Youth Development Phase
The Development Phase covers players and teams between the Foundation Phase and the U18s (ages 13-16). This stage focuses on developing young players and working on the technical and tactical understanding of the game.
More specifically they work on pitch size transition, positional understanding, problem-solving scenarios, learning movements and space awareness.
They will learn how to transfer skills to the bigger pitches, appreciate space on the grass, how to technically create space on the pitch, how to manage time and opportunity and working on their decisions to pass.
The Development Phase has been able to continually test their skills against some of the best Academies in the country with matches against the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Leicester City. In all matches, Rovers youngsters have always given themselves a fantastic account. Alongisde the EFL's games programme the Academy like to ensure there is a wide-range of friendly matches arranged throughout the season involving clubs from category one, two and three Academies.
Once completing the Development Phase, the players will hope to be signed up to the U18s and become one step closer to the first-team.
Rovers players are always showing that it is possible to go right through the age groups with both Reeves Boocock and Lirak Hasani making their League debuts in the 2018/19 season. Boocock joined Rovers at U9s while Hasani joined at U12s. Currently, in the first-team set-up there is Louis Jones, Liam Ravenhill, Tavonga Kuleya, Bobby Faulkner and Jack Goodman who have all made their way through this age group and into the first-team.
Lead Youth Development Phase Coach: Lee Walshaw
