Academy Manager Michael Hamilton has provided an August monthly update as we continue to develop the Wimbledon players of the future.
Read everything that Michael has had to say down below:
Develop the person
Recently the academy Under-15 and Under-16 squads received a Talent Transfer workshop from Cecil Jee Thomas, a former scholarship player, who now is a social media personality and presenter, most notably presenting on Arsenal Fan TV (AFTV). The workshop was an insight into his career, how he overcame obstacles and used his skills that he acquired through football whilst still playing to open new doors, enabling him to have a dual career for when he transitioned away from football. He already had his ‘WHAT NEXT’!
With the players entering their GCSE years whilst continuing to earn a scholarship, it was imperative that the players understood the importance of their chosen subjects to support their aspirations leading towards their scholarship decisions and beyond, which will look different for every individual.
Craig Watkins, Head of Academy Player Care said: “Cecil provided a fantastic relatable afternoon with the players, one that came from a lived experience which the boys not only found inspiring but highly educational. Personally, the underlining message of how you can transition football education into a plethora of industries was a standout factor which matched with Cecil’s personality created a long-standing memory that will stay with the players in the coming years”.
New Signing - Ethan McGarth
We are delighted to confirm the signing of Goalkeeper Ethan McGarth to our Under-18s. Ethan (pictured in main image) has impressed on his trial and joins us having previously been at Brighton & Hove Albion.
Ethan will add competition to our goalkeeping department and will challenge Max Foulkes and Luka Ziger over the coming season.
Premier League Professional Development Cup
For the first time ever the Under-18s have qualified for a spot in the Premier League Professional Development Cup for 2023/24.
As runners up last season in our Youth Alliance Regional League, and due to a change in the qualifying criteria, we qualify for the prestigious cup and will compete in Group F alongside Charlton Athletic, Watford and Queens Park Rangers.
Format:
- 28 teams
- Seven groups of four clubs
- Three group stage fixtures
- Each club to play each team in their group once, either home or away
- The winner of each group, plus the best runners up across the groups will qualify for the knockout stages
- Knockout stages will consist of a quarter-final, semi-final and final (all standalone fixtures)
Under-9s bring home the trophy
On Tuesday 29 August our Under-9s headed off to Bedfordshire for the PSA Academy Cup to compete with Luton Town, Wolves, Coventry City and Cambridge United to name a few.
We got off to a slow start drawing 1-1 with Coventry and losing 1-0 to Wolves but, as we always do, the boys showed great resilience to bounce back and go and win the next five group games scoring over 20 goals with games against MK Dons, Luton, Cambridge, Stevenage and Gillingham.
After topping our group, we then went through to the next round of the tournament, a four-team league playing each other once, with first place being crowned winners at the end.
First up we had Coventry and just like a first group game with them it finished 1-1, we then moved on to play Wolves which we came out on top in, winning 3-0, meaning everything fell to our last game vs MK.
Whoever wins, takes home the trophy! After a nervy couple of minutes at the start the boys settled well and started to look like a Wimbledon side, strong, aggressive, dominant in one v ones and hard to play against! We came out on top to win the game 2-0 and bring the trophy home to Wimbledon.
Foundation Phase Manager, Ben Ewing, said: “Firstly, I am very proud of the Under-9s group and coach Ali Feasey for not only the tournament win but the way they performed and conducted themselves in their first steps into academy football at the start of this season. This group has real potential to go from level to level and I look forward to overseeing and supporting their development over the coming years.”
