There are four days coming up at the Shrewsbury Sports Village where young goalkeepers will get the chance to work with the Academy coaches.
If you are interested in attending then please email phil.smart@shrewsburytown.co.uk with the following info.
Name, Parents contact details (email and phone), current club (including any academy experience), date of birth and address.
The dates of the ID days are in February on Tuesday 18th (U8/U9), Wednesday 19th (U10/U11), Thursday 20th (U12/U13) and Friday 21st (U14/U15).
The aim of Keeper Identification Days is to find talented local goalkeepers who may have a future within the Shrewsbury Town Academy.
Head of Academy Goalkeeping Phil Smart said; “We are looking to come across young goal keepers who we may have potentially missed when we were scouting.
“The Keeper Identification Days allow young players to come in and work with us for an hour or two in the afternoon so we can have a look at them, have a chat and get to know them.
“The hope is that further down the line we will be able to bring players into the system and help them from grassroots to professional football”.
These events provide a low-pressure environment where young people can come in and show their abilities and passion for goalkeeping. Anyone who is interested is welcome to the event as it is not only a chance to show your talent but to also get some goalkeeping training from Shrewsbury Town coaches.
“The biggest thing with these days is that people enjoy them and come in and treat it as just another experience.
“For us it is great because the club feel like they are giving something back. These days are not just for us to identify buy also for us to give something back to the local football clubs and goalkeepers”, said Smart.
Shrewsbury has a fine history of producing goalkeepers of the highest quality and these days are designed to help more young people reach their potential.
Smart said; “Over the past few years we have had some good keepers coming through the academy system and when you look back, we have a history in producing good quality goalkeepers with Joe Hart being the obvious example.
“Shrewsbury is a positive place for developing goalkeepers and every time we go to the FA they always mention it. The praise we get shows how good our reputation in producing goalkeepers is and it is something we are trying to continue with these days”.
These identification days are run over four days to enhance every young person’s experience. The academy work to ensure that every child has the best experience possible and have the chance to let their talent show.
“We want to make sure that the children don’t get nervous by being surrounded by large groups, that is why we spread it out over four days.
“You often hear about recruitment days that happen at different clubs where they have loads of numbers, which might be good for them, but for us we like to break it down.
“We look at children from all different age categories so we can make them feel as relaxed as possible and not feel intimidated by people who may be older than them.
“We hope that this makes the experience better for everyone as they can be proactive and express themselves without fear”.
“We can’t push this amazing opportunity enough. We have amazing links with Shrewsbury Town Football Club and grassroots football.
“We want everyone to know that we do care and if there is stuff we can do then we will do it. We will keep putting sessions on, this is an amazing opportunity not only for us but also for us to see what people can do.
“We will identify talent in the local area but also it is an amazing opportunity for children to come in and get goal keeping experience from specialist goalkeeping coaches. The current scholars will be present on the day so the children can ask them what it is like day in day out to be part of an academy”, said Smart.