How lucky we were to get a rare tour around the state of the art training academy at WFC. The Yr 10 GCSE PE group were one of the first community groups to see around the facility after the COVID pandemic and get to ask questions to community lead K Stephanou.

The first stop was the training dome, a pressurised dome in which both the academy and mens and ladies first teams complete body conditioning and training activities. It was interesting to hear how a lot of focus, for top class footballers, is now on the body conditioning aspects of training as it helps to reduce the risk of injury. This provided a great theoretical link for the students on the topics we have just covered on the GCSE specification.

Visiting some of the 26! training pitches and observing the vast array of ground staff present, even though the season is finished, gave another insight into the roles and responsibilities of a top class training academy. It was interesting to learn that the pitches at the academy are created to replicate the pitches at vicarage road, but there are ground staff teams that work at both sites. The huge pitch heaters, used everyday in the winter months, certainly raised eyebrows at the cost incurred to run them.

As lessons were taking place in the academy classrooms we were unable to enter this new facility but did get to view the first team dining and social areas where lots of the club board were in planning the steps for the season to come. A visit to the fitness center allowed us to think about the different training methods used for those in the junior through to senior academies as well as men’s and ladies first team players.

It was an informative way for the students to experience the ‘day to day’ workings of a top class sporting facility and certainly provided insight into the multitude of jobs available in the sporting field, as well as reinforcing aspects of the examination course.
Thank you to WFC for providing us with the opportunity.