The youth section is a vital part of any football club. When Simon Lancaster became majority shareholder of the club last May, he identified our youth section as one of our four key pillars of focus.

At City, we have always had a good youth section, but it ran separately from the main club, which we recognise and are now busy turning our Youth section from good to GREAT, whilst also fully integrating it and implemented our ‘one club’ philosophy.

We have appointed a brilliant new Youth Chairman in Dan Sullivan, and new Youth Committee who between them have brought in so much energy and fresh ideas. We are now up to 29 youth teams, including 7 girls' teams for the 24/25 season, and have just hosted our biggest and best ever trials, where over 600 boys and girls turned up to trial for the club.

We have teams representing us at every age group from U7's, through all of the foundation phases, right through the development phases up to U18 and U21.

Last season, the club was missing a Reserve/U21 team, and that has now been addressed. We’ve recently established a working group of Simon, Chris Cornes & Nick Clayton from the first team, Tim Harris (Director of Football), Dan Sullivan (Youth Chairman), Sean McGregor (U21), Kev Brookes (U18) and Matt Tally (U16) to focus on establishing our pathway from youth through to first team for our best talents. The people involved in this demonstrate how important it is to the club.

There is fully joined-up thinking and collaboration, with player development being our number one priority for all ages.

Players are moving between ages and coaches are joining each other's sessions. Recent examples include some of the U16’s being asked to train with the U18’s, the U18’s training with the first team and first team manager Chris Cornes recently attended an U18 training session.

We have also recently established links with Hartpury College and are packaging together scholarship opportunities for our players.

As our City ballers move through the age groups, we aim to provide numerous development opportunities, such as:
• Developing their game and playing ability
• Developing their knowledge of the game by playing in numerous positions
• Joining Coaches to help support younger age group training & coaching sessions
• D of E and GCSE PE opportunities, such as coaching drills at different age groups including their own, supported by video evidence of VEO and Matches filmed using VEO
• Training with older age groups
• City First Teams players, coaches and the manager joining training sessions and attending matches

In our U16 age groups, all Ballers at that age are being prepared and given opportunities to 'transition' to adult football, including opportunities such as the previously mentioned U16’s training with U18’s.

We don’t just stop there; we have plans being implemented to develop and progress our Ballers along with their own personal ambitions.

In the Girls U16 teams, we have great connections and a bridge to the U18’s & Development Team at WCWFC, plus have the option of having an U17’s team in an established league when the time comes for our two U16's teams. With Girls football still on a huge rise and growth in the UK, seeing Wembley at the FA Cup Women's final have a 75,000 attendance, shows the pull and importance of Girls & Women's football. We know and recognise as a committee that we don’t have an equal split of Girls & Boys team, and we aim to close that gap significantly next season, with further plans to come.

Our Girls teams are so valued by the club as they represent the club in an amazing way, and we WILL ensure that they have bright futures in football with City.

In the Boys U16 teams, with the U18’s and now the newly formed U21 team, the pathway is natural and clear for everyone to see. With the addition of Matt Tally to help run one of our two U16’s Boys team, it was natural and common sense that we utilise his skills to develop the ballers further and really handhold them through their transition into adult football. Steve Coopey will continue to manage his U16 team, being a huge support to Matt and the Youth section with a competitive team full of very good ballers, taking a similar journey as Matt’s team.

In youth football, you need to nurture Ballers all the way through their football journey, and speaking from experience, for those who wish to drive forward towards becoming a semi-pro or higher baller, you need that extra support, constructive challenge and focus to give you a better chance at success. This is why we’ve placed Matt Tally as an U16 Boys team Manager and Coach to help the club and the youth section get more of our Youth Boy Ballers on the path towards playing for the City First Team.

The club needs a strong Youth section with Ballers coming through each season to ensure we have long-term sustainability. Many examples show that even in Pro clubs, the Youth section is the foundation of the club, and without them they wouldn’t be financially viable.

All of this is a huge responsibility for everyone at the club, especially in the Youth section, as we are currently developing and nurturing the next 10-15 years of City Ballers. Our Coaches, Committee, Chairman and the Club are all ready for the challenge.

We’d like to thank all parents, volunteers and coaches for their amazing efforts all season in 2023/24, your support and help does not go unnoticed! We are a community at City and this will only grow even stronger in the future.

Keep the Faith and enjoy the climb! UTC