James Washburn and Tom Ellacott talk to us about their first years as Scholarship players at Torquay United

SchoolboyShrimpersCentre Manager KurtDoyle talks about Morecambe FC’s Development Centreventure.

Elite DC Magazine 1 June 2012

See who are our ‘experts’ have downfor England’s opener in Euro 2012

Elite UK at the MIC

Read our report, and viewpoints

FIRST YEAR YELLOWS

My England XI

Once again Elite UK facedsome really high quality op-position. The Class B sidefaced a competition that fea-tured Brazil’s National Squadand the Ivory Coast’s, as wellas the likes of FC Utrecht,Athletic Bilbao, Rubin Kazanand Espanyol.

In Class C, there was a groupgame against eventual tour-nament winners Aspire Senegal, in a draw that con-tained FC Barcelona, RealMadrid, FC Porto, InterMilan, Southampton and also

ADC parent club, RotherhamUnited.

For the youngest age, ClassD, there was a group gameagainst Ukrainian top flightside FC Dnipro. Their drawcontained Ajax, AthleticoMadrid, FC Barcelona andManchester United.

‘It was a fantastic experience,just as it was last year,’ ex-plained Elite DC DirectorStuart Henderson.

‘For the players who are ableto make the trip it is a realeducation, perhaps an eyeopener in some instances, asto just how good the playersare at the top level. Generallyour boys are only just off thelevel of Centre of Excellenceor Academy players in ourcountry,’ he added.

‘We find that a lot of theEnglish teams that do comehere find it very difficult,such is the quality, so for ourboys to be competing andgiving good accounts ofthemselves is great to see.’

ELITE RETURN FOR MIC 12

FOR the second consecutiveyear, Elite DC competed inthe MIC, rubbing shoulderswith the world’s best footballclubs.

This was the tournament’s12th edition, and again teamsfrom all over the globe con-verged on Girona to takepart. The tournament openedwith Brazil’s Under 20’s sidefacing home side FCPalamos, as is the traditioneach year, and featured a hostof talented youngsters fromSouth America.

Featured in their squad wasRafa ‘Rafinha’ Alcântara, apromising FC Barcelonaprospect and younger brotherof first team regular Tiagowho was an MIC ambassadorthis year. Rafinha has alreadymade his senior Barca debutin this year’s Copa Del Rey.

Click on the picture to see Elite DC’s MIC 12 Highlights

Micky Cummins travelledwith his son Owen for thesecond time. For Micky,the tournament was agreat experience for hisson to go through and lefthim with many memoriesthat will stay with him.

‘Firstly, I would like to saya massive thank you toElite for providing this fan-tastic football and life ex-perience for Owen.

‘Not only was it great forhim to make some new

friends from the differentElite centres, but it alsoprovided him with a uniqueopportunity to see and ex-perience what everyplayer at the different cen-tres is aiming for by mixingwith, and playing against,the best academy sides inthe world,’ he explained.

‘This tournament has lefthim with many memories,including making friends,leading the flag out at theopening ceremony, playingagainst the eventual win-ners (Aspire), visitingCamp Nou, going on thebumper cars with his teammates and even starring inElites own version of Soc-cer AM ‘Team Mates’.

PARENTS VIEWPOINT

COACHES VIEWPOINTLIAM SUTCLIFFE, Headof the Development CentreProgramme for RotherhamUnited, travelled to his firstMIC Tournament this Easter.Liam oversaw the Class Dsquad, who had a great weekin Spain, as he explains.

‘We entered an exclusivecompetition with some of theworlds best clubs on show.

‘The accommodation, facili-ties and staff of the organis-ers were second to none.Putting together the stan-dard of football with all ofthe above set us up for a

once in a life time experi-ence for the players and itdid not disappoint.

‘We were very proud of theplayers throughout the com-petition and to see first handthe way the players grew andincreased their knowledge ofthe game was fantastic.

The opportunity for them toplay against FC Dnipro andthe Hong Kong NationalTeam, speaking a differentlanguage with a very differ-ent approach to the gamewas a wonderful learningcurve for the players.

‘The icing on the cake wasthe opportunity to pit ourwits against FC Barcelonain a pre tournamentfriendly. For the players, Ithink this was worth the tripto Spain alone.’

High Flying Gulls

JAMES WASHBURN ANDTOM ELLACOTT are twovery recent success sto-ries to emerge from theDevelopment Centre sys-tem down at TorquayUnited.

Both lads attended thePlymouth site, based atSalt Mill in Saltash, andonly went into the club as15 year olds.

