Guide to the Youth Academy

I figured it was a good idea to make the original forum post I wrote more "generic" and post it here for all to see. This article is not perfect, but I hope to give an outline of the kinds of things you can/should do with your Youth Academy, and basically 'How it all works' right now. Feel free to contact me with any corrections or suggestions you might have. On with the guide!

Possible spoiler. Click here to show

Original article was published in Global Hattrick Press: Guide to the Youth Academy (14564), written by Natstradamus (9039148).

Guide to the Youth Academy

Introduction

Please note that I have updated this article somewhat since I am now able to edit it.

This guide is not concerned with percentages and links to "proofs." Some things mentioned are "logical" or "conventional wisdom," rather than "proven." It's a basic guide for newbs to the YA. That's it.

Should I Open a YA?

1. If you don't have time to figure out how it works, or to figure out the best way to train your players then you probably shouldn't. You may need up to 1 hour per week to ponder things and set lineups, then an extra half an hour every 3 weeks (for friendly matches).

2. If you are not making a profit over a 2 week period you probably shouldn't either. By this, I mean your team finances should be positive every 2 weeks. It's not expensive though. 3 scouts is only 20k euros.

Reasons to Open a YA

Profit

You will need to be lucky. And you will not make ANY money in the first season. You must keep a player in your junior team for at least 112 days before promotion to the seniors (he must also be at least 17 to promote him). But, if you are very lucky, you can make a lot of money, starting in season 2.

Trainees

Almost all of us would like to train our own players. But beware: You should not expect your YA to make players for you. Good trainees will come, but it is much more important for the well-being of your whole team to make money from your YA or get trainees.

Fun

The YA is another way to enjoy Hattrick, and you cannot put a value on this.

Neighbourhood Kids

When you first get your YA, you have 16 players and they are all "unknown." How can you tell if any are good? Well, you cannot until after they play and you can see their stars. Then the next day, you'll get a report from the trainer who will reveal some skills.

Usually, the Neighbourhood Kids are hopeless. Sometimes one or two may be sell-able, but many, many will be weak and worthless. Do not worry about training them "properly." It's okay to make mistakes. Just move them around and see what you can find out. It's a good idea to use this time to learn about the YA, and how to "reveal skills." I will talk more about this later.

Note: To scout a new player, you must "fire" an old player if you have 16 on the roster. In general, it's best to fire your oldest, lowly skilled players first. You can fire one per day.

Stars

In general, 5 stars is currently inadequate for defenders and for goalkeepers (with little defending), or close, while 5.5 to 6 stars is inadequate for midfielders with little sideskills, and 7-7.5 stars is inadequate for forwards, also monoskilled. Of course, a high weak defender with some playmaking could also get 5 stars, so this is just a guide.

Keep in mind, "attacking skills" (passing and scoring) for some reason provide more stars than the rest. Also, defending helps to provide stars for goalkeepers.

Wingers are still a major problem. Wingers can get 5 stars with wretched winger skill if they have inadequate playmaking and weak to inadequate defence. They can also get 5 stars if they have inadequate winger skill and no other skills! They are a problem, and very difficult to 'read' from stars.

Revealing Skills

In the YA, we can "force" a skill reveal.

Current Level

We can find out the current level if we use Primary Training. Here is an example:

Let's say we want Player A's current PM (playmaking) skill.

1. We must train PM as Primary Training.
2. We must either play other players in training positions (IM and winger) with current PM already known,
3. Or, we must limit the number of players in the IM and winger positions.
4. Player A must play 44 mins in a training position for the skill.

So, we could play like this:

GK
WB CD WB
Known Known Unknown Known Known
Fwd Fwd

or this:

GK
WB CD CD CD WB
Unknown
Fwd Fwd Fwd*

Note well: *You MUST have 9 players (GK + 8 outfielders) on the field at the start of the match, or you will lose training.

If you train playmaking as primary training, you will find out Player A's current level of PM.

Skill Potential

We can find out the maximum level if we use Secondary Training. Here is an example:

Let's say we want to know Player B's scoring maximum.

1. We must train scoring as Secondary Training (Note: Training an identical training type twice will cancel the maximum reveal).
2. We must either play other players with known maximum in scoring in training positions,
3. Or, we must play him alone up front.
4. Player B must play 44 mins in a training position for the skill.

So, we could play like this:

GK
WB CD WB
W IM IM IM W
Known Unknown

or this:

GK
WB CD CD CD WB
IM IM IM W
Unknown

Doing this will reveal the scoring max. Again, remember the 9 player rule.

Random Reveals

Along with your "forced" reveals, your trainer will also give you 1 "random" reveal of the maximum skill of a player in a non-trained skill. It could be any player who is on the field at the end of the game. Sometimes you won't get a random reveal if the skill chosen has no one left to reveal!

Also, use your Friendly matches well. Friendly matches provide somewhere between 50% and 75% of the training of league matches. They are good to "try something different." Don't forget them.

