Media team sponsored by Northumbria Print
It has been a great week for our new academy intake this half term week.
On Tuesday, our UEFA qualified coaches took a training session which was rotated with a gym based strength and conditioning session which was focussed on screening the players for base line fitness markers to allow players to receive individual injury reduction programmes.
On Wednesday history was made as the club’s academy travelled to Yorkshire in the baking heat to play their first ever fixture.
This was followed by travelling to Cheshire on Thursday to play two further fixtures.
As well as giving the coaches the opportunity to see all of the players in games it also allowed the lads a chance to get to know each other and start to bond which is sure to stand them in good stead. This was helped by travelling on one of the club’s minibuses on Wednesday and having the use of the first team’s coach yesterday.
Academy Director Nick Gray gave his thoughts on the week; “It has been an exciting and productive week for the academy, all the players got good game time with some really excellent high quality play on show, but just as important was that the lads got to know each other off the pitch. With Covid, it has been difficult to get them altogether but the half term has come at a great time for us to be able to get them together and the buses were a lot louder on the way back than they were going down which says everything.”
The games also saw the club using the newly acquired Playertek + GPS system for the first time. The club has this summer invested in the system which will see all outfield players from the first team down to academy using the pods for all training sessions and games, with the data being available live during the session to staff.
Head of Sports Science & Medicine, Steven Shaw said “I’ve had a great relationship with Playertek for years and been able to take them into my last few roles, it’s a great system to use at this level and if it’s used correctly it can really help to drive performance and reduce injuries which ultimately saves the club money in the long term. I’m really pleased that we’ve been able to get the plus models which feedback data, to an iPad Live as they are training, rather than the having to wait until after a session and looking retrospectively with the base models, that allows me to be able to quantify what the manager and coaches are seeing on the pitch and it’s especially useful when players are coming back from injury and you’ve got specific distance or speed markers to hit.”
Academy players can choose to study either trades including engineering, A-Levels, Sports Diploma or the ActiveIQ Fitness Diploma which can lead onto apprenticeships, university, USA scholarships or direct employment.
Regardless of study options, players will follow a full time football training programme which will see players training and playing on the first team’s new state of the art 3G pitch, representing the club in the FA Youth Cup, with strength and conditioning, sports science support, match analysis and free travel and training kit.
Gray added; “I’ve been blown away by the interest in our programme this year, I think the combination of offering trades and being on the first team pitch every day is unique to us, add to that everything else we offer means that we offer one of the best packages around. The vision and support from the chairman, board, first team manager and the great staff that we have here has hopefully made us the place to be for anybody leaving school or being released from clubs and wanting to combine football and education.”
There are six places available for those aged 16 or 17 on 1st September and the club are currently still accepting applications from those who wish to join the bespoke under-19 programme and are aged 18 on 1st September.
Enquiries or applications should be directed to: academy@morpethtownafc.com
