With nine debutants this season coming directly from the youth team and Football and Education programme at the Trust, Chesterfield FC Women manager Andrea Parkinson expressed her delighted at the progress, saying: “I’m very pleased. I reviewed it the other day by going through all the players that are registered and to have nine young players make their first-team debut this season is something we should be really proud of.
“Some have come directly from our U18s, and a couple have come from our Football & Education programme with the Trust, so it just shows that if they work hard then the opportunities are there for them to take.
“We train next to the U18s every Tuesday, so we can have some come over and train with us as well. It’s paid off because those individuals that have come through and made their debut have been outstanding.
“There was one player that made a full debut last Sunday and played the full 90 minutes and for our coaching staff, she was a Player of the Match.
“I work closely with our U18 manager Leona Stafford and Michelle Slater, who oversees the education set-up and we’ve got another player pending league approval to be involved, so that’ll make a tenth player to make their debut.”
Commenting on the Trust’s Football & Education programme, Andrea said: “They train four afternoons a week and play other clubs on a Wednesday, so to have that at a young age can really bolster their confidence
“They’re getting regular coaching throughout the duration of the week, so when they come to us to join in our training sessions on a Tuesday night, as well as playing on a Sunday, it’s a seamless transition from them and only adds to the amount of football they’re getting during the week.
“They do their education at the Trust as well, where they can earn a NCFE Level 3 qualification that provides UCAS tariff points towards university in the same way as A-levels. The first year Diploma is equivalent to 1.5 A-levels and the full two-year Extended Diploma is equivalent to a total of 3 A-levels.”
