It was a hectic Christmas period for our Centre of Excellence as we held our annual open trials for the under 9-16's. The response was immense, both locally and further afield and I was surprised to see the number of people from the Birmingham and London areas who had logged onto our excellent website to book their place. Although the standards varied, we found one or two gems who will enhance the programme and we will now give them a 6-week trial to prove their worth. A big thank you to our Development Coaches, Thomas Baille and Rob O'Neil who are doing some fantastic work in the Rothwell, Kettering and Corby areas.

After the Christmas break, our Centre of Excellence teams were back in action last Sunday against Brentford, which always is a tough fixture. Watching the U11's and U13's, one can see there has been a huge improvement in these two sides. The progress of Jordan Jeacock (U11's) and Scott Toomey certainly had old stalwart Ray Warburton purring and new U13's acquisition Ryan Davidson from Rothwell, Alex Mackie from Oakham and Jordan Chambers from Desborough highlighted what we are looking for in young players.

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