Gillespie guest-stars at IFA centre of excellence

The Irish Football Association's Norfolkline–IFA centre of excellence for County Down welcomed a special guest to training recently when Glentoran FC's former Manchester United FC winger Keith Gillespie dropped in to cast his eye over the latest crop of talented young footballers.

The coaching team, led by County Down performance coach Raymond Alexander, hold training sessions three days a week at Queen's University's Belfast sports complex, with 130 boys and girls aged 11 to 16 attending from various clubs and schools across County Down.

The role of the Norfolkline–IFA centres of excellence is to support young players through their important early teenage years with the aim of nurturing the best emerging talent in the country. Not only do the coaches help and instruct these young players with their football skills but also with their conditioning, diet and general lifestyle. The centres are a vital strand of the IFA's youth strategy.

Gillespie was very impressed by the standard of young player on show and stressed the value of quality coaching at their age. He said: "In my opinion, the importance of having good coaching structures in place cannot be underestimated, and the fact the players here all participate in small-sided games will go a long way to developing and improving their skills on and off the ball. To see the best young players from County Down coming together at the centre of excellence to receive such high-quality coaching can only be good news for the future of football in this country."

Alexander is delighted by the progress of his charges. He said: "It is great to see so many talented boys and girls show their enthusiasm for learning the game [and] to make themselves not only better players on the field but also to improve their general lifestyles off it. None of this would be possible without the fantastic support of Norfolkline and I would like to thank them on behalf of myself, the other coaches and all the young players who help make this job so rewarding."

With six Norfolkline–IFA centres of excellence operating in the country, some 780 boys and girls currently benefit from the programme.