The Argyle Pathway

The Argyle Pathway:
Starting in Player Development Centres across Devon and Cornwall, the sessions provide an additional playing opportunity for boys/mixed, alongside their grassroots football. The sessions follow a training syllabus designed to stretch and challenge the players involved.

The next step of the player pathway is the Centre of Excellence. The centre provides an opportunity for talented players to develop skills and tactical knowledge in a structured and competitive environment, alongside their other grassroots football opportunities. 

We have two Elite Coaching Hubs (East and West) in Cornwall to provide high-quality, structured training sessions to their signed Cornish-based academy players. Additionally, players excelling in local football and those progressing within the Centre of Excellence will also be invited to train with the academy players to help further their progression opportunities. However, please note that players can only attend these hubs if they have received an invitation.

The Emerging Talent Programme forms the next tier in the pathway. It aims to bring those players who are striving within their centres (Centre of Excellence, Elite Coaching Hubs, Partner Clubs and Scouted players) together to be coached collectively with a mix of pathway staff and players. These sessions will give the Academy recruitment team more detailed opportunities to monitor striving talent in the pathway to inform future trial decisions.

The final step on the pathway is the Academy itself. Players in the squads from Under-7s to Under-18s will play in the highest level of youth football, representing Argyle in multiple competitions in England and internationally.

Plymouth Argyle’s Pre-Academies directive is to recruit 100% of players into the Academy at Under-9s each season.

We aim to identify and recruit children into the Academy from the age of 6 years of age to join the Pre-Academy. At Under-7s, children will receive training once a week, plus, typically, a weekend fixture to aid development. At Under-8s, children will receive an additional training session (two a week) and will also play a weekend fixture.

At Under-7s and Under-8s, adhering to rules set by the EFL, games are played locally until after Christmas in their Under-8s season, whereby Academies are then permitted to travel further and play each other. 

We have developed a consistent and high-quality games programme for our Under-7s and Under-8s, typically played on a Sunday morning, with regular competitive games vs centres within our Pathway (e.g. Elite Coaching Hubs), private Academies and local Grassroots Clubs. 

Finally, Argyle’s Academy consists of structured training sessions designed by Plymouth Argyle Football Club. Players in the Academy will sign on with Argyle and play in a competitive games programme against other professional football club academies. Due to this, players in this category aren't able to play in grassroots football.