HT Academy for Under 6′s

Overall, a successful season with a squad of 25 boys, which after some comings and goings, we were left with a ‘core’ squad of 11 boys at U6’s and 8 boys at U5’s.

Having re-joined to coach the Academy as Coach from Jedi U12’s, it took me a few weeks to re-adjust to life at real ‘grass roots’ level.

I was quickly reminded me of how ‘specific’ I had to be with this age group, after asking some of the boys to stand “over there”, pointing behind me, only to turn round 30 seconds later to find them halfway across Hazlemere Rec! Needless to say, instructions at the subsequent training sessions were much more specific.    

It soon became clear that with the number of boys we had, that a second training pitch was required. With the second pitch area sorted, the boys started to make better progress, as we focused on more specific routines that were more relevant to each age group. Towards the end of the season, it was great to see the boys displaying their new skills and becoming more confident in their overall play, generally with smiles on their faces.   

Our season ended with a mini-tournament against Amersham, in which the boys performed brilliantly. The U6’s won both their matches. The U5’s drew their first game, coming back from 0-2 down, to equalize in the last minute and narrowly lost their second game. A great performance all round.

I was impressed with the boys’ commitment and the numbers that continued to turn up for training, especially through the now predictable snow covered Rec during winter.

A special thanks to all the parents for making the commitment each week, and for the ongoing support when trying to co-ordinate all of them became impossible. Thanks for stepping in and helping out.

As you are all aware from our weekly training de-briefs, two of the most important aspects of each session were “did you learn anything” and “did you have fun?” It was generally a yes” all round.

The third question “will Spurs” win today, was not always met with the same enthusiasm, although it was great to see so many Spurs’ in the squad!

Good luck to the U6’s as they will be leaving The Academy – You are a talented bunch and wish you all the success for next season’s U7’s.

U5’s, I’ll see you next season.

Finally, well done to all of you – I learnt lots and had fun, too.        

The Squad:

U6’s – Caleb Andrews, Hamish Hillier, Oliver Holmes, Ethan Mitchell, Sam Pullan, Danny Woodstock, Edward Howard, Ciaran Rann, Brendon Roche, Finley Grady, Daniyal Hamid, Freddie Harnett.

U5’s – Joe Bis, Alexander Fraser, William Hibbert, Dominic Hide, Ben Mitchell, George Roskell, Thomas Webster, Daniel Phipps, Matthew Peckham, Jack Dennis, Toby Boakes, Josh Holderness, Connor Tolley.

Chris Bis
Coach – HT Academy