The Upper Hutt City Football Under 19 season is about to get into full swing.
The U19 season is geared around two key objectives:
1) Getting a squad of 18 players ready to represent the club at the National Under 19 Tournament in Napier over Labour Weekend, and
2) Developing the next breed of U19 players who will be ready to represent the club in future years at both U19, U17 and senior levels.
Upper Hutt City Football hosts its own U19 tournament in Upper Hutt over the weekend of 10/11 October. This tournament has been running for over 20 years, and is a permanent fixture in the Wellington region football calendar. The purpose of this tournament is to give all clubs the opportunity to test themselves under competition rules that mirror what goes on in Napier, and as a result we have virtually all clubs in the region represented plus a few from farther afield. Over the past few seasons we have introduced an “academy grade” to the tournament to allow clubs the chance of entering two sides, or for those clubs who do not have strong sides they can also choose to play at this level.
Upper Hutt City will again this year enter two sides in our tournament, one in the main draw, and one in the academy draw.
We do not select the two teams yet.
These sides get selected in the week before our tournament in early October (usually two squads of 15 players), then the 18 who travel to Napier are selected following the Upper Hutt Tournament based off their performances at training and games leading up to the tournament, and at the tournament itself.
Our practice is to invite all players, be they U17s or older players playing in the senior ranks, to trainings and games throughout late August, September and October. This includes any players from other clubs who want to try and get one of the two guest player spots for Napier, acknowledging that to be a guest player you need to bring significantly more to the team than a local player.
****IMPORTANT****
Eligibility rules for the Napier tournament are strictly enforced, and we are supportive of these.
For any player who is registered with the club (ie hasn’t transferred to another club), but has not played in a competitive game for the club in the 2015 season (for example, due to recent transfer IN to the club or has just played school football etc), there is a fixture scheduled for Sunday, 23rd August 2015 in the Ivan England Tournament. This is an under 19 competition geared towards preparing teams for our own tournament but also to confirm players eligibility for the Napier Tournament.
Coaches
We are pleased to confirm the coaching team of Phil Patterson (Head Coach U19s), Antony Meiklejohn (Development) and Pedro Garcias for the U19s programme.
Should you be interested in being involved in either our tournament or the Napier Tournament and have not played for us in 2015, please contact Phil Patterson (029 200 8152 or phil7patterson@gmail.com) asap.
Training
We will train three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and then either Friday night or Saturday morning. The idea is that the coaches get a chance to see players in both training and game situations. For the team that goes to Napier, commitment and fitness is key, so participation in the fitness sessions and trainings are just as important, if not more so, than performance in games.
Initial training sessions:
- Thursday 27th August, 6.30pm @ Maidstone (for those players not trialling for Heartland Wairarapa)
- Thursday 3rd September, 6.30pm @ Maidstone (for those players not trialling for Heartland Wairarapa or away with school football commitments)
- Training will begin in earnest for everyone on Tuesday 8th September, 6.30pm @ Maidstone
Upper Hutt City Football is committed to developing our players and give them every opportunity to show their talents.
Want to know more?
Should you have any questions about the U19s programme or want to discuss the opportunities available to players in this age group, please contact Phil Patterson on 029 200 8152 or email phil7patterson@gmail.com .