Aldershot Town’s new youth programme are delighted to be working with the Football Association’s Senior Youth Coach Educator, Ben Bartlett.
Bartlett will work with The Shots on a voluntary basis to provide coach Sam Waters and his staff with advice and support similar to that enjoyed by clubs who operate Category 1 – 3 academy programmes in the Football League.
With the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) signifying a huge cultural shift in the approach to youth development at English clubs, Bartlett has led the re-education of professional coaches across the country to create a more specialised and qualified coaching workforce.
“Although we will not be operating as an audited EPPP academy, our intentions are to mirror EPPP Category 3 academies as best we can with the resources we have at our disposal,” explained Waters. “The support Ben will be providing to our players from under 7 to under 16 levels will be similar to that at some of the other clubs Ben works with, such as Southampton and Millwall, which is a real coup for the youth department at Aldershot Town.
“Ben’s support will ensure that our coaches continue to develop and improve, as well as being kept up-to-date with modern coaching practice, the knock-on effect of which is that our players will receive the very best holistic support. We are extremely grateful Ben has offered us his time and I thank him for his continued support.”
FA Youth Coach Educators work with Youth Coaches within professional clubs to meet the EPPP coaching regulations and to offer mentoring to coaches working in the Foundation and Youth Development phases. Youth Coach Educators work closely with the Premier League and Football League Club Support Managers to support the evolution of the EPPP.
