Nine "local boys" make the grade and get first-year professional contracts
An outstanding bit of news this - and not a bad PR effort either! Yesterday the Swans announced that nine academy youngsters have been promoted to Cameron Toshack's U18 team - they are; Jordan Islip, Lewis Thomas, Joe Rodon, Tom Dyson, Brandon Griffiths, Ashleigh Harries, Jack Evans, Aaron Lewis and Ben Evans. Congratulations to all of them, and there are some good Welsh names there!
The club have been very open in their desire to create an atmosphere where you have constant progression from the academy through to the first team, but it's been taken to another level since Monk came in and there appears to be a genuine feelgood factor in terms of young players believing they could work their way into the first team. Jay Fulton took less than six months at the club to make his debut, and that can only stand us in good stead when it comes to attracting other talented youngsters - indeed, we've just signed his former teammate Stephen Kingsley (more on him in another blog later today) and one or two articles I read in the buildup to his transfer claimed that "the Swans are noted as a team who give youth players a chance". This will only bode well for us going forward.
Youth supremo Toshack is looking forward to working with the new crop of players:
“We’re really looking forward to it. A lot of the boys have come through the football club from a young age, so they know the club very well and the expectations we have here. It’s a challenge to come from a school environment, where they only train in the evenings, to a professional environment where they are in every day, but I’m sure the boys we have selected are the best from around the area.
"The boys have examples like Ben Davies and, in the past, Joe Allen to look up to as players who progressed through the Academy to the first-team. It’s important the boys know that there is a pathway through to the first-team if they have the ability and the will to work hard.”
http://www.swanseacity.net/news/article/local-boys-swans-apprenticeships-1706842.aspx#6vcZ5k4mCiKea2jj.99
Personally I think it's brilliant the club have taken on nine boys from the local area. It gives youngsters growing up a real belief that if they work hard enough they too could end up playing for the Swans, and the more of this the better.
Hopefully it won't be long before the next talented young Welshman breaks through into the first-team.