In excellent hands

Several people have been asking to find out a little more about our Centre of Excellence operations. So we asked Centre Manager Mick Holgate to give us a quick run down of what they get up to.

MTFC Centre of Excellence

Initially we ran coaching for boys from at U15 and U16 level plus one team at U16. As the years moved on we added teams at the rate of one per season and by year four we had teams from U13 to U16.

On trial

Most of our players live in and around the county of Cheshire and although players may come for a trial at the centre during the season, we tend to have a look at players during the summer break. Players can write in for a trial or be nominated by a qualified coach, school teacher or team manager.

We look for players that are at least county standard with the coaching sessions taking place on Monday and Wednesday evenings at Fallibroome High School between 6pm and 8pm.

Setting high standards

Our games programme is provided by the football league each season and all matches are part of the development programme for the payers with rolling substitutions and most games played over three periods of 25 or 30 minutes. The officials for the games are provided by the Cheshire County FA who run a referees' academy to help develop officials and improve standards.

At home

In recent years the centre has been based at Henbury High School but following the school's closure last season we were very pleased to agree a two year booking with Fallibroome High School. The facilities at Fallibroome are new and access is easy for people travelling into Macclesfield.

The new astro-turf pitch provides a good surface for the technical work and is ideally suited to our needs.

Top marks

A recent football league inspection of our centre provided us with an excellent report on the work being done with the players and the quality of the facilities. The inspecting officer also spoke with parents at random and reported that they were more than happy with the coaching the players received.

Many of the coaches at the centre have been working for Macclesfield Town for several years and this continuity has been big help as we have looked to development. All are qualified to a minimum of UEFA 'B' licence level and are fully vetted (e.g CRB checks). They also receive regular training in emergency first aid.

Our Under 15 coach Stewart Joseph is the appointed Child Protection Officer and ensures the safety and welfare of everyone attending the centre is maintained and players do not suffer abuse of any form.

Close links with the club

We work closely with John Askey, our youth team coach, as they helps with the transition of players moving up from the centre to youth team level and becoming an apprentice professional. I also work in the mornings with John and the youth team so our partnership means good lines of communication and weekly discussions about how all our young players are doing.

Excellent results

Currently around three quarters of the apprentices at the football club have been part of the centre of excellence at some stage. And current professionals include James Jennings, Matt Flynn and Mike Jeffries. Four or five of the current youth team are now training regularly with the fist team and it can only be a matter of time before at least one breaks into the squad.

Our part- time coaches are Paul McGuire (U13), Byron Jenkins (U14), Stewart Joseph and Bill Gorton (U15) and finally Steve Beswick (U 16). John Askey works a lot with the U13 team and I work with Steve Beswick with the U16 team.

We also have access to the services of our part-time sports scientist Ben Howarth who oversees fitness levels for all age groups. He also helps on match dayss with the U14 team. Our young goalkeepers receive at least one specialist session per week with myself or Bill Gorton. Brian Hart is our scout around the local area and he has done a good job in bringing players into the centre given the opposition just up the road at Stockport, United and City.

The teams currently in our section that we play include Stockport County,Shrewsbury,Port Vale, Walsall, Tranmere, Chester City and Wrexham.

For more information

I hope that has given you a quick a little bit of background of about the work we undertake. Whilst it can be very hard at times, it is extremely rewarding and I was a very proud man the other week when the youth team made it through to the 4th Round of the FA Youth Cup. The victory against Rotherham was achieved by a side that was made up entirely of lads who we had overseen at the Centre at some stage in their development.

That can only bode well for the club's future and hopefully it is due reward for the club's support and the hard work of everyone involved. For more information please do not hesitate to contact me care of the club on 01625 264686.

Mick Holgate.

December 2007