Whitlow full of praise.
After Sam Austin, Mark Shelton and Sam Hornby were all rewarded with professional contracts, academy manager Mike Whitlow has expressed his delight that yet again, Burton Albion are producing young talents which are breaking into the first team.“It is a fantastic achievement.” Mike told burtonalbionfc.co.uk.
He added “Mark and Sam have been with us a while now.
“I think Mark has been with us about three or four years.
“It is all testament to our coaches. They give up a lot of time and effort.
“What is going on from the eight-year-olds upwards is fantastic.
“You have got Sam Rose overseeing the 8-12’s programme.
“Tony does the 13-16’s and the coaches working in them environments are what create moments like this.”
Youngsters such as Matty Palmer, Liam Slade and Marcus Harness have all featured for the first team this season with Palmer picking up 37 appearances whilst scoring four goals.
“It is a great achievement for the young lads.”
The Burton Albion academy achieved academy status 3 after an audit in 2014. Mike Whitlow puts the success down to his coaches being able to transfer their knowledge for the youngster’s developments.
“All the coaches take pride in knowing that it is all for the kids and their development.
“Some of the football you see is brilliant.
“I love going on a Sunday morning and watching the little Bambinos.”
Don’t be surprised to see some more young talent walk through the doors sooner rather than later. Whitlow touches on an incredible journey of which one of his young players has been through and tells us what lies ahead of him.
“We have got a young lad coming through this year who has been with us for five years now and he has just signed a scholarship so by the time he has finished, he has been on a seven year journey.”