Firstly, good luck to the Under-18s who are through to the Southern final of the Youth Alliance Cup and play MK Dons on Wednesday, April 15 at Stadium MK. Follow @ctfcyofficial on Twitter for updates!
This weekend, the Under-18s and Under-16s play Bristol Rovers, with the academy playing Oxford United. Good luck to all players in these local derby matches.
As part of the academy, we are also running and Under-18 BTEC Development Scholarship. If you are aged between 16 and 18, are passionate about football and looking to progress within a professional environment, then please email jim.hart@ctfc.com for details.
Over the Easter weekend, the academy took the Under-11s, Under-13s and Under-15s to Breda, Holland to play in the Baronie Easter Tournament.
Two buses left the club’s training ground at 11.30pm on Thursday night and arrived at the hotel in Breda at 11am the next day. After some lunch, players, staff and parents/guardians a like went into town to look at the local culture and sample the local food and drink, and then returned for dinner before exploring the town in the evening...
On the Saturday, the Under-13s played in their tournament whilst the Under-11s and Under-15s visited Eftileng theme park.Â
The Under-13s played six games in total against some high calibre European teams, including Club Brugge.
They played really well and put in good performances, with the squad made up of academy and development squad players. Meanwhile, at the theme park, the Under-11 and Under-15 players and staff enjoyed the rides in the sunshine.
Sunday saw tournament time for the Under-11s and a friendly for the Under-15s, with the Under-13s visiting the theme park. Again, against very good European academies including Anderlecht, the Under-11 team acquitted themselves well and got a good appreciation of the level of play in Europe.
The Under-15s played SV Excellence from Curacao in a well great warm up game for their tournament, winning 7-1.
On Monday, the Under-15s played in their tournament and performed well during six 30 minute games, with a notable victory over local rivals Swindon Town.
The Under-11s and Under-13s played against Wooter Academy, a set up ran by ex-Ajax and Watford footballer Nordin Wooter.Â
We then departed Breda and arrived back at the training ground at 3am Tuesday morning.Â
It was a fantastic tour, particularly as the football was such a great learning curve for the players going forward.
All the players, staff and parents represented the club well and were a credit to the club and themselves. A good weekend all round!