Is screen time bad for young footballers?
It's not a one-word answer.
Screens are here to stay. It takes a tremendous amount of effort and discipline to remove them from young players' lives entirely. Instead, it's best to use them to give yourself a competitive advantage, not to distract you and set you back.
Mindless scrolling through damaging content that raises anxiety levels? Or productive content that makes better players and better people?
It's up to you to choose how you use your screen time. But what do our coaches think?
First, let's hear from Apple Westcott, an expert football coach working in both professional youth academies and senior football.
"One of the biggest problems I've seen off the pitch is children on tablets, phones and games consoles - generally it's the worst possible thing you can do if you want to be a proactive footballer.
My objective isn't to demonise screen time. It's important that we utilise screen time in the best way that we can, which is using it to better ourselves. So are we using screen time to learn things and learn new skills that can help us not in just football but in every day life?"
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Now let's hear from Jack Downer AKA 'Street Panna', 2x Superball World Champion, Street Football Pioneer and Professional Skills Coach:
"Screen time and other distractions can of course impede improvement for footballers in this generation.
When I started, I didn't have any of those distractions... not because I'm super old, but because I never really had the internet or access to it outside of the house. I was never allowed to play football inside, so I was always out training.
As a result, my focus greatly increased, because when I was out there, me and the ball, I had a plan for that session and a timer set, so I made the most of all of that time I had. And that's where I believe I improved the most, without distractions.
We're trying to provide a platform that can aid you - when you are spending time on a screen - with focus and the ability to improve greatly, the way that I did without those distractions."
So remember... perhaps you can't take the screens away, but you CAN ensure that young players are using devices as tools to power their learning. Join our online academy and we'll show you exactly how to use screen time for good!
Use screen time for good
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