Stevenage Borough Youth U18/U19

EFCO/AVC SchemeStevenage have one of the best, if not the best, youth development

scheme in the country, outside of the football league.Even then, when we have come up against football league opposition

in the FA Youth Cup, we have matched our rivals, and never been outplayed. We have beaten the likes of Gillingham, and lost

narrowly to both Leyton Orient and Chelsea.

The scheme is run at North Herts College, and involves scholars training three times a week, Monday, Tuesday and Friday, and

usually playing matches on a Wednesday night. Scholars are also enrolled on a full time sport study course, and the scheme is tough

physically and mentally.

Scholars will also have the chance to play in a International club tournament in Italy during Easter, and will also be advised to attend

the pre season training camp in Italy for two weeks.

Coaches and StaffThe scheme’s head coach is Darren

Sarll, Nicked named “Sar-lee”. Darren is a very good coach, and holds his Uefa A license and was one of the youngest coaches in

the country to achieve this award. He played for professional clubs

as a youngster, and was a scholar on a similar scheme with Hitchin

Town. The director of the scheme is David

Bass. Bassy is an ex pro and had a long career with Reading FC. David undertakes many of the

admin duties, and works in a more developmental role behind the

scenes.The scheme has a number of

coaches, who themselves were on the scheme a few years ago,

including ex Stevenage professional Ieuan Lewis.

Success stories

In the last four years we have had eight players sign professional contracts with Stevenage Borough. Many football league clubs struggle to produce that many, who have the quality.

We have a number of players in the Stevenage squad, who have been on our scheme, and the most high profile is George Boyd, who

recently signed for Peterborough in a record transfer deal.

We also have a number of Youth international footballers, on the scheme, who have played for Malaysia, Malta and Peru.

Who will I play for?What Leagues will I play in?

We run the youth teams for three teams. Stevenage Borough, Biggleswade United and Arlesey Town. Stevenage is a professional club and Biggleswade and Arlesey are good quality semi-pro clubs.

We also run academy teams for Stevenage, from U8 to U16, so the current U16’s we be moving onto the scheme at the end of the season. This means that there is only room for about ten new

players, in the Stevenage squad. All three teams are treated the same, and have the same quality of coaching. It is also possible to

be moved up if you perform well in training and matches.

You will play in the Southern Counties Floodlit youth league and Football Conference U19 league. If you play for Stevenage you will also be in contention for a reserve team place, playing against the

likes of Norwich, Ipswich and Southend.

What we expect from you?

We expect all scholars to behave around college, and turn up for lessons, and complete assignments to a good standard. If anyone is not behaving at college, or not doing the work, you will be pulled out

of training.

You will also be given after training jobs to do. These include cleaning coaches boots, cleaning balls, sweeping the floor and tidying up. If

jobs are not done properly or not done at all, all scholars will be punished. Punishments involve long hard running, and if you ask any

of the current scholars, it is a real punishment.

Recruitment

We will be running a series of trials for entry onto the scheme. The main trials will take place in Easter, but we also run a number of taster

days for potential scholars.

To apply either download an application form from the college website, or send back the form in the prospectus. You will then be registered with the college, and you will need to fill out separate forms for us at AVC Sports Management. If you are interested in the scheme, then

contact me on DavidBass@avcsports.co.uk, and leave your name and address, and we will send details to you.

AVC Sports management