria and Leicester City gave George experience, confidence and belief and of course the opportunity to be seen by scouts."
Glen Jones, George's father spoke about the two FootballCV trials his son attended before signing for Manchester City.
Making A Start
Whether you agree with it or not the top players in the world today make more in a season than most of us will make in a lifetime. Even in the lower leagues, which includes many Non-League clubs there is a lucrative living to be made, or at worse - players top up their day to day job with substantial part-time earnings.
Many youngsters are spotted early playing for their school teams. The introduction by the Football League and Premier League of Schools of Excellence and Academies has opened the doors to hundreds of young would-be footballers, and clubs have a plethora of scouts ranging all over the country looking for boys to add to their squads.
But with all the football taking place around the country the managers and scouts can never hope to attend enough games to satisfy the demand the clubs make of them.
And scouts are not just looking for youngsters to impress them, many over 18's have also been offered the opportunity to go for further trials and are of great interest to non-league clubs. Many great players have been late starters in life So it's how to get spotted in the first place. How do you get that first foothold on the ladder?
FootballCV.com
That is where www.footballcv.com came into being. We recognised the problems players have and decided to do something about it. It is the brainchild of Peter Mallinger, Graham Starmer and David Mallinger. All have been involved in the football industry for some years. Chairman, Peter Mallinger, is a former vice-chairman of Newcastle United who worked with managers Jim Smith, Ossie Ardiles and Kevin Keegan. Managing Director and Company Secretary, Graham Starmer originally became involved on the administration side of the game at University and College level eventually meeting up with Mallinger at Kettering Town where the concept of footballcv.com was created. Director, David Mallinger, was the man behind the 'Kickmaster' which became a huge success around the world.
All three directors were aware of the large number of applications that all clubs receive from trialists. Many of the letters go unseen and many never replied to. Why should there not be another star amongst them who has still not been heard of.
Just when David Beckham was being the most talked about player in the world, and people wondered whether his popularity would ever be challenged, along comes Wayne Rooney, a new headline maker and already an England international. So who will be next?
A Football Star Of The Future
FootballCV.com may have the answer and give you the opportunity to be the next star of the future.
Originally FootballCV.com was set up as a job centre for soccer players to advertise their own experience and ability. Once registered the player details are placed onto the database for managers, coaches and scouts to view. The powerful on-line search engine allows club officials to search the site by age, location, position, experience or a combination of different criteria to make a player selection and availability a simple process.
First contact with a player will always be through www.footballcv.com who will in turn verify the interest is genuine and only then will an appropriate introduction be made. The success of the site was immediate but we knew we had to do more to interest the clubs. That was when Trial Days were born.
The Trials Days Arrive
The first Trials Day was held in 2001 and the interest from the players was phenomenal. We were overbooked in no time. Over 30 clubs attended ranging from the Premiership to non-league. Sky Sports and GMTV sent their cameras along and featured the event the following morning on national television.
The important thing then was to see if any of the players were of interest to the clubs. Certain players immediately took the eye and eight players were to be given a further chance to progress their careers out of about 120 players who took part that day. The clubs agreed the day had been a success and the formula for the day was about right. Each match consists of 45 minutes giving the scouts ample time to assess each player and enabling them to make a decision as to whether they wanted to see more in the environment of their own clubs.
Since those early days in 2001 we feel we have come along leaps and bounds. We can now point to hundreds of players who have gone to clubs for further trials. The trials have received media interest from Sky Sports on several occasions, Carlton TV, BBC Radio, 4-4-2 Magazine, Non League Daily Newspaper and Shoot amongst others.
And we have tried to raise the profile of the Trial Days by holding them on better grounds thereby giving players the opportunity to play on better surfaces. Newcastle United, West Ham United, Leeds United, Charlton Athletic, Reading, Leicester City, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Coventry City, Falkirk, Norwich City, Tranmere Rovers, Peterborough United, Swindon Town and Northampton Town are just a few of the grounds we have visited with Trial days.
Many other venues are visited throughout the year and will first appear on the www.footballcv.com website.
In the early days Barry Fry joined us in a consultancy role and helped to provide us with management services assistance. His experience was invaluable as was his knowledge and 'eye' for a player. A former player at Manchester United and Bolton Wanderers, Barry went on to manage Barnet, Southend United and Birmingham City before taking over the reins at Peterborough United.
The site was declared a Golden Web Award winner for 2002-2003. FootballCV.com was considered an outstanding website, incorporating high standards of design, originality and content.
FootballCV.com features on the Football Education Network program which encourages grass roots football through schools and works together with many Professional football clubs and key football organisations.
FootballCV ensures all its staff are fully qualified and have completed CRB checks and Child Protection courses. We employ qualified coaches, physiotherapists and a Child Protection Officer. Footballcv.com is also registered to the Data Protection Policy.
We also work the Professional Footballers Association running Exit Trials for released scholars and professionals from Premiership and Football League clubs.
footballcv run trials camps during school holidays. The camp is designed to give the participants exposure to scouts from professional football clubs along with the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a professional.
They include visits from a professional player, a nutritionist and a strength and conditioning coach, a football agent culminating in a trials day in front of three top scouts. Also included is accommodation and meals, pro development drills and stations and league games.
