What goes on behind the scenes at one of English football’s best youth academies? Despite the struggles of the first team this Premier League season, Southampton FC are widely admired for their investment in youth development and not only is their first team specked with self-produced talent but their handiwork is evident across the English top flight as well as the England men’s national team as it heads into this summer’s Fifa World Cup in Russia.

Back in February, the Leaders Performance Podcast was invited to the inner sanctum to chat to Southampton’s Academy Manager, Matt Hale, and his colleague Edd Vahid, who is the Head of Coaching and Learning at the Academy. The pair described the set-up at their Staplewood Campus on England’s south coast before explaining what qualities they seek in recruits between the ages of eight and 23.

Also on the agenda that morning were:

The creation of a vision and purpose in young recruits;

The Southampton Way and being a 24-hour professional;

Preparing young players for high intensity environments;

Southampton’s provision of education and skills programmes;

Why the club regularly refines its academy process;

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