Find out more about our age group teams, who will be at Vale Park on Saturday on our 2022/23 Academy Day!
Port Vale's Academy age group teams will be in attendance at Vale Park on Saturday, backing the first team at the clash with Bristol Rovers!
Academy staff and players will be making their way around the Vale Park pitch at half-time to thank fans for their support in the 2022/23 season. Our Under 9s and 10s will also play on the pitch at half-time!
Players from our Under 9s to Under 16s will be in attendance throughout the afternoon, speaking to supporters in the Staffordshire University Fan Zone and around Vale Park!
Find out more about how each of our age group teams have fared, from their age group coaches:
Under 9s
“The Under 9s are an energetic and charismatic group who have had some great experiences this season. On the pitch, they have had numerous experiences outside of their usual Category Three games programme, in which they are a competitive group who play various formats from 3v3, 4v4, 5v5, 6v6 to 7v7. They won an EFL tournament at Staffordshire University which the Academy hosted, this consisted of playing 2 x 5v5 games against three other teams in which they had to win over both pitches to get a final score, they won the final by breakaway penalties! The Under 9s have also had some great experiences by visiting Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton, Nottingham Forest, West Bromwich Albion and Derby County.” - Callum Rollings, Foundation Phase Lead Coach
Under 10s
“The Under 10s have had an excellent season and we have seen them grow as individuals and as a team. They have entered festivals throughout the year and have won some challenging tournaments at West Bromwich Albion involving numerous teams, they have also won a player-led tournament which was held through the EFL at Blackpool FC, in this they showed great team work, collaboration and the ability to work under pressure which was rewarded with a crown for a trophy! The Under 10s have also had some great experiences by playing numerous Category One teams including Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Derby County, Everton, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Wolves and more, in which we have seen the group be more than competitive.” - Callum Rollings, Foundation Phase Lead Coach
Under 11s
“The Under 11s have had a challenging season so far and have built on their resilience as well as technical and tactical aspects throughout. They have entered multiple festivals throughout the year and most notably have won a tournament at West Bromwich Albion, involving Wolves, Birmingham City and West Brom. The Under 11s have also had some great experiences by playing numerous Category One teams including Manchester United, Derby County, Everton, Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers, in which we have seen the group be more than competitive. Since the turn of the year, we have started to see good progress towards improvements individually and as a team.” - Dan Wakeham, Coach
Under 12s
“The Under 12s have had another enjoyable and competitive season. The Under 12s are a hard-working and committed group, who have had great opportunities to play a variety of different teams and tournaments playing the likes of Aston Villa, West Brom and Nottingham Forrest as well as there usual Category Three games. During those tournaments, they have been more than competitive. During our EFL tournament hosted by Rochdale, we played x2 7v7 games and the smaller sided format allowed the group to really show their creative side, playing some outstanding football!” - Steve Leyland, Coach
Under 13s
“The continuous hard work and effort from the Under 13s this season has been rewarded by experiencing fixtures against several Category One and Two academies, including Nottingham Forest, Leicester City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Blackburn Rovers and West Brom. This has been alongside the games programme including our own in-house games. We have seen positive performances and results along the way – an example of how far they’ve come on the pitch.
“The introduction of analysis has been a great tool for the boys’ development, and the players continue to engage both on VEO and in the classroom activities, exploring and reflecting on both their positives, but also reflecting and recognising the microscopic, but important, details that they can continue to work on to progress. This has been exemplified in practice, with high attendances and a real desire to show the coaches their quality.
“Off the pitch, the boys continue to show good attitude and application with a continued effort in positive mannerisms towards the staff and their peers and continue to build relationships and memories with people within their team that we hope will last for a lifetime.”
Under 14s
“Four players from this age group have been given early scholarship decisions for the 25/26 season. One of which was invited to Chelsea on two-week long trial. This has been a high-performing age group that has been invited to play numerous Category One clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea, Southampton, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest, West Brom, Liverpool, Burnley and Everton. They have shown on many occasions that they can compete at the level. They also finished top of the league when they entered a 12-team tournament at St George’s Park, which included Category Two & Three clubs from all over the country.
In the most recent half-term, the Under 14 age group were invited into the club to train with the current youth team to spend a day in the life of a scholar. The club has high hopes for many players within the age group and the recruitment over the past 12 months has been key to this.” - Danny Lloyd, Lead Youth Development Phase Coach
Under 15s
“Similarly to the Under 14s, this is another age group where recruitment has been a key part in this age group’s success. The club have signed several players since the start of the season. This group has really come into their own since the Christmas break. This age group has also been in with the current Youth Team training in the day through the half-term period and this has again raised the standard within the group. They have also been involved in many Category One & Two additional fixtures including Wigan Athletic, West Brom and Birmingham City to name a few.
Two players from this age group have already made their debuts for the Youth Team in the Youth Alliance League. The club is hopeful that we can convert a high number of players from this age group into scholars over the next six months.” - Danny Lloyd, Lead Youth Development Phase Coach
Under 16s
“Eight players from the Under 16s age group have signed scholarships for the 2023/24 season. All eight have made Under 18s appearances this season and are now involved in every under 18s match day squad. Six of those played in the Under 18s’ fantastic FA Youth Cup run, which saw us reach the Fourth Round of the competition for the first time in 10 years, where we were eventually beaten by Liverpool in a game that we came out with great credit.
The club’s now youngest ever first team player, Jack Shorrock, is part of this age group. Another, Dominic Brook, was called up to a Republic of Ireland U19 international training camp.
The age group was invited to Chelsea for a tournament in October which they competed incredibly well, and they have had fixtures against other Category One academies this season and performed well.” - Josh Brehaut, Head of Coaching