⚽ What Our Player Survey Tells Us About Development
At Futsal Escocia, we’re always looking for ways to better understand how our players develop — and how we can support them even more.
We have had a lot of success with player development that has led to over 160 players progress to a pro environment in the last 11 years, with 12 of those going on to represent Scotland, but we also know that only a tiny percentage of these players actually go on to make a career out of the game.
Our coaches are experienced and we have a proven record of developing players through our futsal training programme.
Recently, we gathered over 200 responses from parents across the academy, giving us a fantastic insight into training habits, player levels, and what families are looking for.
Firstly, thank you. The level of engagement and support has been incredible.
Here’s what we found.
📊 How Much Are Players Training?
Across the survey, players are training on average 5.5 hours per week.
However, when we break this down further, a clear pattern begins to emerge.
The takeaway is clear:
Players who train more tend to play at a higher level. The earlier age players start only makes a difference at the start, but not as big an impact as training hours long term.
It’s Not Just About More Hours
While training volume is important, the data — and our experience — tells us something even more important:
We found it really surprising to find that only 1 of our pro players actually does 1-2-1 sessions and their training is more game and team related. From experience, this was also the case with a lot of our players who have also gone on to have great success.
What Does Effective Training Look Like?
To truly improve, players need:
High Intensity
Sessions should be:
Players should be constantly involved, making decisions and working under pressure.
Game-Based Learning
The best environments are where:
This is where real understanding and confidence are built.
Repetition Under Pressure
This is what translates into performance on the pitch.
Why Futsal Plays a Key Role
One of the biggest advantages for our players is exposure to futsal as part of their development. Futsal offers a completely different challenge to any football sessions:
This environment accelerates learning and develops skills that directly transfer into football.
Variety is Key
The most effective development pathway includes a mix of:
This variety challenges players and helps them adapt, think, and improve faster.
What Parents Told Us
What Happens Next?
Our goal is simple — to provide the best possible environment for every player to improve, enjoy the game, and reach their potential.
The message from the survey is clear:
More training helps — but the right training makes the difference
That’s why we’re continuing to expand our offering with 90 minute Small Group Sessions that will include 1-2-1 type content to develop players technically, before moving onto a high-intensity training environments that will challenge the players technically, mentally, tactically and physically. Each week will be a dfifferent theme similar to our futsal sessions.
We have also taken notice of the price points that parents feel are correct for small group sessions and they will be at a fraction of the price of a 1-2-1 session with in our opinion, far greater outcomes.
We hope to finalise venues and training days and nights very soon.
Camps are also a great way to provide high-volume contact time at a reduced price. 5 full day camps a year will increase most players training time by over 50%. We are also looking to add small group sessions for older age groups who feel they have outgrown camps during the summer holidays. These will be 90 minutes per day, 4 days of the week.
We are looking to add further futsal Ninos sessions with a new session starting in Inverkeithing in April. We hope to add a further sessions in Dunfermline and central Fife.
I think every parent wants the best for their child and being a parent myself, I also know that not every parent can afford everything, that is why we point parents in the direction of the likes of 7mlc on YouTube for free content and try our best to keep our prices as low as possible.
We want to help ALL of our players to develop as players, to live healthy and active lifstyles and to grow as people, not just players.
We’re excited about what’s coming next — and we’d love your child to be part of it.
