Amy Spencer & Megan Hill (Southampton FC): Maturation in a Professional Football Academy.

Amy Spencer is an Accredited Sports Psychologist at Southampton FC. She has worked at the club for the last eight years ranging from 1st team players to U9’s, covering various aspects of performance to well-being. She is also currently completing a PhD in mindfulness in football. Megan Hill is a final year PhD Student at the University of Bath in collaboration with Southampton Football Club, studying age group coaches perceptions, experiences and management of male adolescent football players. In this episode they discuss: The player centred and holistic approach at Southampton. How the club focusses on the Psychological factors of Cohesion, Resilience and Flow. The initial bias for Relative Age and Maturation state at the club. The influence of the maturation process on match grades and coach perception of Academy football players The psychological demands and experiences of playing by maturation bands. How the club utilises Maturation monitoring to inform the timing of selection decisions. Integrating mindfulness practice into the Academy. You can keep up to date with Amy via her Twitter: @AmySportPsych and Megan via her Twitter: @Meg_Hill13 . Keep up to date with Athletic Evolution via our Website, Twitter and Instagram. You can leave us feedback or submit a question for future episodes here.