NEWS - SEPTEMBER: ACADEMY VERSUS DEVELOPMENT CENTRES

As part of the Academies fixture programme, selected development centre players are invited to form a representative team to play against the highest tier of the FDS programme. From these fixtures the coaches can gage which players are pushing towards the Academy, along with helping to action plan training for the players who remain in the development centre programme. The pleasing assessment from the coaches on this occasion is that the quality is looking particularly high both in Development Centres and Academy and while there is no doubt the Academy continues to produce players of a high calibre, the development centres are also working to an encouragingly high standard with some good potential waiting in the wings.

The U9's match was well contested with a number of boys looking to step up to Academy status, and both goalkeepers in this age brackets showed that their consistent attendance at Goalkeeping School was paying off with good technical displays. The Academy player’s also pleased coach Nathan Walter with their team shape and work ethic, which helped them produce a good performance.

The U10 match was an excellent spectacle with all players showing off the trademark FDS technical ability and in a highly competitive match, players on both sides produced some fine individual performances. The main difference between the teams in the end was the cohesion of the Academy team and their ability to maintain the highest of standards for longer, but with some very encouraging potential on show from both teams the U10 age group looks to be heading in the right direction.

The U11 fixture highlighted the difference between working three times a week at an elite level to just the once, however there was still much to be optimistic about regards to the quality of player at both levels. Moving forward the strength of the top few Academy players is the bench mark for the rest of the boys who play in this age group, and when the Academy and Development Centres meet up again in six weeks time, it will be interesting to see which players are working towards these high standards.