When a player makes their professional debut at just 16 years old, it doesn’t happen by chance. At Lech Poznań, that moment was the result of a long-term plan, built around individualized training, clear objectives, and detailed data.
Sammy Dudek joined the Lech Poznań Academy in 2021 at the age of 13. Within just two years, he had made his debut for the U19s, and by April 2024, he appeared for the club’s second team. From early on, the academy staff saw his potential and set up a personalized training plan using the club’s own skills.lab Arena.
A central part of that plan was strengthening Sammy’s weaker left foot, improving his first touch, and enhancing his ability to process game situations under pressure, all tested and tracked over time in the Arena.
“A central midfielder needs to make quick and accurate decisions under pressure, so the program was designed to improve not only technical skills, but also perception, information processing and reaction to dynamic game situations,” says Michał Dolata, Youth Team Coach at Lech Poznań.
“Thanks to the technology of skills.lab, we were able to closely analyze every aspect of Sammy’s game and implement solutions that had a real impact on his development.”
Between 2023 and 2024, Sammy completed multiple sessions in the Arena and played over 8,800 balls across exercises in agility, passing, cognition, and more. Each phase of training was tracked using the ProAssessment, which delivers objective results in key areas like shooting accuracy, passing, speed, and first touch.
The spider chart in the ProAssessment Report visualizes a player’s strengths and development areas at a glance. The further the line moves outward, the stronger the performance. Sammy Dudek’s data show, that he improved his First Touch score by 70% and his Two-Footed score by over 230% between winter 2023 and winter 2024. His ability to perform with both feet, an essential quality for modern central midfielders, reached first-team level within less than a year.
During a winter training camp in early 2025, Dudek’s progress caught the attention of first-team coach Niels Frederiksen. Shortly after, he was promoted and made his Ekstraklasa debut at just 16 years old. He’s been part of the senior squad ever since.
“I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to participate in this project. With each session in the skills.lab Arena, I could see the progress I was making and how well it translated onto the pitch,” said Dudek in reflection.
This is what structured talent development can look like: A clear plan. Objective performance insights. And the tools to close the gap between academy and first team.
