Tim Co ehas provided an update for all supporters on the operations of the clubs Elite Centre (EC).
The clubs youth department has two parts. The first is the Centre of Excellence (COE) which has age groups from U9-U18 and is partly funded by the Football League. The second part is the Elite Centre (EC) which has age groups from U7-U14 (U15 for next season) which receives no funding from the Football League and so must run on fees paid by the parents of the players.
The EC is the fundamental partner of the COE for four reasons:
- It allows the club to run critical but unfunded age-groups at U7, U8 and U15. This is important because these are future COE groups of players but we cannot afford to wait until U9 or U16 to begin working with them.
- It allows the club to work with players with good potential but who are currently physically or psychologically unable to cope with COE football. This is important because players develop at different rates and by focusing only on the physically and psychologically capable at an early age we limit the pool of players for the future.
- It allows the club to work with more players. This is important because the best players at U9 are not always the best players at U16.
- It allows the club to get to know new players before having to make a decision about whether to sign them for the COE or not.
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