Football 'Academy North' launched.

May 5, 2009 - PRLog -- ACADEMY NORTH LAUNCHED - Visionary cross community training programme for north Belfast

In advance of their Irish Cup Final on Saturday, Cliftonville and Crusaders Football Clubs, together with leading training organisation, North City Training , (a part of the of Bryson Charitable Group) have announced a new programme – Academy North – to be run under the auspices of the Department for Employment and Learning’s “Training for Success” initiative.

Crusaders and Cliftonville will take 6 trainees each, who will undertake a one year programme involving

   * Education Programme focussing on English, Maths, ICT, Use of Internet, CV building, Job and Employability skills;
   * Club Placement: involving club training, personal training, coaching at club community programmes, soccer camps, primary schools schools and mini-soccer coaching
   * Personal Development, with a confidence building outdoor pursuits residential, a tailored Strength & Conditioning programme, and full medical screening.

The Academy group will benefits from state of the art, and personally tailored, inputs from UUJ’s High Performance Centre, Master Classes from UEFA Pro-Licence trained coaches, Life Saving certification, as well as Good Relations and Equality briefings from the IFA’s Community Relations Department.

All trainees will be issued with Academy North training wear and track suits with a joint club logo – to underline the cross community nature of the venture.

Liam McNeill, Executive Director of North City Training: “At North City Training we have known for some time that sports are a good motivational ‘tool’ to engage and stimulate young trainees in their education. Our job will be to encourage the educational and physical development of all Academy trainees and to enhance their job and career prospects. As an organisation we have extensive experience in working with challenging young people and have an extensive relationships with local employers with whom we aim to place trainees at the end of their programme.  The competitive entry to Academy North, linked to the group ethos of the programme will certainly help encourage all trainees to complete the year successfully.”

Kyle Spiers, Head of Youth Development at Cliftonville FC commented:

“This is unashamedly an elite programme, with places earned competitively.  Each successful Academy participant will undergo rigorous medical and health checks and will undertake an expert and tailored strength and conditioning programme at the UUJ’s High Performance Centre. In addition to club training and personal training, each Academy participant will undertake recognized IFA coaching badges. It’s an exciting project for the trainees, a challenge for the clubs and a real boost for good relations in North Belfast.”

Mark Langhammer, from Crusaders FC’s Stadium Working Group commented:

“The programme is hard headed in that we recognize that very few Academy participants will make a living as professional footballers.  This programme will improve their education in Maths, English and ICT, provide incentives for vocationally related qualifications in sports and leisure and leave all trainees more rounded, employable individuals.  Of course there will be beneficial spin offs for the clubs, but the core of the Programme is employability.”