Message From Seb Vance Ahead of the 2026/27 Season

​

Welcome all, 

​

We’re back again for another season of Academy football, as per every year there is change and evolution. This time round that has come in many forms; obviously with Ross stepping away, we will certainly miss him, and everything he gave to the Academy. However, his legacy is, and will always be evident throughout Guernsey football. 

​

A notable change we’ve made this year is hosting the Aztech and Spirit Academy sessions on the same evening. Although it seems insignificant, this opens the door for a plethora of opportunities. Players can now transition between the Academies with ease, allowing coaches to test players in various ways. This also lends itself to creating in-house fixtures, not only against the other academies but also the other age group teams. This new structure has already created a cohesive environment and will hopefully challenged players in all aspects of their game as we look to build a more competitive environment. 

​

On the other hand, we’ll once again be using the '4-Corner Model'. For those unaware, it was developed by the English FA as a coaching framework, it splits the game into four categories: Technical/Tactical, Psychological, Physical, Social, the premise we work by is that if a player is strong in all these areas they are a complete footballer. We strive to progress players via this model and use it individualistically to address areas of strength and weakness. 

​

This directly ties into our ‘Individual Development Plans’, or more commonly referred to as ‘IDPs’. They follow the blueprint of the ‘4-Corner Model’, and at the halfway mark / end of the season by varied means we’ll give players feedback, that they can take into the rest of the season and beyond. My advice to aid players in their introspective development, would be to familiarise, understand, and reflect on where they need to progress and target those elements in training and games. 

​

Something we’re looking to reintroduce is the value statement: ‘Braver, Stronger, Smarter’, it comes from the writer A.A. Milne, author of Winnie the Pooh. The full quote goes… "Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." By simplifying the quote down to the 3 adjectives it makes for a valuable message that can easily be spread throughout the Academy. The beauty of those words is they don’t have to be used in a footballing sense, they can also be taken outside of our environment. Another goal of the Academy is to not only develop our boys as footballers but also as people. We hope that the values we encourage will reign through and the boys will take them into everyday life. 

​

Finally, be the very best you can be, and I hope everyone has a successful season, by whatever metric that is… footballing progression, having fun, making new friends, personal growth, but ultimately, try enjoy your football.