In the programme issued for the game against Worcester City, Reserve Team Manager Dominic Cunliffe, and Youth Team Manager Mark Hughes, spoke about changes to club structure. Their thoughts are reproduced here:

Worcester Programme – Reserve Team Page

With our season well and truly under way, and with several rumours spreading around why there was a need to change the set-up of the club, I think now might be the right opportunity to discuss the reasons for the change. Although it has been well documented, I personally feel that there still needs to be some clarity as to why the change.

Obviously the pinnacle of the club is the 1st team and the Reserve Team is used to support and service the 1st team, especially with players who might regularly sit on the bench, who are recovering from injury or who just need that little bit more fitness. Therefore the Reserve Team team-sheet is never the same for two consecutive fixtures. Equally, the Reserve Team is used as a link for the Youth Team and is used to support, foster and develop the younger players to ensure they are both physically and technically ready to take on the demands of the Blue Square Conference South League. Steve and I have selected our squad, but like every other club in the country, the door is never closed and the squad will change throughout the season with some leaving and others coming in.

Underneath the Reserve Team is our Youth Team, U19 to be more exact. The Youth Team play in the Conference Youth League and is managed by the experienced Mark Hughes (no not the Man City Boss!!) who acts as a link for the two Academy Teams. Mark has already selected approximately 20 players for this season and will be working closely with myself to ensure the players are moved into the Reserves when they are ready. Again the Youth Team squad is never final as players will be moving up to the Reserve Team or back to the Academy Teams throughout the year.

Underneath the Youth Team we have two Academy teams. We are very excited this year as unlike in previous years Mark will have a greater pool of players in which to choose from, but more importantly the players themselves will be able to continue their playing development and continue with their academic studies at either Basingstoke College of Technology or Queen Mary’s College. Both colleges have agreed to support the development of all players and have allowed for extra coaching to be performed by Steve Allison (BCOT) and Mark Greenwood (QMC) as well as playing regular football with their respective college.

As you can see the set-up under the 1st Team is looking more and more professional in anticipation of getting promoted over the next few years into firstly the Conference Premier and then to gain League Status after that.
I know, you’re probably thinking that this is more like a dream or a wish list, and this will not happen at Basingstoke? But I ask you to stand back and consider how could we not have changed the development of our 1st Team without changing the solid foundations in which to recruit, nurture and grow local talent.

In addition, the Ladies section of the club too will be changing with the start of our very own Ladies Academy. Like their male counterparts, BCOT and QMC will be offering the very same set-up of female players developing and gaining their academic qualifications with additional coaching to help them progress with their football development. These young female players will also progress through into the Ladies Reserve Team and ultimately into our Ladies 1st Team, under the direction of Steve Pike.

Therefore, as you can see, there is a need to change the set-up of the club and we strongly believe this year is an exciting time in which to drive the club forward. I know you will all continue to offer your support to all of our teams.

See you on the terraces
Dominic

Worcester Programme - Youth Team Page

Personally I would like to reinforce what Dom has discussed. The Basingstoke Town Youth Academy has now formally got the selection of all the best players within the local area, and beyond. The new link up with Queen Mary’s College, now means that I have at my disposal, the best players within education to choose from within Basingstoke and from other local towns. Added to this, I can also select a limited number of players not within either BCoT or Queen Mary’s. Therefore, as a result, my player recruitment now spans as far as Andover to Reading and from Newbury to Alton. A very large area to recruit the best players from!

To help in my new role of Basingstoke Town Youth Academy Manager, I have been on a fact finding visit to Southampton’s Academy at Marchwood. The aim was to pick up on some professional approaches and looking at ways in which I could incorporate these within Basingstoke Town. The first thing that hit me was the enormity of what the Academy players had available to them. The Academy set up employed nearly 85 staff that help to run all team from Under 9’s right up to the Under 18’s. Not only do they have a set up in Southampton, but also run a satellite centre in Bath that develops players around that area. Players are given specialist training programmes that help to develop Balance, Coordination, Proprioception, Speed, Agility, Strength, Power and CV Endurance which are based around individual fitness test scores. They are given advice on nutrition and hydration and they also have a full time psychologist to help players manage the demands of the game by helping them progressively and systematically develop mental skills that are consistent with top performers. They even have computer programmes and an eye specialist to help players develop peripheral vision! It is an amazing set up that highlights why it is seen as one of the leading Academies in the Country, which in recent times had Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott in their ranks. One of the key important factors in a player’s development that they stressed was the need for a unified approach to coaching, tactics and playing throughout the whole club. I was told that each team from Under 9’s to the first team play a particular formation and that this was emphasized through the development of their players.

Now obviously it would be very hard to replicate all the fantastic things that I have seen on my visit to Southampton, but it has given me a great insight into areas that can be worked upon to make the Basingstoke Town Youth Academy as professional in its organization and management as possible. However, what it did also highlight is all the things that we are currently doing at Basingstoke Town that were evident at Southampton. Such as a common vision shared between all managers from 1st team down to the Youth set up is key. Frank, Dominic and I are great believers in players expressing themselves- making sure that players are comfortable on the ball and work hard off the ball for their team. We are currently developing a universal ‘Basingstoke Town formation and style’ so that players develop an understanding of a method of play that is required throughout all teams and that will help make progression between team easier as systems and styles are the same. Finally, the main factor in any good organisation is Communication. There are always regular discussions between all managers to discuss players’ development and issues that need to be addressed.

I strongly feel that there is a new and exciting managerial set up throughout the club and one thing is for sure, we all foresee a bright future ahead and we appreciate your support in making it happen.

Mark