United get youngsters along to play at inaugural open day

SBY PICTURE ROBB GRAHAM AND AZAMJAMILL Paul Davies hailed Newmains United’s first open day as a roaring success – and reckons it’s just the start of things to come.

United put on a training session and invited players and parents involved with the new academy sides to Victoria Park on Saturday morning.

Members of the club’s media academy were also on hand to capture the day and carry out various interviews.

The joined-up approach is part of the club’s continued bid to forge greater links with the community and to help develop talent on and off the pitch.

Davies said: “Saturday’s open training session was a fantastic day and left me feeling really proud of what this club is now doing.

“It was great seeing people from the community come along to Victoria Park. We also brought in our newly formed 2007s team who joined in with our first team players at the end of the session.

“Seeing everyone there, whether it was parents, kids, first team players or our vast array of volunteers, typified the kind of environment we have wanted to create at the club.

“We want to be open, inclusive and approachable. We want people to enjoy coming along to the club and to feel involved.

“People can come along, have a chat, watch the football and enjoy a cup of tea with us. We don’t want anyone to feel they can’t be a part of things.”

United have created a youth academy this summer, with an Under21s team and 2007s side already up and running ahead of the new season.

They come on the back of the club’s media academy, which has been running for over a year and includes students, recent graduates and volunteers in journalism, photography, film and graphic design.

Davies added: “I really believe that the creation of both youth teams will be the step forward we need to help engage with the community.

“We already have some great kids and terrific talents and hopefully we will see more as the season continues. Knowing they are local, too, gives me a brilliant feeling.

“It was also great seeing new faces from our media academy continue the great work they do by helping out at the open day.

“The academy has been a big part of our successes off the pitch and we’re looking to see what they produce over the coming season.

“Across the board we can’t thank everyone enough for what they do for this club. Without them it would not be able to run and we value all contributions, big or small.”