Academy

NEWS FROM PRESTATYN TOWN'S ACADEMY AND FOOTBALL IN THE COMMUNITY SCHEME

ACADEMY NEWS JULY 26: The next series of academy sessions will take place on Tuesday August 3 and Wednesday August 4.

Tuesday August 3 (from 5.30pm) will see the next training sessions at Bastion Gardens for Under 8s, Under 9s, Under 10s, Under 11s and Under 12s.

Wednesday August 4 (from 6.30pm) will see the next training sessions at Bastion Gardens for the Under 13s, Under 14s, Under 15s & Under 16s.

Following these sessions the players will be provided with their academy information packs.

The academy staff  are presently working hard on confirming some very exciting events for the players and parents of the academy.

We hope to be able to announce some high profile friendlies against highly-regarded clubs in the not too distant future.

ACADEMY NEWS JULY 6: Following on from a very succesful first weekend of trials at Bastion Gardens, Town's academy director Graham Duffield, director of primary development Lisa Brown and the coaching team they have assembled are looking forward to the second stage of trials this week.

On Thursday (July 8) at 5.30pm the primary development groups (Under 8s to Under 11s) will be getting together to complete the trial process. On Friday (July 9) the Under 12s to Under 16s will be getting together at 5.30pm.

Any players who were unable to attend last weekend's trials are welcome and encouraged to attend this week's trials.

With a very impressive turnout at both trial days Graham, Lisa and the team are looking forward to a very positive few years of development with the academy squads.

"Development is about a long term commitment from all parties to give the children the best possible chance to fulfil their dreams and realise their potential over an extended period of time," said Graham. "We are here to facilitate the realisation of potential in every child we work with and this is just the start of a journey for the children of Prestatyn and a football club that is totally committed to striving for success, through the development of its youth."

Second trial dates:
Thursday July 8 - 5:30pm at Bastion Gardens – Under 8s to Under 11s
Friday July 9 - 5:30pm at Bastion Gardens – Under 12s to Under 16s

ACADEMY NEWS JUNE 29: With the academy trials looming, Lisa Brown, academy director for primary squads is preparing to oversee the trials with a fine eye.

“I know many of the local players and have in fact coached many of them for a good number of years, in various environments, with Aztecs JFC, league representative squads and also many have attended the Wrexham FC Development Centre from the ages of six," she said.

"Many of these boys have the capability to play at a higher level. The opportunities that Prestatyn Town FC Academy will afford them will be to provide the opportunity to experience a coaching syllabus that is used in professional academies throughout the world.

"I have personally used these methods in coaching and have found them to be so beneficial to the players I have worked with. The sessions that the squads will be introduced to will include ball mastery, technical  skills, fakes and feints, stops and starts, change of direction, passing and receiving.

"All these practices will help young players to be competent and confident on the ball. It is important to teach these methods before moving on to 11-a-side football where different aspects of the game become more important. However, normally once a player reaches the 11-a-side game and these aspects are not in place, it becomes harder to implement the technical skills required.

"It is our belief that to help a player reach the levels of competence they are capable of we have a duty to each player to expose them to the best teaching practices of the modern game. This can only be achieved by applying the four corners of elite player development ensuring these lessons are learnt at the most appropriate times of the development cycle," she concluded.

With all the above in mind Graham, Lisa and the academy staff are implementing a number of very exciting initiatives within the academy environment, this starts with this weekend’s  upcoming academy trials for the primary squads on Friday between 6pm and 7.30 pm at Bastion Gardens and for the youth squads (under 12s upwards) on Saturday between 10.30am and 12.30pm.

ACADEMY NEWS JUNE 26: With pre season training approaching for all Prestatyn Town Academy players, new academy director Graham Duffield has released an impressive coaching syllabus that focuses on the development of all players utilising revolutionary coaching techniques that are tried and tested around the world at the highest levels.

A number of the players presently playing in the World Cup have reached their current level having used these techniques.

When spoken to about this new way of coaching Graham said: "In this game results in youth development are all about the players being able to access the best pathways, this is only possible when they can play with both feet, have a large range of ‘tools in the tool box’ understand their  roles and responsibilities within the game, are physically capable of competing within the game and are mentally sharp.

The club's management have also implemented a structure whereby Graham will be working with the under-23s incorporating the under-18 and under-19 players as part of the coaching team thus providing a pathway for players to progress from the academy into the senior area of the football club.

With the above in store the future is very bright for the next generation of young players  at Prestatyn Town Football Club. Following the trials being held next Friday (July 2nd from 6pm) at Bastion Gardens and next Saturday (July 3rd at 10.30am) also at Bastion Gardens, formal training dates for the academy players will be released.

ACADEMY NEWS JUNE 21: The club are holding a number of academy trial days in the near future as new director Graham Duffield looks to start building for the future.

FITC NEWS JUNE 16: As part of PTFC 's Football in the Community scheme we will be continuing our fun football and development sessions at the ground and are looking for boys & girls  of all abilities to take part.

The fun football sessions are on:

MONDAYS 5pm-6pm at Bastion Gardens

SATURDAYS  10am-11am at Bastion Gardens

COST : £3 per player, per session - just turn up with boots, shinpads and a drink and play!
 
These fun football sessions are a good introduction to football for youngsters aged five to 10 years and are conducted in a fun and safe environment by fully qualified coaches who are CRB checked and are first aid trained.

The sessions are fun based but also include coaching of skills & techniques such as passing / turning /control, and will end with a small sided game.

Trevor Dutton, Town's FITC director, said: "We are looking to expand our commitment to our work within the community and these sessions are an excellent way for boys and girls of all abilities to come to the ground and feel and be a part of the setup. The sessions will help to build confidence and are an excellent way of making new friends and getting much needed exercise as well as developing their football skills."

For more information or any enquiries regarding our work in the community please don't hesitate to contact Trevor on 07545 540408.

We are also looking to expand our development sessions which are aimed at identifying players to progress on to our academy setup. This session is a little more challenging and is aimed at bringing on the more ambitious players who wish to advance to our academy system. It is open to boys and girls aged seven to 12 years this session is on Wednesdays (5pm-6pm) at Bastion Gardens. The cost again is £3 per player, per session and you will need boots, shinpads and a drink.
 
"This Wednesday session is for us to identify and coach the better players in order to pass them on to our academy system so they can progress and hopefully end up playing first team football for the club. There is nothing better than to see local players representing their local club. I've been privileged to have been involved with several of the current first team and reserve team players in their time in junior football and it's rewarding as a coach to see them get on in the game," said Trevor.