It’s listening to them too. If they want a break to go to friend’s birthday party, let them. Football is my son’s passion but he also really likes other sports and I encourage him to play them. Having a range of interests can only help.

I juggle (and sometimes struggle) with this too. When the season’s finished it’s definitely easier to get my son to focus on his schoolwork. But on evenings when he’s training and weekends when he’s playing matches, it’s so hard. I feel guilty asking him to do homework late at night when he’s tired and should really be in bed!

I think it’s really hard to try not to push them too hard and give them a life outside of football. As adults we are always trying to find the work life balance – it’s the same for kids

I wonder that too. Does it take the joy out of playing just for fun? or stop kids playing other sports that they like or are good at if they specialise at too young an age?

How can parents best balance their child playing as much football as they can, homework and still being a kid socialising with their friends outside football? I think it’s really hard to balance all of that!

How can you best support your child for rejection? What if they’re not as talented as their friends but still really enjoy playing football – how can parents keep them encouraged and motivated do you think?

That’s really good to know. Thank you!

Scouts frequently attend games with the best players, so if a team is consistently winning many games because of a few standout players, then it’s quite possible that scouts will be there to see the talent for themselves. If a child gets scouted, it’s up for debate whether it’s down to that coach or the player’s natural talent, probably a bit…

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Things are improving slowly! I know that the FA has increased the number of talent centres around the UK for this very reason. Previously, they were called regional talent centres (RTCs), and there were about 28 around the UK. This wasn’t sufficient for identifying talent or being accessible to most people. They created what are now…

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Hi. Could you tell us more about finding out about other football pathways besides being a football player – ie. refereeing, coaching, backroom staff, grounds people?

A lot of local clubs promote themselves by describing how they have successfully got kids into professional academy teams. How realistic is it that your child will be scouted from a grassroots club?

I see more clubs now trying to grow girls football, although there doesn’t seem to me to be huge numbers of black or minority ethnic girls playing in the teams I see locally. What more can be done to diversity girls football more like the boys game?

How do you find a balance between education and football. My child loves football – and would play every day if they could. But homework needs to be done and even socialising with friends – how do other parents do it ?

Hi. What are the opportunities for girls to earn a reasonable living out of professional football? The odds are hard enough in the men’s game….

Having had 10 years of my kids in an academy I do look back and wonder if it all started too early. They both went in around 7 years old and these days clubs are pursuing 5 year olds! Should all this start later at 12?