Town are encouraging young players to express their interest in joining the Club's academy ahead of the 2022/23 season.
Since its inauguration in 2017, Town's academy has been a resounding success, with over 25 players going on to make their first-team debut and the young Tractor Girls having reached the semi-finals of the WSL Academy Cup three times. Last summer, 8 academy graduates, including Paige Peake, Sophie Peskett and club captain Blue Wilson, all signed their first professional contracts with the club following the Blues' promotion to the third tier.
Town's academy has formed the core of the first-team squad that continues to succeed on the pitch, with 14 of 18 players in the Tractor Girls squad that defeated Southampton on penalties in February to reach the quarter-finals of the Vitality Women's FA Cup for the first time were academy graduates.
About the WSL Academy & Dual Careers Pathway (Ages 16-21)
The Women's Super League (WSL) Dual-Career Academy was introduced at Ipswich Town Football Club in the 2018/19 season. The programme was introduced to give players post-sixteen the opportunity to develop through an elite pathway in the East Region of the country.
The FA launched the WSL Academies programme in the 2018/19 season to provide elite female footballers a pathway to the professional game, whilst simultaneously supporting players to work towards another chosen career.
The full-time programme includes:
Elite-level training at Playford Road, Ipswich Town's first-team training centre.
A comprehensive fixture programme within the FA WSL Academy League
A programme where players can access up to 10-15 hours of contact time per week
Access to the Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS) - in partnership with the University of Essex - who provide Performance Services Support including: medical, nutritional, lifestyle and psychological support alongside the club
Host family provision (if required).
Students can stay at their local education provider if they wish, or they can apply to our education partner, St Joseph's College, who work closely with the Club to ensure the academic side of the timetable is flexible; allowing students to balance both their academic studies and a full-time training programme.
To support our players with the logistics of getting to and from the training ground, we also provide a minibus service - which is available for transporting students to and from St Joseph's College or Ipswich Station.
Players that are offered a place will benefit from the following:
High level training & education programme (10-15 hours weekly), including:
Up to four training sessions per week
Two Strength & Conditioning sessions per week
One educational workshop per week (careers support, psychology, lifestyle and more)
Analysis - training and games are recorded and uploaded to Hudl for players to review performance
Competitive matches in the WSL Academy League programme
A highly experienced Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), including:
Technical Coaches (UEFA A & B qualified)
Goalkeeping Coach
Medical Lead
Physical Lead
Performance Psychology & Player Support
Nutrition Support and one-to-ones linked to TASS
Analyst
Training at Ipswich Town Football Club's first-team training ground; Playford Road, with access to:
Excellent grass pitches
Medical room
Analysis suite
Classroom
Additional Support:
Individualised Strength & Conditioning Programmes as part of our Talent Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) partnership with the University of Essex
Individual Development Plans - performance feedback on both academic and football progression
Access to the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) which runs alongside the programme and offers 64 UCAS points on completion
Welfare and safeguarding support
To express your interest in joining the Club's academy for next season, please complete the following Google Form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tk6SEIjr3GF2GBHME83pOglNK0dVcwVUH1YyFIPxFq8/edit
Town's academy has formed the core of the first-team squad that continues to succeed on the pitch, with 14 of 18 players in the Tractor Girls squad that defeated Southampton on penalties in February to reach the quarter-finals of the Vitality Women's FA Cup for the first time were academy graduates.
About the WSL Academy & Dual Careers Pathway (Ages 16-21)
The Women's Super League (WSL) Dual-Career Academy was introduced at Ipswich Town Football Club in the 2018/19 season. The programme was introduced to give players post-sixteen the opportunity to develop through an elite pathway in the East Region of the country.
The FA launched the WSL Academies programme in the 2018/19 season to provide elite female footballers a pathway to the professional game, whilst simultaneously supporting players to work towards another chosen career.
The full-time programme includes:
Elite-level training at Playford Road, Ipswich Town's first-team training centre.
A comprehensive fixture programme within the FA WSL Academy League
A programme where players can access up to 10-15 hours of contact time per week
Access to the Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS) - in partnership with the University of Essex - who provide Performance Services Support including: medical, nutritional, lifestyle and psychological support alongside the club
Host family provision (if required).
Students can stay at their local education provider if they wish, or they can apply to our education partner, St Joseph's College, who work closely with the Club to ensure the academic side of the timetable is flexible; allowing students to balance both their academic studies and a full-time training programme.
To support our players with the logistics of getting to and from the training ground, we also provide a minibus service - which is available for transporting students to and from St Joseph's College or Ipswich Station.
Players that are offered a place will benefit from the following:
High level training & education programme (10-15 hours weekly), including:
Up to four training sessions per week
Two Strength & Conditioning sessions per week
One educational workshop per week (careers support, psychology, lifestyle and more)
Analysis - training and games are recorded and uploaded to Hudl for players to review performance
Competitive matches in the WSL Academy League programme
A highly experienced Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), including:
Technical Coaches (UEFA A & B qualified)
Goalkeeping Coach
Medical Lead
Physical Lead
Performance Psychology & Player Support
Nutrition Support and one-to-ones linked to TASS
Analyst
Training at Ipswich Town Football Club's first-team training ground; Playford Road, with access to:
Excellent grass pitches
Medical room
Analysis suite
Classroom
Additional Support:
Individualised Strength & Conditioning Programmes as part of our Talent Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) partnership with the University of Essex
Individual Development Plans - performance feedback on both academic and football progression
Access to the Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE) which runs alongside the programme and offers 64 UCAS points on completion
Welfare and safeguarding support
To express your interest in joining the Club's academy for next season, please complete the following Google Form - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tk6SEIjr3GF2GBHME83pOglNK0dVcwVUH1YyFIPxFq8/edit
