Building Players For The Long Term Game with Paudie Roche & CC_Academy

Building Players For The Long Term Game with Paudie Roche

The conversation around the women’s game often circles back to one major challenge — the lack of structured development pathways. In this session, Paudie Roche will draw from his extensive experience across academy and senior environments to explore how we can better prepare female players for the physical and mental demands of elite football.

Paudie will reflect on what he’s learned from building long-term player development frameworks, and how early, structured exposure to physical preparation — when designed well — can build not just stronger athletes, but more confident and self-aware players.

Through his lens as both Arsenal Women’s Physical Performance Lead and former Academy S&C Coach, he’ll discuss:

• The realities and challenges of developing young players in structured academy environments.
• What it truly takes for players to progress physically, technically, and mentally toward the professional game.
• The key factors coaches can influence — from designing age-appropriate programs to supporting autonomy, ownership, and confidence.
• How we can facilitate earlier and smarter exposure to strength and movement education for girls.
• The link between access, structure, and readiness — and how rethinking this can transform the future of the women’s game.
  
  This session invites coaches, practitioners, and leaders to reflect on how we can design more intentional systems of growth — ones that support players not just to perform, but to sustain performance across their careers.