The Programme

Our coaching team delivers a highly professional, tailored training programme that balances team development with individual player development. Every player receives an individual development plan, created in collaboration with the coaching staff, which sets a clear framework for developing strengths and addressing areas for improvement.

Player tactical understanding is stretched through detailed, tactically focused team sessions aligned to South Shields FC’s established game model. Alongside this, each player receives smaller group and individual technical sessions that directly align to their individual development plan.

Every element of the technical and tactical programme is delivered by our highly qualified UEFA-level coaches, all of whom have experience of either playing or coaching at the highest levels of the game, including international football.

Sessions cover individual technical development, position-specific coaching, team tactical sessions linked to the club’s game model, and video-supported individual development plan reviews.

Unlike programmes bound by NCAA or similar restrictions, the South Shields FC International Academy offers a full nine-month competitive season. This provides players with exposure to a high number of games across a variety of settings and environments.

Players have the opportunity to represent South Shields FC across a number of teams within the club, and we also link with a high number of semi-professional senior clubs across the North East to expose players to a variety of competitive challenges. Due to our professional club status, a number of players will have the opportunity to train and play with our men’s and women’s first team — one of the truly unique elements of this programme.

Our S&C provision is delivered by Martin Nugent and his highly qualified support staff at their world-class facility. Martin’s team are the North East hub for Premier League and EFL match officials and the regional S&C team for the England Netball pathway programme, and have established relationships with Chelsea FC, Newcastle United, Southampton FC, Sunderland FC, the Football Association, England Rugby League, Newcastle Eagles Basketball, GB Judo, GB Swimming, and England Golf.

All players receive a minimum of two designated strength and conditioning sessions per week. Each player also undergoes a physical profiling assessment following the EPPP protocol used across all Premier League and Category 1 academies in the English football pyramid, ensuring the S&C programme is tailored to individual and positional needs.

Each player in the International Academy is provided with a VEO account, giving them direct access to video footage of training sessions and matches to accelerate their individual development.

We use video analysis to provide players with opposition scouting reports, team performance reviews, and individual development plan support. VEO analytics delivers in-depth analysis at team, positional, and individual levels, along with performance metrics to track progress over time. VEO Live also gives family and friends back home the opportunity to watch sessions and games.

All players are also provided with their own GPS unit, in partnership with Player Data, to track physical metrics during training and games. This data informs both group and individual training load decisions.

Our mental skills programme is one of the key differentiators of the International Academy, and a component we are deeply passionate about. It is split into two areas: sports psychology and general mental health and wellbeing.

The sports psychology element explores the mindsets and mental skill sets needed to become a top player, dealing with success and failure, overcoming rejection, team dynamics, performing under pressure, and harnessing emotion to push playing standards to the next level.

Our general mental health and wellbeing delivery focuses on the day-to-day pressures of moving to the other side of the world, balancing education and high-level sport, and immersing yourself in a new environment. We want every student-athlete to know that at South Shields FC, they are truly part of one family, and that health, wellbeing, safety, and inclusivity are our top priorities.

Our medical team is set up to minimise the risk of injury and, should an injury occur, to provide the best possible support to return players to the pitch as quickly and safely as possible.

On arrival, every player undergoes a screening session with our medical staff to identify any old injuries, areas of weakness, or concern. This informs a bespoke prehabilitation and activation plan developed alongside the S&C programme.

If a player does sustain an injury, our expert medical team will deliver a highly individual rehabilitation programme combining initial and ongoing assessment, a gym and S&C plan, and grass-based return-to-play sessions overseen by our physiotherapists.