Several studies have indicated that soccer players reach their potential at around age 27. In theory, you can still become a professional soccer player late in your sports career. The caveat is that you need enough experience and you have to keep yourself in shape. This number of 27 years makes sense as your potential for speed is between 20-28 years, while your strength is optimal around age 29. This is not just theoretical. There are many players who became a professional at age latter age. Some evidence actually shows that you are better off specializing later in your youth. Before we go to some actual examples, first look at why it is better to specialize later than early.
Many Professional Academies Specialize To Early
As it is written in one of the previous articles, athletes are made. As such, they have to go through certain phases to mature. A quick summary of the phases are
- Romantic phase; this phase focusses on falling in love with the sport, joy, fun, and play. In this phase, many activities and sports can be done.
- Specializing phase, the child that plays soccer becomes the soccer player. A master coach installs technique. The child learns through the love of the game. This love is generated from the Romantic phase.
- Integration phase, the student integrates what he has learned and makes the sport his own.
The difficulty of these phases is that the time frame of phase is different for any child, and cannot be sped up. Skipping a phase or starting a phase before the child is ready can do serious damage to the child’s confidence, abilities, and future prospects.
A Number Of Examples Are
- Moesch found that elite athletes began their specialization in later late compared to near elites. To quote the study; “The results clearly reveal that elite athletes specialized at a later age and trained less in childhood”
- Barynina and Vaitsekhovskii found that swimmers who began their specialization to early swam fewer hour in the national team and ended their career earlier. A quote from the study; “For most sports, there is no evidence that intense training and specialization before puberty are necessary to achieve elite status.”
- Wall and cote found that ice-hockey players who specialized earlier dropped out more and said; Youth sport programs should not focus on developing athletic fitness through intense and routine training, but rather on sport-specific practice, games and play activities that foster fun and enjoyment.
- Arne Güllich and Eike Emrich found that after reviewing 1558 German Olympic athletes early specialization does more harm than good. The duo said; Juvenile success, the training volume in the individual’s current main sport, and the inclusion in support programmes have no significant or negative effects on long-term success in elite sport.
- Carlson investigated Swedish tennis player that was near-elite and elite players. The research found that the elite players started specializing late in their youth. See; Carlson R.The socialization of elite tennis players in Sweden: an analysis of the players’ backgrounds and development. Sociol Sport J.1988;5:241-256 .
Start Later With A Strong Finish
The best musicians start early and practice many hours alone. The well-known example of the best musicians practicing 10.000 hours alone while their second-best competitors practiced 7.000 hours. Furthermore, musicians starting at the age of five are more successful than those who start later. In becoming an athlete how many hours you practice counts, but not at what age you start in your sport. The athletes who start specializing in specific sports later are more likely to become world-class athletes. While those who start early compete at a national level. These athletes spent less time in their main sport until the age of 15 years of age. However, at age 18 both groups accumulated the same number of hours. At age 21 the later age group accumulated more hours of practice time.
At What Age Can You Become A Professional Soccer Player
Looking at professional soccer players, there are many that became professional in their early to mid-’20s. Let’s have a look at some of them.
Jan Koller started playing professionally at the age of 22 with Sparta Prague. He went on to have a great professional career in Europe. He almost scored 200 goals on the professional level.
At 22 years of age, Mathieu Valbuena made a transfer from amateur to Olympique Marseille. Although Mathieu started in his youth at Bordeaux. His contract was terminated and subsequently played at 5th and 3rd division in France. Valbuena won many titles and was a French international.
Jamie Vardy is a well-known example of talent not being seen until their mid-20’s. Jamie Vardy was playing until age 24 at the amateur football club Stocksbridge Park Steels, until going to Halifax Town. From Halifax Town Vardy went up the ranks until stardom.
Local Examples
There are many examples of becoming pro in your 20’s. The next examples are just a small summary from Holland. There are many more examples.
Danny Koevermans is a former attacker from Sparta, AZ, and top club PSV. Koevermans was a mailman until 22 years of age. Danny became a Dutch International.
Brian van Loo became a Professional soccer player at 24!. He was a goalie and played for FC Groningen.
René van Rijswijk only started playing soccer at age 16! Van Rijswijk only turned professional at 22 years old. He played over 300 games in the Dutch top division.
Jens Toornstra played in the first team of the amateur club Alphense Boys. Until he was 20 years old and got a chance to try out for ADO Den Haag. He got a professional contract and moved to FC Feijenoord. Toornstra won the Dutch league and played in the Dutch national team.
Jaap Stam, voted 2 times as the best defender in the Champions League, started as a professional player at 20 years of age. Stam played at AC Milan, Manchester United and AJAX.
How To Increase Your Chance At Later Life
Although you are most likely to be at your best at around age 27, soccer clubs are not likely to employ you. You at 27 don’t have a track record and are a liability, furthermore, clubs can only make a limited amount of money of you. After about 27 years of age soccer players are less valuable. The good news is soccer players are getting older. A recent study found that in the average age of players in the champions league increased with 1.6 years in the last 25 years. See the graph below.
Chose Your Position
The goalies and center back can hold their potential until the ripe age of 31. Choosing these positions can increase your chance of becoming a professional soccer player. while forward tend to peak younger. If you still want to become a soccer professional, become a center back.
Become A Profesional, Play For Free
Because of your age, you might have to take pay reductions. Many lower league professional clubs are looking for new players and are willing to invest in you as a player. You can go to try-outs and get a 6 months contract. While this contract is low paid, if you perform well after 6 months, you might just get a professional contract.