QBE Sydney Swans Academy head coach Paul Roos says the establishment of the Swans Academy sits alongside the 2005 premiership cup as the proudest achievement he has been a part of at the Club.

This week, Roos cast an eye over 300 junior footballers aged 8-12, at the Academy’s athlete assessment days held at Lakeside Oval.

Scroll below to see images from the assessments

“The Academy is just an amazing initiative, having been through a frustrating period since I got up here in 1995 and seeing how difficult it was for young boys to get involved in Australian football,” Roos said.

“It’s just so significant. I’m so pleased that as a Club we can now provide young boys a real option to play AFL football and play it at the highest level,"

Talented athletes identified at the assessments by Academy coaches, will be invited to join the QBE Sydney Swans Academy, with Roos confident that Swans players of the future were among the 300 youngsters who participated.

Participants in the 8-12 year age bracket will receive up to seven years in the Academy’s intensive training program - consisting of two training sessions a week, 22 weeks a year - which Roos believes will produce home-grown Swans stars.

Throughout the talent identification process, young players aren’t simply assessed on their skills with a Sherrin, but also tennis, soccer and rugby balls.

“It’s really strategic what we try and do with the boys," he said. 

"It’s not just about kicking footies and those sorts of things…We want to see the hand-eye coordination and how they move playing other games.

“We know if you get them at 11 years of age and they’re really coordinated, you’ve got seven years to be able to teach them how to kick the ball, teach them where to run and all those sorts of things." 

The QBE Sydney Swans Academy currently facilitates 400 young footballers, with the ultimate goal to have 720 participants.