Watch out for the City new kids on the block (From Worcester News)

Watch out for the City new kids on the block

2:00pm Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Steve Carley

WORCESTER City under-18s are fast making a name for themselves on the national stage.

Despite only forming earlier this season following the introduction of Nunnery Wood Colts to run the club’s junior teams, players are already travelling from far and wide to wear the shirt.

Youngsters from across the Midlands, as well as two from London, journey to Worces-ter on a regular basis for training and matches and two more are set to join from Leeds.

The reason is simple.

City play friendlies against the academy teams from Football League clubs, including Birmingham City, Leeds, Swindon and Oxford, and last week beat Cardiff 5-2 to complete a double over the Welshmen.

Because they themselves don’t have academy status, Worcester are not subject to the rule which states players must live within 90 minutes of their club.

Although the majority of the squad is Worcester-based, including skipper Gareth Howells from Lower Broadheath, players from further afield see it as an opportunity to gain valuable experience against good opposition.

Striker John Kamara and midfielder Tairo Tavares both commute from the capital, after playing against the team for Walsall, and fund the trips out of their own pocket.

The St George’s Lane club have even pumped in £1,000 towards costs because they see the under-18s as an integral part of dev- eloping talent for the first team.

Manager Simon Wellham, whose son Luke has trained with Carl Heeley’s squad, said: “Our intention as a team has been to focus on player retention which is difficult with only being able to play three subs in under-18s league games, so we decided, with the full backing of Worcester City, to have a season of games against academies where we can dictate how many players play in a game.

“Having played against clubs from the Blue Square Bet Premier, Leagues One and Two and the Champion-ship, we have drawn the attention of players from Leeds United, Huddersfield and London.”

Mark Wilcox, City’s youth development director, said: “We are getting inundated with lads wanting to come and join.”