Doha, Qatar: Aspire Academy’s student-athletes marked end of the sporting activities season and are switching their focus to their academic ones as they prepare for their final exams and graduation ceremony.
The evaluations are set for June 16 to 24, following the upcoming Eid Al-Adha break, with the graduation ceremony for the class of 2025 scheduled for June 25.
With their concentration shifting to their studies for the time being, the sporting demands on the student-athletes decrease.
Among the highlights for May for the student-athletes were several football friendlies, athletics development competitions, and an international table tennis training camp, while the padel players spent time in Spain.
In addition to several teams visiting Aspire Academy in May, the 2010 generation also travelled to Alicante, Spain, for a 10-day training camp.
There was a final set of friendlies for the 2007 generation, many of whom will graduate on June 25, as they took on a team from the Turkish club Başakşehir.
The 2009 players faced the PVF Academy from Vietnam, but unfortunately, a proposed visit by the 2010, 2011 and 2012 generations of Ukrainian club FC Kryvbas Kryvyi RIH was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.
Head of Delegation for PVF Academy, Hoang Viet Nguyen said the visit had been illuminating and he would be taking lessons back to Vietnam.
“As a strength and conditioning coach, I see a lot of positive practices at Aspire that I would love to apply to my players in the future,” he explained.
“The intensity of the game is much higher than what we are used to facing at home.”
“The Aspire Academy players impressed me a lot. Good techniques, good game understanding, and good physical performance as well. I think they have a lot of potential.”
There were also games for the younger players with the feeder teams (generations 2013, 2014 and 2015) playing their final games of the season against FC Kairat Almaty from Kazakhstan.
The visitor’s Technical Director, YevgeniyKrassikov, was impressed by his experiences at Aspire Academy.
“The conditions here are the best we’ve experienced compared to other places we’ve visited,” he said.
“There are many aspects that help players develop, including natural grass fields, multiple coaches per team, education, game analysis, accommodation and meals, recovery processes, a large team of specialists, and excellent overall service.”
Aspire Academy’s Technical Director, was keen to point out that he and his team are always learning and adapting their methods in order to improve the way they develop young footballing talent.
“The key message for the new players is that patience is essential,” he pointed out at an end-of-season get-together for the football players.
A number of Aspire Academy footballers have been with the Qatar Under-17 National Team as they continued their preparations for November’s Under-17 World Cup on home soil.
