The young talents have new experiences by taking part in different sports, such as basketball, taekwondo, padel, table tennis and hockey with the aim of enriching their development
Villarreal CF continue innovating in the development of their young talents. Thus, in an effort to generate new enriching experiences for the academy players, the club has implemented the development of joint multisport activities.
The activity, taking advantage of the synergies created through the Endavant Esports programme, has two main objectives: on the one hand, to increase the motor skills of the youngsters by playing a different sport to the one they usually play and, on the other hand, to promote different socialisation contexts to the usual ones.
In this way, with the joint work of academy management and the coaching teams, the predisposition of the families and the enthusiasm of the youngsters, as well as thanks to the agreement with different clubs in the province integrated in Endavant Esports, the young yellow footballers are trying out different activities such as basketball (Esportiu Bàsquet Vila-real), padel and table tennis (Adaponda in Onda), hockey (Club Patí Vila-real) or taekwondo (Club Deportivo Granjo in Alcora).
Multidisciplinary learning
Numerous studies show that practising many sports at an early age is very favourable for the development of children and, in addition, it opens up a range of options to encourage them to move and avoid sedentary behaviour. For this reason, each of the participating academy players works together with their equivalent age group from the other club. An example of this was the recent visit of the Benjamín A (U10) and Alevín B (U11) to the basketball club Esportiu Bàsquet Vila-real.
“The kids are practising different disciplines such as basketball or taekwondo. The more the better, because the more they are nourished, the more children they meet and make new friends. All of this helps them and, in addition, the rest of the disciplines know how Villarreal CF train when they come with us,” explains Álex Marqués, Villarreal CF youth academy coach. The initiative is based on this constant exchange, as they also act as hosts at the José Manuel Llaneza Training Ground. “It’s very cool and beneficial, because the kids exchange rules and sporting values. Today it’s our turn, but another week it will be their turn,” he says.
A new development stage
In training stages, doing something new always has an impact, as Iván Íñiguez, EB Vila-real’s sports coordinator, explains. “Doing something new is always greeted with enthusiasm. Our players have received the exchange proposal with great enthusiasm, because different kids come, because they are also from Villarreal CF and, because, after that, we will have to leave our natural habitat.”
Enriching experiences
Another determining factor is that it is very beneficial for the players to meet new people and to be able to get out of their comfort zone. “The fact of meeting new people is what the boys are most excited about. In the end, one of the objectives of the exchange is that it also helps on a human and educational level, that they see that they have teammates who are skilled in a discipline in which they are not so skilled,” explains Íñiguez.
An initiative to strengthen ties
The initiative, started almost at the beginning of the season, has been very well received by all parties. “The initiative is working very well. The kids are very happy to learn about other sports. It’s also very good for football and it’s important on a motor level. For example, when they play basketball, they can work on coordination skills that are later used in football,” says Marqués.
For his part, Iván Íñiguez highlights this type of collaboration: “From EB Vila-real we always collaborate with any training proposal and, therefore, it is positive. We are delighted, because everything that is sport is health, it is training for them and, moreover, it is fun.”
