Cal MacKenzie talks to ShrewsWeb to give an update on the Academy
Shrewsbury Town’s academy has produced a number of players who have gone on to represent the clubs first-team and achieve success with Premier League and international accolades.
The Shrews academy prides themselves on giving academy prospects a chance to develop and perform on the big stage with the first-team.
No stranger to helping with the next step is Callum MacKenzie – the Phase Development Coach has seen a number of recent prospects gain first-team experience and is proud of the work the academy has done so far to continue to aid the bloodline of the club.
Callum is also pleased to be working with Sam Ricketts as Town’s manager has been pivotal in giving young players a chance in the Town first-team and Callum hopes to see this continue.
“I think it’s a fantastic time for the academy at the moment and all the boys from 16 down will be relishing the prospect of making debuts and pushing on in the future,” said Callum.
“I have spoken to Sam Ricketts a number of times and he’s a forward thinking manager. He came from an academy background having spent a little bit of time at Wolves, which was where I first met him.
“He sees the value of bringing players through and for a club like ours it’s extra important, as we haven’t got millions and millions of pounds to spend on players. Producing our own is very important.
“We have always had players who have the potential to take up first-team spots and they have always had opportunity. Now it’s there for all to see.
“Ryan Sears is another one who is doing really well. He seems to be getting more opportunities and I know that the first-team like him. He works hard, which is a core ingredient for all players who are pushing to get into that environment.
“We also have Ryan Barnett who is out on-loan with Telford at the moment and he’s a real prospect. They are the three flag bearers at the moment for all the rest to follow.”
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