Academy all set for season
By Ray Simpson
Home to South Shields a week on Wednesday
Our Academy starts its season with an away game at Blyth Spartans tomorrow -- here, Ben Holden previews the season.
The Darlington Academy squad have been working hard during the close-season ahead of the 2024-2025 campaign. The academy squad will participate in the FA Youth Cup and the National League Alliance Division G. This league will provide some stern tests for the boys against regular North East outfits such as Blyth Spartans, Gateshead, Hartlepool United and South Shields. In addition, several visits to Yorkshire are pencilled in for the boys and the squad will be looking to build upon their mid-table finish last season.
Home fixtures will be played at Northallerton Town's Calvert Stadium with the boys hosting South Shields on Wednesday 4th September, 12pm kick off. Supporters are welcome to all fixtures and Darlington would like to place on record our thanks to Northallerton Town for their ongoing support for our academy programme.
Academy Manager Jarrett Rivers is looking forward to the upcoming season and is always keen to develop the boys and footballers and people too. 'I am excited for the season ahead as the squad possesses some exciting young players with potential to move forward into a good level of the adult game'. 'Our style will always look to replicate the playing ethos of the first team and we hope several players can follow in the footsteps of Dan Maw and Harvey Rudd in making the transition from Academy to a First team environment'.
The academy programme is ran in partnership with Darlington College. The boys will study either Level 2 or Level 3 courses linked to sport under the guidance of the excellent team of staff at the College. There is a high expectation placed on the players to balance the demands of their studies and footballing commitments equally. Darlington FC would like to thank the team at Darlington College for their hard work in supporting the holistic development of all players.
An exciting year awaits for the squad with the team opening their league campaign with a trip to Blyth Spartans tomorrow. Updates will be provided throughout the season on the page.
