Future Champions is Speed Academy’s small-group speed, strength and movement programme for 9 to 18 year olds. We coach young athletes to move well, so they get quicker, stay in the game and keep improving through the growth spurt.
Families travel from across Leeds, and from as far as York, Huddersfield and Halifax, to train at our base at Ilkley Rugby Club.
- Ages 9–18
- Max 6 per group
- 13 years running
£49 for 28 days. No commitment after that.
Does this sound like your child?
- They’ve shot up recently and suddenly look less coordinated than they used to.
- They keep picking up niggles, and the same ones keep coming back.
- They’ve got the skill, but they’re a step behind when it comes to speed.
- They’re slow off the mark, or lose ground when they have to stop and change direction.
- They’re keen and they’ve got potential, and you want it developed properly rather than just pushed harder.
Every one of these comes back to how well they move. That’s what we coach.
Speed is a skill. We coach it.
Kids grow fast, and their coordination doesn’t always keep up with their bodies. We don’t just check what your child can do. We look at how they move and work out why. They come away knowing what their superpower is, what’s holding them back, and what will cause problems if it’s left.
Speed, strength and fitness all sit on top of coordination. Build it well while they’re young and it carries into every sport they play. It’s also the best protection there is through the growth spurts that catch so many young athletes out.
Mastery of the fundamentals is what lets technique survive pressure.
Three groups, built around the growth spurt
The biggest thing happening to a young athlete between 9 and 18 isn’t their sport. It’s growth. Each group is built for where your child is in it.
The ages overlap on purpose. We place each athlete by how they move and where they are in their growth, not just by their birthday.
FoundationAges 9–11Coming soon
Learning to move
At this age children are neural sponges. They pick up movement faster than at any other point in their lives, so we don’t drill technique. We set movement challenges and let them discover better ways to solve them: jumping, skipping, crawling, hanging, catching, throwing, chasing and evading.
Their movement improves in two ways. They get clearer about what they’re trying to do, and we remove the physical limits that get in their way.
Level 1Ages 11–14
Preparing for the growth spurt
Level 1 is preparation for the tornado that is adolescent growth. When a child shoots up, their coordination often dips for a while. If they don’t already know what good movement looks and feels like, that dip turns into habits that stick.
So we build the baseline first: a body that’s well organised and coordinated, and stays that way as things get heavier, faster and more chaotic.
- Strength. Press-ups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, single-leg squats and controlling rotation, all with a coordinated, connected body. Bands, powerbags and medicine balls are there to teach the movement, not to pile on weight.
- Jumping. Building springiness, and learning to use the floor and gravity to move the body in any direction.
- Speed. Accelerating, slowing down, top speed, and changing direction quickly.
Level 2Ages 14–18
Adding load
Once growing has slowed, the body is ready for more. Level 2 adds formal strength training, more intense jumping work and more focused speed coaching.
The groundwork from Level 1 is what makes that safe. If you want more force, the movement has to be stable enough to hold it.
In every group: a maximum of 6 athletes, and up to 5 sessions a month, chosen from your group’s weekly sessions.
Where it leads
Three Future Champions graduates now play first-team professional football.
That shows what the approach can do at the top end. Most of our athletes aren’t heading for an academy, though. They want to move better, stay fit and enjoy their sport more, and the programme is built for them just as much.
Who coaches your child
Future Champions is run by Rob Gascoyne, head coach at Speed Academy. Rob has worked with Bradford City and Bradford Bulls, and started the youth programme 13 years ago after testing players at Bradford City.
Although the numbers were fine, their movement quality would not stand up to daily training and soft tissue injuries were inevitable. That was the birth of the Speed Academy youth programme.
Rob Gascoyne, speaking to the Ilkley Gazette, October 2026. Read the full article
The practical bits
- Where
- Speed Academy HQ, Ilkley Rugby Club, Stacks Field, 2 Denton Road, Ilkley LS29 0AA. Parking on site, with changing rooms and showers.
- Group size
- A maximum of 6 athletes, so every athlete gets coached rather than just supervised.
- Sessions
- Up to 5 a month, chosen from your group’s weekly sessions.
- Holidays
- We close for two weeks at Christmas, two weeks at Easter and two weeks in August.
- What to bring
- Trainers and boots. Speed and jumping work often happens out on the grass.
Start with the 28-day trial
£49for 28 days
Why 28 days rather than a free taster?
One session tells you very little. Most children need a few sessions to settle in, and they usually notice a difference within four weeks. It also gives you a month to see how training fits your family’s week before you commit to anything.
After the trial there’s no commitment. If it’s working, you move onto the monthly membership.
Fill in your details below and Rob will call you to talk through your child’s needs and which group suits them.
Rather talk first? Call Rob on 07780 994991.
Interested in Foundation (ages 9–11)? Fill in the same form. When Rob calls, he’ll add you to the list and let you know as soon as sessions start.
