SAI or state academy trial, or stay with the current setup
Residential training is largely free, but leaving home is not a small trade for a 13-year-old.
When it arrives
Surfaces once a child is performing at district/state level and a coach or scout raises the idea of trying for a SAI or state academy, commonly at ages 13 to 17, though selection runs on performance rather than a fixed application calendar.
The options
Try for the SAI/state academy trial and, if selected, take up residential training; stay at the current club/school setup and continue building through district/state competition alone; or use the trial as a marker of level without committing to residential life if selected. Families rarely discuss that as an option.
What the evidence says
SAI Training Center entry runs through sports trials, not a paper application, and the entry bar is district/state competition performance, which is reachable for more athletes than commonly assumed. Not yet documented here: how residential life affects a child day to day (schooling continuity, contact with family), which is usually the question that matters once a place is offered.
Talking about it
The conversation families skip is homesickness and schooling continuity, not whether the child is good enough. Asking the athlete directly whether they want to live away from home, before the trial rather than after selection, avoids a harder conversation later.
Do this next
Read the full SAI entry-process article, then find out what the nearest centre's actual boarding and schooling setup looks like, not just its results.