The Whitstable Town academy enjoyed a good year, with increased student numbers and some good performances both on the football pitch and with their education, which is provided by SCL. A purpose built classroom was added at the Belmont Ground in the summer of 2019 for their use.

Director and Head Coach Josh Algar reviews their progress below:

This season really saw our Academy grow, both on and off the field. The club installed a fantastic new classroom for us at the ground, which meant that all of our players could do their education from the base of the football club instead of using an external classroom facility. Our intake really increased in numbers, which was great to see. Since the establishment of our academy, its identity has really grown. What we offer in terms of coaching, facilities, etc. is mimicked to a professional club, as I feel it is so important that we make everything as professional as it can be to ensure our players know the quality of set-up they are coming into and the standards required.

This was the third year of running our academy and the first season that we had enough numbers to be able to manage two squads in two different leagues. We had squad 1 in the SCL League and squad 2 in the Tactic League. Squad 1 had a tremendous season and were sitting third in their league when the season was terminated and had some great wins against academies such as Millwall, Crystal Palace and West Ham. This squad played some excellent football throughout the season which resulted in these rewarding performances. This year we also entered the FA Youth Cup for the first time, where we won our first round qualifying tie away at Badshot Lea 3-2, but unfortunately lost in the next round to a good K Sports team. Squad 2 competed in a very strong Tactic League that proved difficult in terms of results, but the experience they gained was excellent. Yes, of course we want both squads to win every game as this breeds confidence, but the progression and development we have seen from our players on and off the field has been brilliant and is what we are all about.

We have seen nine of our players step into men’s football, which has been the pinnacle of our season as having this many players gain men’s football exposure is fantastic. This experience ranged from the Kent County League to the Isthmian South East. Muhammed Cham was consistently involved with Lloyd Blackman’s first team squad throughout the season and although he didn’t feature as much as he would have liked, he gained valuable experience of being around the squad and getting minutes where he could, which will stand him in good stead for next season as he is a brilliant talent within our academy. The addition of a reserves team by the club has also proved a massive success for our academy players with nine of them featuring during the season, gaining experience in the Kent County League. Every player who stepped into the reserves did not look out of place at all in a men’s league and put in some brilliant performances. Our players have the opportunity to impress me every day at training with the opportunity to progress into the reserves. I want to give as many of my players as possible the opportunity to step into men’s football, but we just need to make sure it is the right time in their development to do so. This year, in our opinion, has been the best yet in terms of our academy really growing with success on and off the pitch. There is some fantastic talent within our academy, which I am sure a lot of you will see in the first team and beyond in the future.

We have applied to join the National League as this is the best level for our players to play outside of professional football and we feel that we have a squad capable of competing at this standard, so next season is going to be a really exciting time for the academy in our continued progression. Next year’s intake looks very promising with some even more talented players joining our programme.

We have also had success on our education side, with four of our students applying for university - two looking to go to Canterbury and two to London University. We have a massive emphasis on the educational aspect of our programme and it is brilliant to see our students progressing so well when leaving us after their two years. It is a shame this season had to be cut short due to unfortunate circumstances, but it is important the safety of everyone comes first. Our pre-season planning has started already, in preparation for July/August when we hope we can return. We still have a few spaces left in our academy for September 2020, so please get in touch if you are interested. We look forward to another successful season.

For more details about the academy season on the pitch, see the relevant team sections on the Whitstable Town website.

There are still a few spaces on our September 2020 programme. Due to the current situation, interested students will be interviewed via telephone by our SCL Education & Training team. Below is a link to learn more or register interest:
More details and how to apply