Junior & Youth Coaching Appointments and future Directions
With the club aiming to field multiple teams in the boys Under 14 and 16 competitions, and a Girls Under 15 team for the first time, the Devonport Strikers have significantly enhanced the coaching and support structure that underpin junior and youth development at the club. The appointment of former Devonport players and experienced junior coaches David Meldrum and Kevin Smith, and current Senior player Bradley Chilcott, are just part of a broader strategy to continue to develop talented young soccer players in the Devonport area.
These appointments (and the re- appointment of 2011 Under 18 Coach Mal Gorrie) are just part of a broader plan, to ensure that the club continues to produce large numbers of talented young players.
“For a City of around 30,000 people, we punch way above our weight in terms of talented young players” said newly appointed Director of Junior Coaching Rod Andrews… “Over the past 2 years we have produced no fewer than 9 State Representatives, have the youngest Under 18 Team in the comp by a mile, and have 2 enormously talented 15 year olds playing Premier League”. When asked, what he put this success down to, Mr Andrews noted the contribution of the Junior Association and the Strikers Academy. “it’s a pretty simple formula really”, said Mr Andrews, “the reason we have so many exceptional young players is because they were lucky enough to have exceptional coaches – …our aim is to continue to provide our kids with better coaching than other clubs and other regions of the state.” With that in mind Mr Andrews noted the importance of ongoing coach education and related adoption of the National Football curriculum and playing style across all junior Devonport teams. “All our Junior coaches are, or soon will be accredited Senior Community coaches, and are committed to implementing fundamental change in terms of coaching and playing style across our junior sides ”
Senior Coach Chris McKenna strongly endorsed Mr Andrews’s comments .” I’m really excited about what we can achieve at the club across all levels from under 14’s through to seniors” said McKenna. “We have a proven ability to progress our youngsters through the ranks & I’m very keen to promote the continuation of this, and adopting the National Curriculum at a junior level is vital.”
Training for the above mentioned junior teams begins with four sessions prior to Christmas (December 6, 8, 13 & 15) from 6:30pm. After training on the 15th, there will be a free BBQ for the players & a parent information session.
Click on the link below to view the flyer regarding junior training….
