It has beena steady couple of months for the Youth Academy, with good numbers attending and some new recruits settling in well.
We are seeing a lot of progress, especially in the younger age groups. They are starting to really gel, picking up good results and putting in solid performances.
For 2025 we have started a Development Player of the Month award. We have given January’s to Morgan Hill of the Under-16s and Archie Power, in the Under-10s. Both boys have been in superb form recently and deserve the extra praise!
The knockout stages of the National Cup are underway, with both our Under-15s and Under-13s making it through to the next round.
Moving on to the younger sides, both Under-9s and Under-10s have been looking great, winning multiple games.
We’ve had several boys now playing up a year which can be really important for their development if ready. Toby Thomas and Blake Bryant have played up an age group,
both were recently turned out for the Under-10s and Teddy Derek, from our Under-12s played up for the Under-13s.
Probably the best news for last. First team goalkeeping coach Les Cleevely is now taking our development goalkeepers training every week. He comes with a lot of experience and knowledge in the game and I’ve had fantastic feedback from parents, coaches, staff and players.
Going into February, we have started to advertise for our trials for next season. As anyone can see from the numbers of Academy boys who have played for Ady in the first team this season, or been in and around the squad, we have an amazing pathway from Youth Academy to the first team. Ady is often at matches to see how they are getting on and he took our Under-16s for a training session before Christmas.
If you know anyone interested in trialling, please get them to fill in the form below!
https://form.jotform.com/DartfordFootballClub/YouthAcademyTrialForm