Press release

[BTFC Official]

 

 

SEEVIC College and Billericay Town FC have joined forces to offer players the chance to develop a career in professional or semi professional football while continuing with a full time educational course of their choice. The scheme runs under the name of SCORE which stands for Soccer Coaching Open Route to Education and the Benfleet College has a proud history for sporting achievement and has County and National awards for football.

 

Players chosen for the scheme will receive daily coaching sessions from ex - Southend United and Chelsea coach Dave Thompson. These high quality sessions are held at the college sports grounds but the squad can also take advantage of a fully equipped fitness suite to help the players gain full fitness. The fitness suite has a range of facilities including running machines, recumbent bikes and free weights. Thompson and his coaching staff have written a full fitness programme for the players, so they can compete at County and National level. Southend FC coach Laurie Carter who also coaches on the scheme says “We are setting our sights high this season and hope to challenge for top honours, but it would also be nice to see some of the players playing at a very high level before they finish the scheme”.

 

This has been the case for a few players in the past with former SCORE player Matt Harrold who went on to sign a professional contract with Brentford when he left the scheme. Harrold now plays his football for Yeovil Town but still keeps up his links with the scheme and regularly contacts Dave Thompson to see how things are going. Thompson adds “We have a very talented squad, and on our books we have around twenty five players that have been registered with professional clubs such as West Ham and Tottenham and the next few years look to be very interesting as they try to gain a contract with a league or non-league club”.

 

As well as the training programme, players will get the chance to represent the college in the Essex Colleges Football League and County Cup, plus the national English Colleges Cup, but they will be closely monitored by Billericay Town manager Matt Jones. Reserve team manager John Mifsud is also keen to include some of them in his side that will compete in the Essex Herts and bordering Counties League. Mifsud managed the clubs all conquering U18’s last season and many of his squad will make the leap into the reserve team this year but he admits that competition for places will be tight with many SCORE players coming into the reckoning. The scheme will give Jones a high quality squad to select from as well as give strength in depth to his first team squad as he chases honours in the Ryman Premier league. He will be inviting some of the squad to train with his first team if he feels they have right attitude and ability to compete for a place.

 

Head of sports at SEEVIC College is Dave Waite who insists that players need to have an education to fall back on and has worked hard to ensure that the scheme is a success. He has helped produce the educational requirements that will enable every player to finish the scheme with a qualification to help them in a future career of their choice. Waite says “SCORE is a unique opportunity for those who wish to become professional footballers. However not all SCORE participants will become full-time professionals but the scheme will give them the chance to achieve qualifications for a worthwhile career and the necessary skills to play soccer at the highest non-league level”.

 

Last season’s squad travelled to Malta where they stayed in the national stadium and trained on a daily basis and played against the Maltese national team where the SCORE team drew 1-1. Thompson says of the tour “After seeing the team play we had some inquiries about the availability of some of the players by a few Maltese Premiership clubs, and we may be returning to Malta in the near future to discuss the possibility of these players signing a professional contract”.

 

As well as the full time training programme players will be given the chance to take their FA coaching qualifications that will only enhance their knowledge of the game.

 

Thompson says “The non leagues are scattered with ex – SCORE players and it is our intention to ensure that there is more in the future and hopefully a few in league football. The agreement with Billericay Town Football Club will be a great benefit to both parties”. He adds, “I have had a few meetings with Matt Jones and Chairman Steve Kent and have been impressed with things and they a vision for the future of the football club that is line with our views at SEEVIC College”.

[GazzaBTFC]

This is a great move for both us and the college.

 

Great news!!!

[jl]

Great stuff...onwards and upwards

[coach et 64]

good luck lads...after being chucked out of great wakering,chelmsford city , from squatting at hullbridge and virtually being denied at any senior club in 10 miles radius,they finally managed to find a club but we know it won't last for more than a season <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />your u'16s and u'18s players are better than the ones with seevic...make sure you don't lose them and also who is gonna pick the side?mifsud or laurie?i hope for your lot that it works...King took 5 minutes to get rid of them <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

[GazzaBTFC]

Chucked out of Chelmsford City? Another "little" white one?