Here they take the time to

talk to Elite DC about theirfirst year as scholars, andtheir experiences at devel-opment centre level thathelped them to reachwhere they are today.

How have you found yourfirst year as a scholar atTorquay United ?

Tom Ellacott – It’s notbeen as good as I wantedit to be, I haven’t beenplaying much. Training

been good, getting to learnfrom the coaches andplayers has helped me alot. The main reason Ihaven’t played so manygames is that a lot of 2ndyears play in my position,and they were going forpro contracts this year.

James Washburn – Iwasn’t playing at the start,then the middle of the sea-son I played a lot, then I’venot played much at thenend of the season. Formchanges. You could beplaying really well thenhave a dip in form and youcan be out of the team.Then you are almost wait-ing for the other guy to dothe same!I did alright, but it’s hard tobe consistent. KirtysMackenzie and NiallThompson, who have gotpro’s, have been consis-tent all season.

How did it feel when youwere offered your scholar-ship?

JW – Best feeling. You justknew after the holidays ex-actly what you would bedoing and didn’t have toworry about coming backto school and 6th form.Obviously you put a lot ofwork in to get that far, andit was great to earn thosefurther two years.

“IT WAS GREAT GOING BACK INTO SCHOOL ANDTELLING EVERYONE YOU ARE PLAYING FOOT-BALL.....YOU ARE PREPARING TO PLAY FOOTBALLEVERYDAY FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS TO TRY ANDBECOME A PROFESSIONAL”

TE – It was great goingback into school andtelling everyone you areplaying football, it is niceas everyone is worryingabout college and stuff likethat whilst you are prepar-ing to play football every-day for the next two yearsto try and become a pro-fessional. For me, I signedin December but then gotmy scholarship in April, itall happened reallyquickly.

JW – The club seemed towork it out, once they thinkthey will be offering you a

scholarship, so they candip you in with the youthteam. Then you’re a notstranger to it when youcome in after pre-seasonfor the first time.

Were you looked at byother clubs before goinginto Torquay United?

JW – I went in at PlymouthArgyle on a 6 weeks trial. Itwas weird. I played upfrontin training, I’m naturally acentre back, and scored agoal so the coach askedme to travel for the week-end game. I played 2 min-

utes in that game, andthen no-one really spoketo me after that. I was letgo after 5 weeks.

TE – I went on trial at Ar-gyle for a few weeks,played 20 minutes of agame and scored oneagainst Exeter City. I hada trial at Ipswich Town fortwo weeks, but I was incompetition with a Welshand an English interna-tional, so it was really diffi-cult. I also played forSwindon Town against Ar-gyle, I started sub butmade the goal in a 1-1draw. I went to Chel-tenham Town but didn’tlike it, after that I then gotin at Torquay. All these tri-als came from Elite DC.

JW – Just after I signed, Iwent on the North EastTour. There a couple ofteams were asking aboutme. To be honest, though,I just wanted to get backand start with Torquay.

Both James Washburn andTom Ellacott attended nu-merous Elite DC tours dur-ing their time with thedevelopment centres.

The higher level ofmatches,against sides that were bothcentre of excellence andacademy level across thecountry, really helped theboys by exposing them to alevel of game play you don’tget to play normally unlessyou are a signed player at aprofessional club.

Did it make a difference toyou, being at a Develop-ment Centre before goinginto the professional level?

JW – The gap betweenclub football and thathigher level is filled byElite, there you learn morethan you do at club sidebut not as much as the proclub as you are in thereeveryday.

TE – With my club side Iwas just told to stand on

the last man and theywould kick it over for meto chase and then expectme to score.

With Elite I learned to linkup the play more and addmore to my play likemovement and awarenessof the game.

JW – I have had gamesagainst Sunderland andNewcastle with Elite, theyare good experiences tohave. I also played in a

tournament in Hollandagainst Macedonians andother nationalities.

TE – I went to Sweden,and experienced differentplaying styles, refereesand climate. It reallyhelped me.

Is joining an Elite Develop-ment Centre somethingyou would encourageyoungsters to do?

TE – Definitely, you goand play top clubs, goaway in tournamentswhere there are lots ofscouts and get greatcoaching.

JW – You don’t stop play-ing for you club, you cando your Elite training withprofessional coaches butyou don’t stop club footballlike you do if you are at aCentre of Excellence. It’snot a massive leap thenafter being with Elite, it be-comes like a half step, thatreally helps.

