Source: FOOTYMAD
Youngsters will be given chances to play
Boothroyd to give youth a chance to shine Coventry City manager Aidy Boothroyd is set to give the clubs younger players their chance to prove they have the talent and ability to cope with Championship football. Boothroyd started his coaching career managing the under 17's at Peterborough before moving onto youth development at Norwich and West Brom. Boothroyd said, “I think every club should aim to have a young player in the team. Of course, they have to be good enough but I think supporters can identify with the club more if they can see younger players coming through." // '); // ]]> “It cannot be all kids in the team because you can end up losing games you should win because of inexperience, but equally, you can’t just have a ‘Dad’s Army’ team. Fine, they have got the experience but nobody wants to do the running that’s needed!” Coventry City have six academy graduates in their squad for next season, but probably Jordan Clarke at full back will see more of the action than some of the other players. Central defenders Jermaine Grandison and Nathan Cameron and goalkeeper Michael Quirke along with strikers Shaun Jeffers and Callum Wilson will be looking to impress during training with the hope of getting some first team experience. One of the advantages of utilising academy players will be the chance to attract a new crop of youngsters to the club's academy. “We’ve got a big catchment in this area with a lot of other clubs trying to recruit younger players, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, West Bromwich Albion, Leicester and Nottingham Forest, to name a few,” said Boothroyd. He continued, "When parents and their sons are deciding which club they want to join at an early age, they want to see that there is a route through to the team. We want to provide that here at Coventry City.” Coventry City have engaged in a partnership with South Birmingham College and the academy is working alongside the college’s football academy at the Bordesley Green Campus in Fordrough Lane to help develop the potential of young athletes. The Sky Blue academy will, in return be able to recruit any promising young players coming through the ranks, offering them the chance to see the professional game up close and personal.. // '); // ]]> Mark Fogarty, the recruitment manager for the Sky Blues academy, who also coaches at the college, and Chris Beard, the college’s Sports Academy Co-ordinator came up with the idea to form the partnership and Beard said, “We recruit most of our kids from inner city Birmingham and we have a lot of raw talent that hasn’t been spotted." “Coventry City’s academy has seen the potential in our students and wants to bring some of the lads into the club. It enhances their recruitment policy and gives the players a route into elite football, they have already shown an interest in two of our players.” The South Birmingham College Football Academy has had a few successes of its own being instrumental in starting the professional careers of a number of players including Walsall defender Netan Sansara. Fogarty, has wide experience of managing young talent in the West Midland area, having previously been Director for Birmingham City FC Centre of Excellence, Project Manager for Solihull Academy and Academy Scout for West Bromwich Albion FC. Fogarty said, “It makes great sense for Coventry City to link up with the college. There are many boys who come into the professional game after they leave school, such as Scott Dann who was at Coventry and is now at Birmingham City." “The players receive the quality of coaching they would at a professional football academy and the ones who are really committed may have an opportunity to join the pro ranks via ourselves. It is a very exciting development for the college.”