[coach et 64]

i don't know who you are and what involvenment with billericay you have got but one thing i'm gonna say.i was on the plane to rome at the end of march and someone called D.T.(who i knew very well from my sufc days) phoned me regarding the seevic team playing at hullbridge for next season,saying how things could work out,etc,etc after litterally treating the first team management at hullbridge with a complete lack of respect all year <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />.the club had already decided to get rid of the seevic team even if they were bringing £ 2000 to the club coffins and here i had someone that caused me to depart sufc 18 months earlier begging to stay at hullbridge with his team.because we now have, at the club, better younger boys than his college team,there was no reason to continue with the agreement and they were chucked out.i'm not resentful to anyone,i'm just saying what goes around comes around <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />and i hope it will work well for billericay town,a club i held in high esteem from the kendall days.matt jones is a good coach and knows how to work with the youngsters so you might get some players out of it.i have seen your u'18s and u'16s playing and you have got some valid youngsters,give them priority over anybody else.arrivederci <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/pipe.gif" alt="" />

[The Town Crier]

Coach, the set up is a little different than they have had previously,

 

If you read the press statement, you will see that we have our own reserve side, Our U18s won every alliance game they played last season, but the step from U18s to first team is a big one. Three lads made it, but understandably they didn’t get many games.

 

So this year we have introduced a reserve side, based around our youth set-up and policy, they will play men’s football in the Essex & Herts Borders league.

This side this will be picked from the best young talent around and it is expected that a good number of those will be from our last years under 18's. Selected seevic boys have been invited to trial, and if they are of the required standard, they will be picked on merit.

 

 

Seevic are the stepping stone we need within our current setup, we have our own youth section, Billericay Town Colts, and they will look after our Alliance U16's

John Mifsud will run our reserves, Seevic will bridge the gap.

 

Seevic can provide us with, and we to them, an opportunity for their better boys to progress into our reserves and perhaps first team. Matt will help the college with selection and have an input into training etc. The college can help us with facilities and fitness rehabilitation etc

 

It's a partnership I'm very happy with, and one that fits neatly within our set-up.

 

I spoke at length with the Seevic guys re the past few years, and it was easy to see why it didn't work, we were both up-front with what we wanted and expected from the partnership, we were honest in saying if something wasn’t right or wouldn’t work, and through discussion, we now have a deal that can only be of benefit to both Seevic College & Billericay Town FC.

 

And Coach, you might be surprised to hear that several clubs were keen to establish, or re-establish a link with the college.

 

Billericay Town FC is very happy with the arrangements.

[coach et 64]

fair enough.to make the all thing work you need a first team manager and a club that believe in youth.at the clubs where they have been before( excluding hullbridge where some of the seevic players let the management down on various occasions before i joined the club in mid february)none of the first team managers really believed in the project because they preferred to rely on older players and didn't know how to nurture some of those players through.personally i said to Dave that was a good idea but they messed the club about it and in the end they decided not to reniew the agreement with them. even if i had a problem with tommo that lead to my departure from sufc i never hold any grudges towards him and given the only choice, i would have keept them. there are some good players at the college but there is a thin line between stepping into a first team environment and playing youth football:it is down to the individuals in charge to make sure that as many of them can make the step up.all the best to Billericay who i used to watch when john was the manager and a couple of italian imports played for his team...they used to call me the translator <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/pipe.gif" alt="" />

[Guest]

Those of you that were around when basilricay was seen as a way forward (and almost happened), will know my views on many things.

 

This partnership looks like good news for young people in Essex and is a genuine opportunity, please do not [****!!****] it up (for political reasons)!!

 

This is an opportunity for young people get behind it!!!

[The Town Crier]

MOB, almost a decent post.

 

We now have at our club a total of 21 teams; they range from U7s toU18's From Girls to Ladies, from youth to first Team.

 

Our Colt and Ladies section have this year been granted community club status.

 

We are very proud of our youth policy thanks and it has nothing to do with politics.

 

We do what we want to do because we want to do it...no hidden agenda here MOB!

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

Quote:

GazzaBTFC said:
Another "little" white one?

[coach et 64]

<img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laughuncontrollable.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laughuncontrollable.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laughuncontrollable.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laughuncontrollable.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/laughuncontrollable.gif" alt="" />

quality mate,sometimes i do take some of them.. <img src="/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />