Firstly, the Academy would like to welcome Gary Johnson to the club and wishes him, Russ, Steve, Jamie, Bookie and all the other first team staff good luck for the next seven games!
We have continued to perform well over the past few weeks, most notably with two good results for the Under-18 youth team who beat Watford 3-2 in the semi-finala of the Youth Alliance Cup to set up a regional final against MK Dons on Wednesday, April 15.
This was then followed by a great performance and result in the Youth Alliance Merit League where the Young Robins beat Oxford 2-0. After a couple of defeats previously, it is good to see the players kick on and turn good performances into results.
The past few weeks have also seen the Under-nines and Under-15s performing well against Torquay and Plymouth with some excellent young talent coming through the ranks, and the Academy would like to thank Redland Recycling, Monarch Home Improvements and Colsec for sponsoring and providing the Academy Under-11/Under-12/Under-15 kits respectively, with Go Transport Limited sponsoring the Under-16 Development kit. Your support is very much appreciated.
This weekend, the Under-11, Under-13 and Under-15 are put to the test as they travel to Breda, Holland to play in the Baronie Tournament against teams including Anderlecht, Club Brugge and AZ Alkmaar. The players will also visit the local town and a theme park, so a good weekend is in store for players, parents and coaches alike!
There are trials coming up for our Development Squads at ages Under-12/13/14/15 for which if anyone is interested, please email jim.hart@ctfc.com. A big welcome to Jim who has just started the role of football development officer at the Academy, and will run and oversee our very successful BTEC Under-18 Development Programme, as well as the Development Squads from ages Under-eight-16s
A final welcome to Joe baker who has also joined the Academy team as head of medical and will provide treatment and rehab for all players as well as supporting Ian Weston with first team players.
Please feel free to follow us on Twitter (@CTFCYofficial) and Facebook (Cheltenham Town Academy) as we have just launched Cheltenham Town Academy TV which will post all goals from academy and development games, as well as provide updates on players coming through at CTFC!