Choosing a League

After you get your YA, you must find a league. Traveling to other countries has no cost. I strongly suggest you try to get into a 4-team league. Then, after 6 matches, your league will end. But you can leave this league, and join a new one straight away. This will add one or two matches per season, which may be very important. Consider it strongly.

Scouts

You should pull from the Youth Pool very soon after the Economic Update. Flameron mentioned that "Youth pools are topped up (refilled) 'several times a day'." Unfortunately, no one knows when. But, because many, many managers pull at the Economic Update, it is logical that the HT's will ensure the Youth Pool is full in time for it.

Also, note the following:

The scouts will tell you some things regarding one or two of the player's top 3 skills. This is important to remember. It is very common for the best skill to be omitted.

Also, scouts, and even trainers, regularly fail to recognize specialties. Don't worry. If an event has occurred, the specialty will be revealed on promotion, even if no one else has recognized it.

Scouted Players

This is the most important part of the YA. And sometimes, the most tricky, and frustrating.

My Rules:
1. Pull every 15 yo you get unless he is clearly rubbish (I will come back to this.)
2. Do not pull 16yos unless they are "passable overall' or potentially solid (or double passable) in skills you are likely to train.
3. Do not pull 17yos unless they are exceptional and fit your training plans.
4. Always pull the last player you are offered, even if you then fire him. This is called "Pool Cleaning," and is important for your country.

How to know a player is "no good"

Sometimes, a player will be wretched (2) or poor (3) this and that. This does not necessarily mean he is terrible. Sometimes, it means he is a goalkeeper.

However, if you know his max in GK is poor or weak, he will be rubbish with the above skills. Also, if neither defending nor GK is mentioned, and he has very low skills, he is also likely a dud.

The Meaning of "Overall"

Basically, overall is a description of the kind of player you are looking at.

Weak overall: hmmm, probably hopeless unless a GK.
Inadequate overall: could be good!
Passable overall: really good chance of being good!

There is much conjecture about Hattrick Youth Club's "theory:"

Inad: 15-18 "points"
Passable: 18-21 "points"
Solid: 21-24 "points"

According to the theory, subskills count. So an inadequate overall could have weak (4.7), weak (4.9) and inadequate (5.5) = 15.1.

Note also that this theory is NOT correct. There are many examples that lie outside it.

Training

In the YA, training occurs at the time of the match calculation. i.e., after the "lockout" and before the match commences. Training "effect" is noticeable about 5 minutes after the match, and of course, training reports come 24hrs after the end of the match.

This means you can promote players to the senior team after matches, and they will be trained. You do not have to wait for the report.

Training two different training types provides more training than training the same training type twice. e.g., defending/defensive positions is faster than defending/defending. For PM trainees, and GK trainees, sometimes there is no choice but to double-up. Remember, this will cancel the maximum reveal.

Note: Short passing/through passing is faster than the opposite.

Individual Training

Individual training is not very effective. Consider it in very rare circumstances. It works like this:

The players each get a little bit of training in a skill that is relevant to their position on the field. It's been estimated that 50% of the time, it is in the "mainskill" for the position, so, for example, an IM may get something like this:

Playmaking: 50% of the time
Passing: 20% of the time
Defence: 20% of the time
Set Pieces: 10% of the time

It should be noted that Individual trains every player, and is likely to be the slowest training regime in the YA. However, sometimes it is useful.

When is Individual Useful?

Individual is useful as a Secondary Training, particularly when you first start your YA. Because all players get a little training in a relevant skill, all are eligible for a maximum potential reveal (in addition to the "random" maximum potential reveal). When you do not know who is good, and who is not, this can be justified.

Individual is also useful when training goalkeepers. Because "defensive positions" is so slow (similar speed to individual), it makes some sense to train all players in something useful, rather than just the goalkeeper (e.g., GK/individual). In this case, the goalkeeper may get extra GK training, or defence, or SP, while all other players also get a relevant minor boost.

Training Reports

You will be told of "maximums reached" "skill-ups," a current level, a maximum level and a random maximum level. There is some argument about whether all "maximums reached" reports are coming to us. You'll also get reports giving hints of personality or leadership. Sometimes training hints. See below for a good link that explains Trainer comments.

A skill is not maxed until it turns yellow. Sometimes a skill will turn yellow and you will not get a report. However, HT's will say that "turning the bar yellow is a 'report'." But what if 3 max out? It's a question we all wonder about.

Therefore, it's useful, or even prudent, to try to get the player's maximum skill once they hit passable current skill. It seems possible to train a player who is already maxed, and you won't know it yet. So get that max!

Thanks for reading!

For Understanding Trainer Comments: (http://www.hattrick-youthclub.org/site/coachcomments_show)

For YA Training Speeds: (http://www.hattrick-youthclub.org/site/trainingsspeedcalculator)

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