PATTISON APPOINTED HEAD OF YOUTH DEVELOPMENT

Whickham have appointed former Newcastle United midfielder Matty Pattison as Head of Youth Development. 

Pattison is not a stranger to the First Mortgage Glebe having played and managed the First Team squad for two years from 2018 until 2020. 

Matty’s role will see him oversee the club’s full youth structure from under 7’s all the way up to under 16’s level. 

The former professional footballer’s role will involve liaising and advising each coach on techniques but also helping create a club philosophy and developing training sessions throughout each age group within the youth section. 

Pattison will also have a hand in recruiting youth players throughout the different age groups as well as assessing the abilities and potential of the club’s current crop with a long-term target of producing players for Whickham’s first team. 

Matty is excited about the opportunity and thrilled to be back working with the club. He said: “It’s great, it’s always been a club I’ve been fond of. 

“I’ve played here and managed for a brief spell so to come back and help the club out and try and move it in the right direction as it’s doing at the moment with the youth teams is fantastic and I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Under the former South African international guidance, the club will also be hosting summer holiday boot camps for all youth levels. 

The camps will include a mixture of different drills and exercises to help each child learn various roles within football. All the sessions will be aimed to improve and challenge each player. 

Most importantly the camps will be fun and enjoyable with sessions planned to teach key roles such as passing and shooting, possession-based tactics, player movement and crossing and finishing practice to name only a few. 

The holiday camps will be a fantastic opportunity for your child to learn and gain advice from top quality coaches who have an abundance of experience and knowledge within the game. 

If you would like to enrol your child into one of the camps or gather further information, feel free to send the club a message on social media and we’ll be happy to provide further details.