Cheltenham Town defender Kyle Haynes has won a prestigious award at the 2010 Football League Awards dinner in London last night.
Kyle was voted League Two Apprentice of the Year, an award which is made to a second year Scholar or first year professional in the Under-18 age group. The judges looked at the record of the player in all competitions since becoming an apprentice alongside his educational attainment, disciplinary record and any other outstanding achievements.
A group of Cheltenham Town officials accompanied Kyle to the awards ceremony, which was hosted by BBC Sports presented Mark Clemmit at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. Kyle received his award before an audience of over 900 people from the Football League, its clubs, sponsors and the media.
"It's a fantastic achievement for Kyle to win this award and also great recognition for our youth development programme," said Cheltenham Town Head of Youth Ken Oram.
"Kyle has worked very hard, not only on his football but also at his education and this is a great reward for him.
"Equally importantly, this award provides recognition for all the players, coaches and staff working in the centre of excellence and it shows what can be achieved."
Kyle Haynes joined Cheltenham Town as a 16-year old having been released by Birmingham City. His father, a lifelong Wolves fan, was reputedly keen for him to join Cheltenham due to the presence of former Wolves player Keith Downing on the coaching staff at the time.
Kyle made rapid progress through the youth and reserve teams and became the youngest player to represent Cheltenham Town in the Football League last season. To date he has made eight starting and 11 substitute appearances for the first team. Earlier this season Kyle also grabbed the headlines for the youth team as he scored four times from the right-back position in an FA Youth Cup win over Exeter City. His performances earned him the offer of a professional contract along with fellow Scholarship players Jake Lee, Theo Lewis and Josh Emery.
The fifth annual Football League awards recognised a wide range of activities performed by Football League clubs, from programme of the year and family club of the year to best marketing campaign.
The winners of the four player of the year awards were:League Two Craig Dawson (Rochdale); League One Jermaine Beckford (Leeds United); Championship Kevin Nolan (Newcastle United); Young player of the year Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace).
