Harrogate Town AFC helps nurture local footballing talent with relaunch of youth development pathway

The club’s existing Player Development Centre (PDC) and Advanced PDC are being rebranded and relaunched as the Emerging Talent Centre and the Centre of Excellence.

New Director of Youth Football Josh Falkingham said: “Our vision is to have a youth setup that makes the local area proud by maximising the talents of the young players in our care.

“The aim is for our player pathway to be at the forefront in producing technically gifted footballers who will represent our teams in the future.”

The Emerging Talent Centre

Enjoying a game of footie is at the heart – and the start – of nurturing talent from a young age. The Emerging Talent groups are designed to introduce players of all ages and abilities to the Harrogate Town style of football coaching, training and playing.

Enjoyment and fun are the cornerstones of these sessions, with the coaching team aiming to inspire and support each child on their personal journey through football. The ETC is for all abilities and it aims to make a positive impact beyond football through engaging and inspiring sessions.

Centre of Excellence

The centre of excellence is designed to help and develop the most talented players within the player pathway and is by invitation only. Once selected and accepted into the centre the coaching team will provide each player with further game understanding, with a view to progressing towards the BTEC Academy and B Team as a potential exit route.

Goalkeeping skills

Want to be the next James Belshaw or Mark Oxley? Don’t worry, Harrogate Town will continue to offer bespoke goalkeeping sessions for those who aspire to be a hero between the posts. With sessions taken by UEFA A/B qualified coaches, these sessions focus on a number of aspects of modern day goalkeeping.

The path to success

The club aimed to develop a youth set-up to make the local area proud by maximising the talents of young players from around the district. To do this it set out to create the right atmosphere in which young players could thrive – the Player Pathway.

The club’s culture is based on its core values of integrity, pride, honesty, trust and respect.

“We believe that by remaining true to ourselves, we can help young players be the best they can be in both football and in education,” Falkingham said.

With pathways in place for both girls and boys it allows Harrogate Town to be at the forefront in producing technically gifted young footballers who could represent the club in the future – but also help them to develop as people off the pitch too.

Harrogate College has put its support behind the Emerging Talent Centre and Centre of Excellence, by being their sponsor.

If you’d like to know more about the Player Pathway and session times or more details of the new centres, email Ryan Smith, Head of Emerging Talent at [email protected].