Southmoor Academy Educating our elite young footballers...

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MGFA @ southmoor:Layout 1 07/09/2012 12:40 Page 2Martin Gray Football AcademyMGFA @Southmoor AcademyHave you got the skills to play in thefootball league?Do you have the desire to be the best?Have you a dream to make football yourcareer?The Martin Gray Football Academy atSouthmoor Academy can providethat for you… ALL FREE OFCHARGE!MGFA at SouthmoorAcademy provides an elite,professional football academy for talentedboys and girls aged 11–16 to support and developyoung people into footballstars of the future.Through dedicated, professionaltraining from UEFA Pro-licensedcoaches, we can take talent tothe next level and ultimately aimfor the top.Young people selected for theacademy will be pupils at Southmoorbut will be contracted to the MGFAteam.Martin Gray andhis team willselect boysand girls fromacross the age range to be giventhis wonderful opportunity.These pupils will still be taught the normalNational Curriculum but will be given up totwo hours a week specialised academycoaching and an extra hour per week workingon supplementary academic studies to ensurethat the academy players are given everypossible opportunity in life.We believe this education enrichmentprogramme to be unlike anything elseoffered by any school across the country.Boys and girls will be given manyopportunities for selection intothe academy throughout theschool year.Martin and his teamwill work closely withthe PE subjectleaders for PhysicalEducation atSouthmoor to ensurethat every child isgiven manyopportunities to bewatched and, ifappropriate, selectedfor the academy.Young people outsideof the academy will also benefitthrough a greater number offootball-related opportunities;access to the MGFA coachingteam; enhanced playing surfaces;increased opportunity to representthe school and improve performance.Martin Gray and his coaching team will visitSouthmoor partner primary schools todevelop talent and identify talented youngpeople.Primary teachers, parents and pupils willbe given advice on opportunities thatare available to young people in thefootball world in our local area.Academy players will representSouthmoor as part of the individualyear group football teams but will alsoplay competitive fixtures as an‘academy’ against other academies fromprofessional outfits such as Darlington,Sunderland and Hartlepool United.With the links that Martin Gray has,members of the academy will beregularly watched by scouts fromour professional club partners.
MGFA @ southmoor:Layout 1 07/09/2012 12:40 Page 3What will bedifferent foracademyplayers?• Dedicated individual training anddevelopment plans.• Two hours coaching per week (excludingmatches).• Extra hour per week education enrichment –learning through football.• Coaching from UEFA pro licensed coaches anda dedicated academy coaching team separateto PE staff.• Opportunities to play against the best youthsides in the area.• Regular contact with professionalclub scouts.• Access to academy physio,dietician and medical staff whenrequired.• Close monitoring ofacademic performance toensure that academyplayers meet theireducation targets.• Unique MGFA trainingkit and PE kit (at asupplementary cost.)• Training on some ofthe best surfaces inthe local area withtop of the rangeequipment.The Coaches...BRIAN ATKINSONAtkinson began his playing career with Sunderlandin 1989, making 169 league and cup appearancesfor the club, scoring six goals. His highlight with theBlack Cats was winning promotion to the old firstdivision after a play-off final defeat againstSwindon Town at Wembley (Swindon were laterdemoted for financial irregularities), and an FA CupFinal appearance against Liverpool at Wembley in1992.Atkinson joined Darlington in 1996 and he played224 league and cup games for the Quakers, scoring23 goals, and had another Wembley appearance,his third, which ended in another defeat againstPeterborough in the League Two play-off final in2000.After a 13-year playing career which broughtalmost 400 league and cup appearances, Atkinsonhad a brief spell working for Darlington's Centre ofExcellence before joining his hometown clubAycliffe, guiding them from the Durham AllianceLeague to successive promotions through theWearside League and Northern League seconddivision, and promotion to thefirst division in 2011.Atkinson currently holds aUEFA B Licence; is fully CRBchecked;and also currentlyworks for SunderlandAFC’s developmentcentre at Sedgefield.MARTIN GRAYBorn in Stockton, Gray began his career as amidfielder with Sunderland, signing as a trainee in1990, and stayed with the Black Cats until 1996,after 79 league and cup appearances, before a£100,000 move to Oxford United.He played more than 100 games for them in threeyears before returning to the North-East withDarlington in 1999. Gray played 87 games for theQuakers in two seasons before retiring to take up areserve and youth team coach position with theclub in 2001.He had a brief stint as caretaker boss at theNorthern Echo Arena in September 2006, followingDavid Hodgson’s departure, before he wasappointed assistant manager to Dave Penney.He had another spell as caretaker manager in 2009before eventually following Penney to OldhamAthletic, again as his assistant.Gray, who holds the Pro Licence coaching diploma(UEFA’s highest accreditation in football coaching),set up the Martin Gray FootballAcademy in the summer of 2010.He and his staff are now deliveringthe most popular andcomprehensive coaching courses inthe region.
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