Doncaster Rovers F.C. Academy

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Doncaster Rovers Academy
Doncaster Rovers FC.png
Full nameDoncaster Rovers Football Club Academy
Nickname(s)The Rovers
Donny
The Vikings
GroundCantley Park
ManagerTony Cook
LeagueFootball League Youth Alliance, North East Conference

Doncaster Rovers Academy is the youth team run by Doncaster Rovers to encourage and develop young footballers in South Yorkshire.

The youth team runs 9 teams and has over 100 players from the ages of 8 to 17. Tony Cook is the current academy manager and was promoted to this position in January 2019 after initially joined the club as head of academy coaching in September 2017. The academy team plays in the Football League Youth Alliance, North East Conference and is only for players below the age of 18. Home games are played at the club's training ground at Cantley Park.

The role of the Doncaster Rovers Academy is to develop players and their abilities to their full potential for the club's first team. Rovers youth team were runners-up of the FA Youth Cup in 1988[1] and the winners of the Youth Alliance Cup in 2012.[2] The youth system currently has Category 3 status but with future plans to achieve Category 2 status Academy in the Elite Player Performance Plan which would make Doncaster one of the few teams outside the Premier League with Category 2 status.[3]

Current squad[]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
— GK Scotland SCO Kian Johnson
32 GK England ENG Ben Bottomley
— DF England ENG Martin Smith
30 DF England ENG Ben Blythe
— DF Australia AUS Nathan Dimou
42 DF England ENG Tom Henson
— DF England ENG Elliott Walker
— DF England ENG Max Jemson
— DF England ENG Lewis Cunningham
29 MF England ENG Lirak Hasani
— MF The Gambia GAM Ethan Bojang
No. Pos. Nation Player
— MF England ENG Will McGowan
— MF England ENG Josh Clemitson
— MF England ENG Charlie Bell
31 MF Northern Ireland NIR Liam Ravenhill
43 MF England ENG Dan Wilds
— FW Norway NOR Marius Skar-Conradi
— FW England ENG Jack Watson
— FW England ENG Luca Nelson
— FW England ENG Owan Derrett
33 FW England ENG Ethan Harrison

Players listed in bold have signed a professional deal with Doncaster Rovers but are still eligible to play for the U18's.

[4]

Staff[]

Role Name
Academy Manager Tony Cook
Academy Secretary Calum Oakenfold
Pro Development Lead Coach - 16 - 18 Gary McSheffrey
Lead Youth Development Coach - 13 – 16 Tony Mee
Foundation Lead Coach - 7 -12 Michael Pedley
Head of Goalkeeping Steve Hernandez
Head Physiotherapist Andrew Henson
Head of Academy Fitness Daniel Solts
Head of Academy Analysis Matthew Saunders
Media Daniel Breslin

[5]

Age Groups[]

There are currently 9 squads at the Academy.

  • Under 18
  • Under 16
  • Under 15
  • Under 14
  • Under 13
  • Under 12
  • Under 11
  • Under 10
  • Under 9

Notable Academy Graduates[]

The following are players from Doncaster's academy team past or present who have gone on to play in the top 2 tiers of the Football League, or the top tier in another country with prominent national leagues.

References[]

  1. ^ "FA Yout Cup Past Winners". Archived from the original on 3 April 2015.
  2. ^ "ITV/FA Youth Final".
  3. ^ "Special report: All systems go with Rovers' youth remit - Ben Mawson".
  4. ^ "Academy Profiles" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Doncaster Rovers Academy Staff" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Doncaster Rovers/Darius Henderson". YouTube. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2012.

Coordinates: 53°30′35.1″N 1°06′50.0″W / 53.509750°N 1.113889°W / 53.509750; -1.113889

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