Aspiring footballers attend professional coaching day at Villa Park

NULC Football Academy student Josh Brown

Fifteen talented footballers from Newcastle-under-Lyme College’s Football Academy will be taking part in a Coaching Day organised by the Professional Football Association (PFA).

The students will be travelling to Aston Villa Football Club on Wednesday 16 May, where they will meet a host of professional footballers and will be put through their paces on a professional training day at Villa Park.

Ali Cope, Liam Chadwick, Josh Gordon, Jordan Cole, Liam Keegans, Jordan Roberts, Liam Dalgarno, Kyle Bailey, Josh Foxall, Tom Brown, Tom McGuinness, Leon Probert, Jordan Rigby, Charlie Ryles and Toby Bell are all members of the award-winning NULC Academy of Sport.

As part of the Academy programme, they are able to receive coaching and play football at a competitive level while completing their college studies.

The PFA Coaching Day is part of a rolling programme of events that members of the NULC Football Academy take part in throughout the year.

Dave Sutton, Football Academy Co-ordinator at NULC, said: “It’ll be a great experience for our students to train with elite professional footballers. Here at NULC we’re dedicated to providing the best sporting opportunities possible to our students, so for them to train with industry professionals will really boost their skills and confidence.”

He continued: “We already have a number of students playing at regional and national level and the Academy of Sport as a whole has had a record breaking year. I have high hopes for the Football Academy next season.”

Earlier in the year it was reported that NULC Football Academy student Josh Brown, aged 17 from Werrington, was selected for the England College’s Football Squad. Josh progressed through four rounds of trials to be selected for the 22-man squad.

NULC Academy of Sport is committed to being one of the top sports institutions within the West Midlands and currently offers eight sports academies including Men’s and Ladies Football, Basketball, Netball, Ruby, Athletics, Badminton and Volleyball.

To find out more about the NULC Academy of Sport visit www.nulc.ac.uk/sport or contact the Academy of Sport office on 01782 254269 or email sport@nulc.ac.uk.