Amongst a hectic half term for the Centre of Excellence coaching staff, we took our Under 14's squad on a residential trip for 4 days.
The trip, which consisted of training sessions, matches, team activities and workshops, began in Southend and saw us travel to Colchester, Manningtree, Ipswich, back to Southend, Thurrock and Cobham.
Leaving Monday morning, the players were briefed on the tasks and aims for the week, ahead of our day's training in Colchester. We trained twice with a break for lunch in between. The morning session was aimed at attacking play and pattern work using the centre forwards, with the latter session aimed at defending as a team in a 4-4-2 against a variety of different systems that we expected to come up against throughout the week.
Our base for the week was a self catering hostel. It was a clean, modern bunkhouse on a farm, which was peaceful and desolate. This gave us a great opportunity to work with the players and live away from home in a distraction free environment . There was a rota for the players to stick to daily in terms of breakfast and dinner duties, which involved cooking, cleaning and preparing, along with jobs for looking after equipment and cleaning out the bus. It is so important for these players to realise that a day's work in whatever walk of life involves doing things we don't particularly want to do, but it needs doing. I have to praise the group for their willingness to work and do whatever was required, even when they were tired.
If we can teach our players these important life skills and necessities, we not only provide them with an insight in to their future, be it with or away from us, but also see which boys can handle doing that little extra, who the moaners are, who the grafters are and who likes the responsibility and has the discipline to carry simple tasks through.
After dinner, Kane and Creeky led an FA Cup style draw to determine the 3 teams for the ten pin challenge, which took place that evening. The game began with a ridiculous amount of good shots, which I soon discovered after my late arrival was due to the barriers being used. Once we discovered how to drop them and Barlow had wiped away his tears of frustration at having to reveal his 'true' bowling ability, the game continued. We made our way back to base for a brief meeting before bed to look ahead to Tuesday.
Match day 1 arrived on Tuesday. Throughout the week we were treated to some sensational singing performances at a variety of times during the day, with each player and staff member entertaining the others for a minimum of 30 seconds. Tuesday's breakfast saw 3 performances amongst our meal, after which the players packed their bags, cleaned their rooms and got showered and changed.
With only a short trip to Ipswich ahead, we took a stroll down to the river for a chat and then back at the ranch, we had a light pre match bite (toast, yoghurts, cereal). I led a team meeting, where I announced the team and our game plan, reminding the players of the standard we were expecting and of many of the key points myself and Steve had highlighted in Monday's training sessions.
The game kicked off at 2.30pm at Ipswich, arriving at 1.30pm, and with all of the preparation and talking done, the players carried out their ritual pre match routine of preparing the changing room, inspecting the pitch, changing and warming up before kick off.
We made a fantastic start to the game, scoring early goals and playing some good football, combined with a tenacity and intensity to regain possession when it was lost. Throughout the game we played well, showing a variety of passing qualities and tempos to our attacks, in addition to some good spells of defending. It was a very convincing display with periods of excellence in possession.
That evening we discussed the performance with the players and were pleased with their pre game mentality and their decision making throughout. It had been a long day, but after dinner and a team workshop, which provided us with some heated debates and comical moments, it was time for a good nights sleep.
The players were tired when I woke them with music on Wednesday and many were ill, including me. A few were complaining of bad throats, chesty coughs, headaches, aches and pains and it was genuine, there was a bit of a bug floating through the team. However, we had to get on with it. As I told the players, some days you wake up and don't feel great and you can't be on top of your game all the time, but you have to fight it and get on with it….so we did!
We had to depart our base after breakfast and so once all the jobs had been completed, it was back to Southend for training. Steve took the boys for a session at Boots & Laces and after this, the players hit the ice baths and showers before lunch to relax. We were soon back on the road again, en route to Thurrock to stay overnight to save us such a long journey and early start on Thursday.
We went to Lakeside for dinner and a walk around the shops where James and Ted entertained us with an impromptu dance off. That evening the boys wrote their diaries in the reception area of the hotel whilst I took the opportunity to speak with them 1 to 1 and as a group about the Thursday games with Chelsea and Crewe Alexandra.
It was only an hour's drive Thursday to Cobham, this is Chelsea' Academy, which is an incredible facility. On arrival we met the Under 13's, 15's and 16's who were playing as well. It was good for the under 14's to see some of the other boys. Many players have mixed squads before and so all of our squads are very close with each other and support and encourage each other well; this is something we actively encourage.
We had a slightly different schedule to the other 3 squads however, playing in a 3 team round robin with Chelsea and Crewe. The fixtures meant us having a break between our games, whilst they played each other.
I had told the players that this would be a new challenge for many of them. Chelsea's team were full of athletic technicians who played with great pace and power. We defended resolutely at times and created some decent chances for ourselves through good build up play and good body work from James Akintunde. At all levels, you see these opportunities arise and know what will happen if you do not make your possession and chances count. Jack Carriere scored a lovely goal from outside the box in the 2nd half, however the quality of movement and speed of interplay caused us a number of problems, which we have never been exposed to. The players did stick to the task however and finished the game strongly.
It is in these moments that we learn a lot about our players and with 30 minutes until our next challenge, it was important to prepare for this without focussing too much on what had just happened, but more looking ahead to what was coming up and how we could make minor adjustments and quickly learn some lessons to help us.
Crewe Under 14's, managed by Dario Gradi, were a technically comfortable and well organised side, who physically had a mix of athletic builds similar to ours. This was a very close game, which unsurprisingly finished level with both teams scoring good goals. We were slightly disappointed after this match, feeling we could have made better use of our counter attacks and overloads in the final 10 minutes, where a lack of composure and a rushed or poor decision prevented us from making the most of our attack. The boys were frustrated about the manor of the 2nd goal we conceded, having known that we should have defended it better. The game finished a draw and rightly so with both teams sharing possession and chances.
It was a great day to finish the tour on and provided us with so many lessons on top of all we had already experienced and discussed. I wanted this to be a week where the players could show the 'ugly' qualities you need in professional football; hard work, enjoying physical challenges, winning mentality, sacrifice and confidence. And the players responded well to all of the challenges we provided them with.
They showed maturity, confidence and a willingness to learn and improve, and if they can continue on these lines with the same attitude to training, games and home life, then improve they will.
We arrived back home much later than expected spending 2 hours not moving on the M25……a nice way to finish the week!
Mark Bonner
U12's - 16's Technical Director
Squad; Ted Smith, Anthony Madden, Michael Ademiluyi, James Akintunde, Lewis Creek, Jack Attwood, Charlie Barlow, Liam Conley, George Harvey, Joel Stichbury, Jack Bridge, Josh Banton, Kane Farrell, Daniel King, Jack Carriere, Staff; Mark Bonner, Steve King.
