© EuroFootball.com
The search for future Lithuanian football talents and their development from an early age will now take place according to a new, modern talent program of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF).
The long-term project, whose first stage started in the summer with the selection and testing of young 10-11 year old footballers in various regions of the country, will encourage close collaboration between children's football coaches and the National Football Academy (NFA) and LFF technical development center.
Preparation for academies and youth national teams
The new talent development program was developed by the LFF based on the best examples from European countries and FIFA recommendations, consulting with foreign football specialists. Financing for the four-year program was approved by the International Football Federation (FIFA) "Goal" committee.
The aim of the new program is to identify talented young footballers aged 10-11 and their abilities, create an individual training program for them, monitor their progress, and raise the qualifications of young players' coaches.
"This is a future-oriented project. We hope that talented young people aged 14 will supplement our youth national teams and football academies, including the National Football Academy in Kaunas. We aim for this program to provide an opportunity for all boys in all regions of Lithuania to participate," said NFA director Raimondas Statkevičius.
According to him, it is important that no potential talent goes unnoticed by football specialists or withdraws from football during the adolescence period due to social or economic problems.
Selection in all regions
The talent selection project consists of several stages. The first stage includes the selection and testing of young players, identification of talents, the second stage - creating individual additional training tasks and coach training, and the third stage - implementing educational programs in regions and monitoring progress.
The first stage of the program is already underway. Technical development associations and NFA specialists travel to all regions of the country and district centers to carry out testing and selection of children playing football. The football skills and talent of the players are first assessed by local coaches, and the physical abilities of the young people - speed, agility, coordination - are tested by specialists with modern equipment.
About two-thirds of planned tests were already carried out in Lithuanian regions this summer. More than 300 young footballers born in 2000 were evaluated in Klaipėda, Gargždai, Šilutė, Kretinga, Plungė, Šilalė, Tauragė, Mažeikiai, Šiauliai, Kėdainiai, Kaunas, Panevėžys, Jonava, Vilkaviškis, Kybartai, Marijampolė, and Alytus.
"In each city, there were 1 or 2 young footballers who stood out. The city of Jonava pleasantly surprised with its numbers. Over the next two weeks, the remaining cities, mostly in Eastern Lithuania, are planned to be evaluated. At least 100 participants are planning to take part in tests in Vilnius," said NFA specialist Marius Čeliauskas, who conducts physical ability tests.
Strengthening cooperation with coaches
According to Stasys Stankus, the technical director of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF), the idea for the new program emerged from a previous talent program, when footballers born in 1989-1990 were selected and camps were organized for them.
"We expanded this idea by emphasizing greater mutual cooperation and assistance to children's coaches, methodological recommendations. We want younger players to be better prepared for the transition from children's football to academies, so that more attention can be paid to further player development without the need to teach certain basic techniques," said Stankus.
Next year, it is planned to test footballers born in 2001, and another year later - in 2002, and so on. If the talent program is successful, it is hoped to extend it beyond the planned four-year period.
