The last two weekends have seen our players take on two very competitive schemes in Luton Town and Millwall, as the games schedule hits a run of fixtures that will push our young players' technique under pressure, their mental toughness, their desire to be the best they can be and enable them to apply what they have learned in their coaching sessions.
The new format of our coaching syllabus has increased the contact time for our U8-U12 players (article), and I feel we are starting to see the benefit of working with the players with more quality time and putting more emphasis on fundamental techniques. The result of this is that the standard the coaching staff can demand, and more importantly the players can demand of themselves, pushes higher and higher each week.
Our U8/9 squad have got into the routine of this level of football quicker than I had thought, which is credit to the work Tom Pell and James Cutting have performed in the short time they have had together so far. Whilst this group of players are at the youngest end of our spectrum, it is vital that they are quickly inducted into the way to conduct themselves and working within a regular training programme. I am very excited about the future of this group of players.
Our U10 squad had two great games that pushed them in every period of play, and with new faces in this squad, Angus Meichan has done a great job in working on the players' speed of thought and play. No more was this seen than in the final period of the game with Millwall. We have players in this group who are now playing as 'seasoned pros', such is the time that they have spent with us already - and the time spent watching the scholars home and away!
The strength of our U11 squad this season means there has been the opportunity to push on some of these players into the U12 squad, which although in theory may weaken the group, has actually allowed the rest of the squad to take more responsibility and put in some excellent individual performances. Nigel Hurrell, who works with this age group, has been really pleased with the group and how they have reacted to this.
The U12 squad have started really well and in the last three periods of the Millwall game showed exactly the level of play on and off the ball that they need to set their standard by - aggressive, on the front foot, explosive movement on the ball, well timed interchanges, changes in the point of attack to find a weak point in the opposition, and flat out recovery runs to repel opposition attacks. The question that they will now be set is whether they can match this week in, week out in every period of play.
The U13 and U14 group have become more competitive as a result of some new faces and are adapting well to life under new coaches Scott Fielding and Alan Johnson. The demands get tougher athletically, technically and tactically at these age groups as they approach the U15/16 age group and beyond. The focus now is on performing consistently through well-made decisions based upon the game as they see it, and through application of what they have comprehended from information presented to them. Whilst this does bring challenges, it also demands character and desire, which is the consistent message for these two groups to show.
Our U16s are fast approaching a decision on a much sought after scholarship place. This group are fortunate to have Mel Jeffries working with them as he has first hand experience of working with Youth teams. Whilst his high standards in coaching sessions and on matchdays are hard to reach, the level we require will not be lowered and only those with the combined ability, character, desire and workrate will reach that goal.
Whilst this may seem harsh, and every player is constantly helped to reach their potential, this is the reality of what these players face in the coming seasons. We would love to be in the position to offer more players who have been with us for a number of seasons a place, however only those fully deserving of a scholarship will be selected for one. The overwhelming reason - as anyone who has spent any time observing the ever-soaring heights that Jez and Nolan set for the U18 group on and off the pitch will know - is that this is the only way success can be achieved.
Matt Walker
Centre of Excellence Manager
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