The Academy

Leo Doyle is the 12-year-old protagonist of The Academy. He lives in Middleton, Ohio, with his father and sister. His mother passed away two years before the start of the novel. He is the novel’s narrator and sets it up by explaining that he was scouted by a recruiter for the London Dragons Football Club, a Premier League team in England. Leo travels to London to compete at the Dragons’ youth academy summer camp to earn a spot at “the Academy,” where he would study and train to become a professional soccer player (2). The novel recounts his time at the summer camp and ultimately reveals that he did not make the team but was recruited by the Lewisham Knights, a rival football club.

Leo’s development in the novel follows two arcs relating to his skills as a soccer player and his self-confidence. First, having received no formal soccer training, Leo has to build on his natural talent for the sport by gaining the requisite skills needed to be a professional footballer. In Middleton, Leo could rely on raw talent, but the caliber of players at the Academy summer camp force him to step up his game.