We are thrilled to share some fantastic news with our A1 Football Academy family! Nick Hanna, the esteemed scout from Aston Villa, will be joining us for two special sessions. Mark your calendars for Friday, June 7th, and Monday, June 10th. We are all very much looking forward to Nicks visit.

Thanks to Atlas Composite Technologies for their generous sponsorship. 

A1 team visit the Leicester City Academy

On a blustery 5th December evening A1 ventured northwards and battled through major delays on the M1 in an attempt to arrive at Staveley the home of Chesterfields U9 and 12s. Whilst major road incidents caused mayhem for most of the U9s those that did make it quickly got stuck in braving the now cold, wet and blustery conditions to take part in a quasi training game with the Chesterfield team. The A1 players certainly matched their short term opponents for this game despite a depleted squad with each lad getting stuck in and being extremely lively which was great to see - well done.  As for the U12s there was a full complement of players and great credit to all that made it to the venue. The boys quickly assembled and played a number of small-pitch games versus Chesterfield. The key focus and subliminal messages in training over recent weeks has been to encourage the players to work hard when out of possession as much as when in possession and to concentrate on distribution - this was witnessed in abundance despite the conditions on the night. Some great individual displays notably from Reuben who battled and drove forward at every opportunity and got his reward with a nice finish late in the final phase of the game. Whilst the the final score was 5-2 to Chesterfield there were many positive shoots that can be taken from this encounter and we look forward to continuing to develop these players in the months ahead.

Really want to say a big thank you to Ant for everything he’s done for my 3 boys and especially Ernie. When we was having 1-1 sessions for George and Frankie, Ernie used to sit and watch as he was only 4 but Ant was great wanting to get him involved and giving him little drills to learn. Didn’t take Ernie long to start getting involved then and Ant filled him full of confidence and really started to take a shine. I remember Ant trying to get him to play games by bribing him with pound coins and Ernie kept dropping them so he had to give him another 😂 Eventually he got confident though and played some tournament at 5 where he really started to shine and couldn’t wait for his 6th birthday to start playing grassroots. From there he has gone from strength to strength and I couldn’t be prouder. Again want to thank Ant for everything he has done and for pointing us in the right direction. He is currently playing at Leicester , Forest , Villa and now Wolves are showing an interest through A1.

Huge congratulations to A1s Kevin who was selected to play for Poland 🇵🇱 versus Grenada 🇬🇩 Kevin assisted the goal which helped Poland get a 1-0 win. Keep up the great work Kevin and follow your dreams

A1 took 2 teams tonight to play Nottingham forest academy, players and parents were nervous but proved not to be! All players played some great football, put some great tackles in and had lots of shot at goal. A1 goalkeeper was on fire and saved plenty of great shots at him including a free kick which he plucked from the air. Very impressed with everyone’s confidence against a very good academy side.

A1 under 9’s played against Birmingham City Academy on the 22nd October over at the Wast Hills Training Complex. The first game was a test for sure. Birmingham stunned the lads with a magical display of passing, shooting, finishing and movement during game 1 which sadly ended in defeat. A shift in formation and an enhanced sense of focus saw A1 battle and play as a unit resulting in a much improved display in the second game with some great finishes along the way from the likes of Matthew and others as the second game ended in a draw. The third game was a joy to watch - A1 had now settled into their groove and spent large amounts of time camped in the opposition half - a hatrick was bagged by Henry and a stunning work ethic was now flowing throughout the team which ended with a clear victory. The final game of the day was very similar to the third game with A1 once again dictating the play and camping for large amounts of time in the oppositions half - this was becoming a theme. By the end of the games the boys were all exhausted, playing at a high tempo against skilful opposition requires focus and commitment - we all saw this today and a big well done to all of the boys who played today - not one player let the team down. Big shout out to both Matthew and Joseph who helped out between the sticks in the final game :)

A fantastic game for our boys playing Birmingham academy and many fantastic performances. We started the game really well with three quick goals to go ahead with strikes from Asher Jovan and Olly , Birmingham were to soon come back into it with some good goals. It was end to end with some great goalkeeping Corin Jacob keeping them out of the net, there were academy debuts for Xander, Riley and Braxton were as solid at the back as ever. Olly scoring 5 goals against an academy was a fantastic feat. Jovan was also outstanding with his skill and great footwork . Joint man of the match for Jovan and Olly. Well done to all the boys.