Academy Manager Michael Hamilton’s monthly update includes how the bond has been strengthened between our young talent and their love for the club.
Michael’s full monthly update is below:
Culture:
The half-term gave us the opportunity to take all of the academy age groups (8–16 year-olds, approx. 100 players) on a stadium tour around Plough Lane.
On the day, the boys viewed the "Common Ground" film as well as visiting "The Greatest Story" exhibition, further embedding their attachment and love for the club.
Special mention to Michael Cook (Academy Operations Manager) who ensured the day ran smoothly, with Patrick Toogey as tour guide for the day.
Nigel Higgs Development Award
On behalf of the Academy Management, we are delighted to have Leo Young as the first winner of the Nigel Higgs Development Award.
This award was introduced to our programme to highlight individuals who demonstrate behaviours, to better themselves and to encourage them to take complete ownership of their personal development.
On the pitch we are continuously trying to further embed our self-managing method, however, this award is to highlight behaviours off the pitch - the person - as we believe the combined accumulative effect this has, and leads to performance both on and off the pitch being improved.
You can view defender Leo Young receiving his award below:
Goalkeeper Day:
During the school half-term, our academy goalkeepers received a training session with First Team Goalkeeping coach Ashley Bayes, supported by both Tanz and Zaki.
We did a similar event two seasons ago, which was really well received. Covid stopped it from happening last year, but it was always our intention to get it started back up once restrictions allowed us.
Events like this are so powerful in not only giving the boys the experience of being trained by Bayzo, but also in building attachment to the club and our young keepers visualising what their future could be. Thank you, Bayzo.
You can view all the fun and great saves from our second Goalkeeper Day below:
Players comments:
"It was a great session. I loved training with the first team and the banter was awesome!" - Charlie
"It was a really enjoyable session, great to connect with the first team goalkeepers and see what we can aspire to be in the future" - Stanley
“It was a great experience and a good insight into the future I want” - Max
"I took a lot from the session we had with Bayzo, working on speed of movement around the goal and I relished training with the older players. Bayzo has a passion for development and getting coached by a very experienced senior coach and working alongside the first team keepers was invigorating for me. It was a tremendous afternoon" - Spike