MY FAVOURITE XIBY SEVERIANO CATINDIG-STAGG

Redondo, the skillful Argen-tine midfielder sits in frontof them, with Paul Scholesand Xavi, two outstandingmidfielers, pulling thestrings either side of him.

That leaves a potent forwardthinking trio, with ZinedineZidane in behind Raul and -the original - Ronaldo.

Zidane is my favouriteplayer of all time. He hadfantastic feet and balance,whilst Rauls record is in-credilble.

The ‘real’ Ronaldo was aphenomenon, going onYoutube and watching hishighlights reel shows justhow special a talent he was.

THIS MONTH our Mediaand Communications Offi-cer, Severiano Catindig-Stagg, talks us throughhis favourite 11 players.

In goal, I have gone forItalian legend, GianluigiBuffon. His presence andshot stopping skills are sec-ond to none, and he contin-ued the Italian tradition ofproducing excellent goalies.

He is protected by a centreback pairing of Paolo Mal-dini and Sergio Ramos.Both are masters of their artdefensively, but equally asimportant have the ability tolaunch attacks and retainpossession with their superbpassing ability.

Either side of them are leg-ends, Cafu of Brazil andBixente Lizarazu of France.Both are World Cup win-ners, and alongside the likesof Roberto Carlos, are thereason you see so manyover-lapping full backs inmodern football.

SHAKING UP THEGLOBE (ARENA)At the turn of the yearMorecambe FC embarkedon a landmark venture forthe club, setting up fourDevelopment Centres to,finally, give the club aschoolboy recruitmentsystem to compliment theCollege Course they cur-rently run once boysreach school leavers age.

Kurt Doyle was the manput in post to overseethese Centres. After com-pleting a degree in SportsScience, gaining hisUEFA A License and thenworking with several Liv-erpool County FA sidesand professional clubs,Doyle was ready to stepinto the full time role.

‘The key difference be-tween Morecambe andnearly all other FootballLeague clubs is that thisis the first time in recenthistory that the club havehad school boy playersattached to them. This re-quires a lot of extra workas, in effect, we have hadto create a whole new de-partment,’ he explained.

‘The project at More-cambe has been chal-lenging but enjoyable,’ hecontinued. ‘I have man-

aged to assemble a staffwhich I am happy with,and having a core of goodpeople around you is es-sential as the project is asuch a large scale devel-opment.’

‘Having good people whounderstand each of thelocal areas has been im-portant and I think we arestarting to make some re-ally good progress rightacross the board now.

‘The quality of our players

is extremely high consider-ing how long we havebeen running and this hasbeen highlighted by ourperformances in some ofthe recent games.’

One of the biggest chal-lenges for Doyle and histeam has been increasingthe profile of MorecambeFC outside of Morecambeitself. When trials wereheld for the centre thatopened in Morecambe, theresponse was, to quoteHead of Youth Dickie Dan-

“THIS IS THE FIRST TIME IN RECENT HIS-TORY THAT THE CLUB HAVE HAD SCHOOLBOY PLAYERS ATTACHED TO THEM”

son, ‘absolutely fantastic’.Over 500 boys were in at-tendance. However, out-side of Morecambe it hastaken a lot more hardwork.

‘Given the club is rela-tively new to the FootballLeague and has a limitedprofile outside of theirarea the project has beenas much about develop-ing the profile of the clubas it has been recruitingplayers.’

‘This has been a big chal-lenge but the evidence ofit working is there. Partic-ularly in Liverpool which isa notoriously difficultplace to recruit playersgiven the competition,’said Doyle.

‘A number of the keygrassroots clubs refusedto send players in to theinitial trials but havingseen the project and ourgames programme firsthand, a number of theseclubs are now approach-ing us to work closely withthem.’

That the Liverpool centreis attracting quality play-ers is a big feather in the

cap for the work beingdone at the DevelopmentCentres, particularly whenyou consider the amountof professional clubs thatrecruit from the area.Aside from the obvioussides like Liverpool, Ever-ton, Tranmere Rovers,Crewe Alexandra and Ac-crington Stanley, you havenumerous top clubs com-ing into the area lookingfor the best talent.

One big factor in attractingplayers is the games thatDoyle has been able to se-cure the Centres, to allowthe players to play againsttop professional outfitswhilst still being able toplay for their club sides.

‘As with any new programclubs are wary of playingus to begin with. Clubs likethe Manchester ones -who we have both playedat different age groups -want to be tested, and aretherefore very selective inwho they play.

