Milan Academy Australia

The A. C. Milan Academy in Australia welcomes players from all different backgrounds, creeds and cultures uniting them all in the same dream – to become a much better soccer player.

The vision of the A. C. Milan Academy is to develop each and every player’s skills technically and tactically. This will greatly increase the understanding of each player’s role on the soccer field. The Academy also specifically aims to equip our players with vital life skills such as focus, stamina and discipline that will stand them in good stead in all other aspects of their lives.

The A. C. Milan Academy philosophy is founded on the ‘whole person’ approach, recognising that improving a player’s physical and technical development must go hand in hand with the advancement of each player's maturity as well as their emotional and psychological well-being.

The A. C. Milan Academy will therefore encourage all players to aim high, in terms of their soccer ambitions, and will promote the practice of sport as a means of improving each player’s mental and physical health.

To this end, all our Academy programmes will focus on four key target areas : Motor skills, Cognitive skills, Personal skills and Social skills.

Motor Skills

This deals with each player’s technical and tactical ability focusing on elements such as kicking, dribbling, passing, heading and tackling. Speed, strength, endurance and flexibility are vital elements of these sessions.

Cognitive Skills

This aims to develop qualities such as intuition, memory, concentration, and decision making. Strategies for self expression and creativity and imagination underpin this aspect of our training.

Personal Skills

This helps players foster techniques for having control over their emotions or for regaining self control when lost. Motivation, self-esteem and a desire to be autonomous will increase in these sessions.

Social Skills

This helps players learn how to work together as a group and team. Respect for the rules and acceptance of the decisions of others will also be emphasised. Collaboration is a core part of these sessions.

The programmes are designed over a duration of 10 months, reflecting programmes developed over decades at A. C. Milan’s youth Academy. The Academy will give our players the chance to realistically become serious players on the world stage in their adult life. It is thus important for them to become accustomed to what is normal practice at all European clubs from an early age.

The Academy will assess its players on a regular basis. The assessment will take the form of both regular physical tests targeting for example speed, agility and strength, as well as formal discussions with our players inviting self evaluation and self awareness of their own development.

The Academy has access to the latest technology offered by the MILAN LAB which evaluates each athlete at each important phase of his or her growth. In this way each individual’s progress is recorded and provides essential information to the coaches to customise their training sessions specifically to the needs of each participant.

A. C. Milan will offer mini clinics to selected promising players at the Youth Team headquarters in Milan to extend them even further and allow them to compare themselves with other boys of the same age. A. C. Milan will also invite gifted players from the Milan Academy to participate in international tournaments. Such overseas experience for upcoming players is invaluable and helps underline the emphasis the Academy places on the importance of developing as a whole person and not just as a player.

It is our strong contention that our Academy offers players a unique opportunity to develop and mature not just into better soccer players but will also help participants develop into well rounded individuals. Our professional approach in this field will provide the ideal environment to prepare our players for the future challenges that they will inevitably face in their adult life with much greater confidence.