New Academy is simply class, says Toon ace
LOCAL hero Lee Clark believes talented young Tyneside footballers now have a golden opportunity to develop their game - thanks to the launch of an elite football academy at a Tyneside school.
Newcastle’s Walker Riverside Academy has teamed up with Improtech Soccer - the leading provider of Football in Education in England - to provide elite coaching for talented players during school hours.
Former Newcastle United and Sunderland midfielder Clark, who grew up just a few hundred yards away from the school, said: “I wish there had been something like this when I was a lad.
“The chance to focus on and develop your football skills inside school - how great is that?
“For young players across Tyneside dreaming of one day becoming a professional footballer, there will now be the chance to chase that dream at school with professional football coaching - while also getting an education.”
Improtech training is devised to UEFA Pro Licence standard - the highest level of coaching in the game - with hundreds of sessions which emphasise individual improvement and team understanding.
The company has an excellent track record of developing young players to the level where they are taken on by professional football clubs including United, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Hull City and a host of non-league sides.
The Academy is currently recruiting players, who will be year seven in the 2019-20 academic year.
Clark, who was born in Walker, is highly impressed with the Academy and thrilled it will now become a centre for footballing excellence.
He added: “The North East has always been a hotbed of football, and academies like this will help make the most of that talent.
“It is good for the area, good for the city but most of all good for the Former United midfielder Lee Clark with youngsters from Tyne View, Byker, West Walker and Walkergate at the launch of Walker Riverside Academy’s new elite football academy. Picture: TIM RICHARDSON youngsters who have this chance. The North East has always been a place where good young players emerge but we could have even more players coming through with football academies of this quality.”
For more information on the Improtech Soccer Academy at Walker Riverside Academy, email Director of Football Education Steve Golightly on Steve@improtechsoccer.com or ring 07500 690 584.