NEWS - JUNE: COLCHESTER ADVANCED CUP

The U9 and U10 squads made the trip down to Colchester for a tournament with Colchester United, Norwich City and a couple of development minded Soccer Schools. The standard of the tournament was very high with all teams looking to play the game in a skillful and technical way.

A 6:30am meet at Kettering gave the teams the opportunity to travel down in good time for the tournament and the good journey down helped the players preparation for what would be a good test for the boys. The pleasing aspect of the journey is that the boys enjoy each others company and the coaches can spend extra time with the players, observing and controlling the culture of the group, which is crucial for the boys to be able to perform at a good level. Monitoring the levels of hydration and professional standards are all part of the process and on this occassion the off the field standards where exceptionally high.

Following on from the good start to the day, the players performed exceptionally well, with the U9's competing at a high level with the lessions learnt from the Norhalne Cup demonstarted in most of their play. Our two newest recruits also performed at a very high standard and will be good additions to the group moving towards next season. The highlight of the day for this group was the way the players showed great spirit to see off the massive pressure put on them in the final minutes of the game Vrs Colchester. While as with all our Academy players their skill and ability are not in question, the need to show resiliance at times can be the difference between success and failure and will be a massive quality for the individuals who are serious about their football.

The U10's played some excellent football with some towering performances from certain individuals. The pleasing learning outcomes for the coaches was the way the boys showed a good character in wanting to perform to their best and not being happy with certain aspects of their play demonstarting a will to ensure they will be better than their competitors next time.

the journey home proved to be a good one with the players and coaches delighted with a good days work and we can look forward to seeing both groups starting next season from a good bass from which to learn the game further next season.