Rangers Academy News

[chilledbear 16]

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/academy-news/item/9764-academy-success-delights-mulholland

 

IT HAS been a highly successful week in the Rangers Academy with the under-14 and under-16 sides returning to Auchenhowie with trophies in tow.

 

The under-14s claimed the Youdan Trophy at Bramall Lane in Sheffield in front of over 1000 spectators with a 3-2 triumph over Charlton Athletic in the final.

The Youdan Trophy was the world’s first football competition and was competed for in 1867 – a full four years before even the FA Cup was first played.

The young Light Blues received their trophy from Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Talib Hussain.

 

Meanwhile, the under-16s claimed the Milk Cup Junior Section Globe with a 1-0 win over County Down in the final.

That followed 1-0 and 4-1 wins over Sheffield United and County Fermanagh, and a 1-0 defeat to AS Roma USA in the group stage followed by a 2-0 success against Sydney United in the semi-final and a 1-0 victory over County Down in the final.

 

Hot on the heels of that success, the under-17s will this week travel to Liverpool’s Academy and play the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, AIK Stockholm and Charlton, while the under-10s, 11s and 12s head to play Manchester City.

At the end of the month, the under-14’s will have two trips. Firstly to Newcastle to play the likes of Newcastle Utd, Sunderland, Middlesborough and Man City, and then to Northern Ireland to play a French Academy, the Northern Irish national team and Everton.

Looking further ahead, the under-20s will head for Spain in January for a two week training camp with a game against Valencia lined-up there, and the under-15’s will travel to Holland in May to play some of the best Dutch teams.

 

It’s certainly an exciting time, and Head of Academy Craig Mulholland said: “We set about creating a new Academy culture in January and have come up with 12 fundamental values which we will base our philosophy on. These items, which will determine the way we act, the decisions we take and the way we behave in the Academy on a daily basis, match exactly the values the new Manager has introduced and will help us create an environment for players and staff which will demand excellence from the top of the football department all the way down to the youngest teams. One of these key aims is to ensure we create an environment where we challenge the players, expose them to ‘best v best’ situations as often as possible and take them out of their comfort zone to ensure that they are continually learning.”

“Tournaments such as the Milk Cup, which the 16’s attended last week competing with teams such as Liverpool, Southampton and the excellent African team Right to Dream, and the Youdan Trophy which the 14’s attended where they played against Sheffield Wednesday, Celtic and Charlton provide us with an environment where we can test the technical, tactical, physical and mental attributes of our best young players in a way we cannot always achieve at home. The players get the opportunity to play against different systems, styles of play and players who are also some of the best in their country. This allows us to better assess our own Academy players when they are stretched and at the peak of their performance and determine how we can help them to improve key attributes in their game. Even the time away preparing for games like professional players, utilising the analysis tools, recovering between games, resting and refuelling properly is a great education for the players.”

“We were delighted with the performance of both groups last week, and while it was good for the 14’s to win their event, what pleased the staff most was not the results but how the players are developing an understanding of our new style and principles of play and also the level of technical ability they demonstrated, which is vital if we are to create players who can dominate the ball. Equally as important was the positive feedback we received from other teams and the tournament organisers on how the Rangers Academy players behaved and conducted themselves on and off the pitch as for us developing the right type person is as important as developing the right type of player.”

“We now look forward to a number of other high quality tournaments for various age groups in the coming weeks and months, starting with the Liverpool Academy event for the 17’s this weekend, and working closely with the 1st team we will ensure that our best young players are challenged in this way as often as possible.”

Edited August 4, 2015 by chilledbear