‘There has been a lot ofwork behind the scenes toplan some games and itspleasing to finally seethese games come tofruition. We have also

played the likes of RotherhamUnited, Crewe Alexandra andWrexham who are establishedand well respected youth pro-grammes. I think it is a realtestament to the programmethat our boys have been com-petitive in all of these gamesand this will only help us se-cure more games likes this inthe future.’

Since the Morecambe Cen-tre’s opened, there have beensome excellent matches forthe young Shrimpers.

Crewe Alexandra, whoseyouth department seems tomake first team players yearafter year, played the Centrevery early on in the program.

Since then, there have beengames against both Manches-ter United and ManchesterCity, Rotherham United,Wrexham, Wigan Athletic andEverton FC, as well as topoutfits like Prestatyn Town FCand Bangor City.

We would like our players across all of our DevelopmentCentres to contribute to the magazine, so any ideas youhave seen that you could add to, be it picking yourFavourite XI of all time or writing in to tell us aboutyour club side’s success this year, please do. All contri-butions should be sent to - seve@elitedc.org

PLAYERSPAGE

TEDDY UNWIN-MARRISis a recent addition to theRotherham United ADCbased in Chesterfield.

Teddy plays his club foot-ball between the sticks forBrampton Rovers Under11’s. His team haveachieved successive pro-motions, and now findthemselves in Division A ofthe Sheffield League afterwinning Division B and Cin consecutive years.

Teddy had a big ‘hand’ inhis teams promotion, con-ceeding just 16 goals allseason, and saving all 4penalties he has faced thisseason also.

His penalty saving exploitsalso helped clinch a localtournament for his side,and Teddy counts thispenalty save as his proud-est moment. GREATWORK TEDDY!

Congratulations to theTorquay United Truro Under13’s side, who won this yearsWestcountry Cup inNewquay during the EasterHoliday.

Midefielder Rob Green wasthe hero in the final, latchingon to Kyle Bradleys throughball ahead of the on-rushingSidmouth Town goalkeeperto restore the Yellows lead,after Callum Bertrands

opener had been equalised bySidmouth.

The Truro boys earned greatpraise throughout the weekfor their ball retention andthrilled parents and neutralswith their clever attackingplay. They showcased all oftheir talent in the final to se-cure a well deserved win.

Well done to the lads on agreat weeks football.

Cardiff City and Republic ofIreland Under 21 striker JoeMason, who opened thescoring in this years CarlingCup Final against Liverpool,goes with a 4-3-3 of:Goalkeeper -Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill,John Terry, Ashley Cole Midfield -Frank Lampard, Steven Ger-rard, Scott Parker Forwards -Ashley Young, Theo Wal-cott Andy Carroll

Liam Sutcliffe isHead of theDevelopmentCentre Pro-gram in placeat RotherhamUnited FC. An ex-profes-sional with Bradford City,Liam opts for a 4-2-3-1 for-mation for his Three Lionsside:Goalkeeper - Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill,John Terry, Ashley ColeMidfield - Gareth barry, Scott Parker,Alex oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Wal-cott, Steven GerrardForwards - Andy Carroll

Newcastle United and Eng-land Under 21 attacking mid-fielder Dan Gosling, formerlyof Plymouth Argyle and Ever-ton FC, puts his Three Lionsinto a 4-5-1 formation:Goalkeeper - Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, John Terry,Joleon Lescott. Ashley ColeMidfield - Theo Walcott, Steven Ger-rard, Scott Parker, Frank Lampard,James MilnerForwards - Jermaine Defoe

StuartHendersonis Director ofElite DC.Stuart hasmanagedseveralsemi-professional clubs inDevon and Cornwall along-side running Elite DC. Stuartsets his side up in a 4-5-1formation:Goalkeeper - Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill,John Terry, Ashley ColeMidfield - Theo Walcott, Frank Lam-pard, Scott Parker, Steven Gerrar,Ashley YoungForwards - Andy Carroll

YOUR COUNTRYNEEDS WHO ????WiTH EnGLAnDS oPEninG GrouP GAME oF THE2012 EuroPEAn CHAMPionSHiPS nEArLY uPon uS,ELiTE DC WEnT AbouT FinDinG ouT JuST WHo THE‘ExPErTS’ THink roY HoDGSon WiLL PiCk ForTHE JunE 11TH oPEnEr AGAinST FrAnCE

CheltenhamTown’s midfieldmaestro, LukeSummerfield,took time outfrom theRobins League2 Play-Off push, duringwhich he picked up a Man ofthe Match award in the semi-final first leg, to pick his side,opting for a 4-5-1 formation :Goalkeeper - Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, Gary Cahill,John Terry, Ashley ColeMidfield - James Milner, Frank Lam-pard, Scott Parker, Steven Gerrard,Ashley YoungForwards - Andy Carroll

