Always on the lookout for the next Aaron Ramsey or Ryan Giggs, the Vale of Glamorgan’s football development officer is delighted with the progress made in the county so far this season.
The numbers of girls playing the game is increasing, coaching standards are improving and several boys and girls have caught the eye of regional squad selectors.
Grant Kalahar, who has a combined role developing football in both the Vale and Bridgend for the Welsh Football Trust, said: “Girls’ football has really kicked off this season with a lot of new players taking up the game. There are some excellent coaches involved in local girls’ football, and the effectiveness of their work has been proven by three players being called up to the South Wales regional squad.”
Quality coaching is also reaping rewards for boys who are members of the Vale of Glamorgan Football Development Centre, which is overseen by Daniel Elliott from the Vale of Glamorgan Council’s sports and play development team.
Formerly known as the Vale Football Academy, the centre provides extra coaching and matches to help local players reach their full potential. The development centre’s under-16s squad recently faced their counterparts from Newport and showed a lot of promise in a narrow 3-2 defeat at Jenner Park.
This season has seen the introduction of new player performance profiling at the development centre which identifies key areas for each individual player to take their game to the next level, and one of the boys from the centre has already earned a place at a professional club’s academy this year.
Further progress has been made in disability football, with five players from local schools and the ‘Vale Reds’ team having been selected to join players from Bridgend in the area development squad. Grant said: “The standard of play at area level always surprises people that are new to watching disability football. The games are quick in tempo, the ball is moved with impressive accuracy and due to the amount of highly qualified coaches in the disability game the area teams are very aware tactically.”
As the eyes of the globe turn to South Africa for the World Cup in 2010, the focus closer to home is on developing young players, and the target for the New Year is to build on the progress made so far this season.
For further details about football development in the Vale, please call Grant Kalahar on 07792 223573
