Following a successful first season, AFC Rushden & Diamonds are pleased to welcome new coaches and players to the Academy ahead of the 2013/14 season.
Gareth Ivett, who coached the Under 15 team last season, has been appointed as our new Head of Academy. Gareth is well known to the club and brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the game. In addition, we are pleased that Nick Cook and Andy Peaks will remain as team managers within the Academy and we have also appointed new coaches; Matt Boot; Leighton Atkin and Shaun Waller. Our goalkeepers will benefit from specialist goalkeeper training from Goalkeeping Coach Nathan Gaunt. Steve Inwood and Mark Letch have also joined us as team assistants..
This season we will be running 5 Academy teams from Under 12 to Under 16 and all teams will be playing in The NERF Junior Premier League. Over the summer months, Gareth and his team of coaches have been holding open trials and training sessions for players interested in joining us. We have seen some amazing talent and are pleased that all squads are full as we approach the first league games on Saturday September 7th.
All home games will be played at the Old Grammarians Ground, Sywell Road, Wellingborough NN8 6BS, and there will be teams playing at home every Saturday morning, usually with a 10.30am kick off. All support is greatly appreciated.
To start the season, the Under 12s and Under 16s will be playing at home this weekend. Fixtures and results will be posted on the club website, and you can also follow the Academy on Twitter @AFCRDAcademy. Fixtures, results and all other League news will also be posted on the JPL website – www.junior-premier.co.uk . There will also be the opportunity for academy match photos to be made available during the season, where permission has been given. However, these will be controlled by a password protection system that will ensure access and viewing is controlled. See here for action from the first weekend.
There are still several opportunities available within the Academy. We are looking for a physio/sports therapist; someone to ‘meet and greet’ at the home venue, a caterer to provide post match food for the teams and team assistants. All posts will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and verification of qualifications. Some posts are voluntary. If you are interested in any of these posts, please email Stacey Hawkins at welfare@afcdiamonds.com. For all other Academy queries, please email academy@afcdiamonds.com.
We are very grateful to Erudite, The Quantum Group and Slam City Skates for their sponsorship of the Academy teams, and we wish players, coaches and parents a very successful season.
