A club may only have one unqualified (LEVEL 0) schoolboy (SBY) on their books at any one time and to discover one just follow the procedure described above for discovering APP’s. Remember to give him a nationality and tell us that you want him to be a SBY (We will always assume that a newly discovered player is an APP unless told otherwise).
A SBY is regarded as an outstanding young prospect, but one that must be nurtured and given time to mature, therefore he must play 10 qualifying games in his chosen position before he qualifies and becomes a LEVEL 2 player. Once he has qualified he then has the advantage of being able to have his performance level raised by three points per session, and each level only costs half the normal amount in the same manner as for Future Stars.
Therefore, a qualified SBY is a very lucrative asset, and one that everybody will be after. Whilst they are qualifying however, a SBY may only play in one game per session and no more. This means that qualifying a SBY is a long process but SBY’s DO NOT have to qualify in the same season that they are discovered like APP’s and can stay on your books for more than one season. A schoolboy will, however, retire from the game if he ages to 19 without becoming a qualified level 2 player. Another advantage about having a SBY is that on qualification certain really outstanding ones may turn into a UT player, which makes them even more valuable as an asset to your club.
Remember that you cannot have more than one level 0 SBY on your books at any time, and an unqualified SBY cannot be traded (this also applies to unqualified APP’s). Also note that you cannot discover a new SBY in the same session that your last one qualified, but are forced to wait until the following session to look for a new, promising schoolboy.
In general, it is probably better for your SBY to qualify earlier than later in a season, as it allows you more time to coach him as you wish, rather than rushing ahead and possibly neglecting other players who could use the SP’s equally as well. If a SBY is nearing qualification a couple of sessions before the end of a season then as long as he is still 17 years old, hold him back until the beginning of the next season before you qualify him. Qualifying a SBY at the end of a season, for example, is a complete waste of a valuable resource.
Once qualified, SBY’s, as APP’s, become normal players in the following season, and lose all benefits connected with the SBY status. However, always bear in mind that if a SBY is not qualified by the end of a season in which he is already 18 years old, he will be treated in the same manner as an unqualified APP, and stricken from your books (there is no such thing as a 19 year old SBY!).
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