Shaun Keebleruns ADC’s forTorquayUnited inCornwall andDevon. Theformer BostonUnited andHolbeach United striker, whowent on to manage Hol-beach, favours a 4-4-1-1:Goalkeeper - Joe HartDefence - Glen Johnson, John Terry,Gary Cahill, Ashley ColeMidfield - Theo Walcott, Frank Lam-pard, Scott Parker, Ashley Young,Steven GerrardForwards - Danny Wellbeck

The new England manager, Roy Hodgson, had only ever previously worked with twocurrent England squad members, Glen Johnson and Steven Gerrard, prior to taking on

the role of England manager

BRANDON’SSTORY

Bristol Rovers schoolboy, Brandon Guthrie, discusses his progression into the Centre of Excellence

Brandon Guthrie is a young-ster who has made the pro-gression from DevelopmentCentre to the Bristol RoversCentre of Excellence.

Brandon did things a littledifferently to most though.He has actually been basedwith the Taunton site, whichwas attached to Bristol Cityand then Torquay, but hasfound himself at Rovers viathe MIC, Keele Cup, a trial atExeter City and a little helpfrom a few of his coaches.

Brandon initially went intoBristol City after a year at hisCentre, but didn’t quite makethe level needed. ‘I was onlyten at the time and was happyto go back in to the Develop-ment Centre to continue mydevelopment’, said theyoungster.

That decision proved to be agreat one, as it was throughthe development centre thatBrandon was able to playagainst some of the top teamsin the UK and abroad to help

his development, as he ex-plains.

‘I went to the M.I.C TheMediterranean InternationalCup. It’s known as the MiniWorld Cup in some places. Iwent to this tournament inApril 2011 all the way over inSpain,’ he said.

‘The likes of Messi, Fabre-gas, Dani Alves, Pique, andValdes have entered this tour-nament, so it was a real stepup to play in the same cupthat some of the greatestplayers in the world haveplayed in.

‘We played two local Spanishteams, the South Korean Na-tional team and AthleticoMadrid after qualifying for

the last sixteen, they eventu-ally went on to win the wholetournament.’

‘I also entered another tour-nament in July 2011 calledthe Keele Cup held at KeeleUniversity. We played againstteams such as Stoke City,Port Vale, Bala Town and Ac-crington Stanley. I captainedthe team in this tournament,’he continued.

‘To play against AthleticoMadrid was the biggest stepin football so far in my wholeentire life. The speed wascrazy and it was a reallytough game. It did, though,give me more belief and con-fidence as a player. The levelthat Athletico Madrid play atis the level that I want to beat and in my opinion Ithought I wasn’t too far off.

‘These experiences gave methe urge to practice more andmore to become the best Ican be. Those moments in mylife made a real impact to-wards the future of my foot-ball.’

On the back of these experi-ences, and competing sowell, Brandon ended upgoing for a trial with ExeterCity, with endorsements fromhis tournament coach, andDevelopment Centre coachMike Barrett to support hiscase.

‘He went with our bestwishes even though wehaven’t worked with ExeterCity, he had earned hischance’ explained his tourna-ment coach SeverianoCatindig-Stagg.

‘He had displayed great de-sire to keep improving him-self, and was always askingfor advice and would put intopractise anything you helpedhim with.

‘At the MIC he was one ofthe players who did competereally well against the topteams, and in Keele he wasvery comfortable against theprofessional clubs we played.

‘When a player is showingtalent, as well as huge desireand determination, as a coachyou want to help them asmuch as you can.

‘The fact that, despite takingthe scenic route, he hasended up with a club that wework with is great also as wecan keep in touch and moni-

tor his progress now that hehas gradudated from the De-velopment Centre system.’

Brandon has just finished hisfirst season at Rovers, andhas earned plenty of praisesince making the step up.

He has taken his dynamicstyle, covering every blade ofgrass and then passing theball wisely, into the Centre ofExcellence level and reallyfound his feet.

His story is a great exampleto our players that hard workgets you rewards, and that ifyou do not get signed by aclub at the first time of ask-ing, going back into the de-velopment centre level is agreat way to help you reachthat level in the future.

www.elitedc.org0845 003 7339

Magazine produced by:

Severiano Catindig-StaggMedia and Communications officer, Elite DCseve@elitedc.org