Jenner Park stages Vale Academy v Cardiff City mini soccer
matches - 22/01/07
Barry's Jenner Park stadium has provided an impressive venue
for young soccer stars of the future to showcase their
talents.
Played over two evenings, the games involved youngsters (aged
eight to 11) who play mini section football, and it was the first
event in many years to feature the Cardiff City Advanced
Development Centre and the Vale of Glamorgan Football Academy.
The games provided a fantastic experience for both sides thanks
to the efforts of the instigator, Cardiff City scout Howard
Ross.
Assistant Football Development Officer at the Vale Nathan Nurton
said the games had helped gauge the progress being made by
youngsters from the Vale.
The teams were fairly evenly matched but Cardiff won the
majority of games which were quite physically demanding, especially
after a hard day at school!
Special praise to Ashley Morris, Ben Robertson, Owian James and
Alex Smith, who excelled for the Vale under-10s and 11s. Vale "man
of the match" accolades went to David Shallis (under-11s), Joel
Lapton (under-10s), Cameron Gibbon (under-9s) and David Bear
(under-8s).
The Vale Academy extends its thanks to Cardiff City, their
Football Community Officer, Calum McKenzie, his colleagues, all
Cardiff and Vale players and parents for making the four games an
enjoyable experience.
The development evenings also met with Football Association of
Wales Trust Academy guidelines of playing a minimum of six games a
season, with Vale mini sides also regularly playing against other
regions such as Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Bridgend, Rhondda Cynon
Taff and Monmouth.
Nathan said: “All the teams performed well and, while on this
occasion it wasn’t about scorelines, I was able to note some
training points for specific players for our next outing.
“For some of the boys it was their first game for the Vale so it
was an extra special experience to play in a big venue like Jenner
Park.”
The next match for the Vale under-9s, 10s and 11s is away to
Derby County in February, and Nathan hopes that development points
learnt from their City matches will hold them in good stead to beat
their Midlands opponents.
For more information on football development in the Vale,
contact Nathan on (01446) 704729 or, alternatively, visit the
website at www.valeofglamorgan.gov.uk