Young Cumbrians making the grade
- 9 minutes ago
- 3 min read
There is a long list of Cumbrian born footballers who can reflect on a successful career in the game and have appeared in the EFL, the Premier League and even made their mark in international football.
But those who became household names in the higher echelons of the English game, are just a small percentage of those harbouring ambitions of a decent career in the game.
The statistics say that only a minority will fulfil their dreams, yet all players should aim high but have a Plan B. Not being signed for Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton, Manchester United, Arsenal or Chelsea isn’t the end of the world and an illustrious career in the game can still be pieced together lower down the football pyramid.
The best young players in Cumbria will probably find themselves at the Carlisle United Academy or our very own Workington Reds youth organisation.
Being accepted in either is not a guarantee that each individual will become the finished article, but it is the best opportunity to be coached to a high level and that, and any natural ability each individual has, is a good foundation.
Ability is, of course, a great help but that alone will be futile unless the player has the desire, ambition, commitment and support to succeed.
There are many players who have dropped out of the Carlisle United system and thrived second time around with Workington. Some have made it work in the opposite direction.
There are certainly greater opportunities now for kids and youth football, that never existed a few decades ago and that is a huge positive in a locality such as ours.
Our brief, as a club, is simple, develop as many home-grown players as possible with the ultimate aim of seeing them become first team players. To do that we need to offer the best opportunities for youngsters under West Cumbria's highest profile footballing brand, something we take great pride in doing.
Many have come through the system and enjoyed very good careers at a decent standard of semi-professional football. However, we are continually looking for the next Sam Smith, Conor Tinnion, Aaran Taylor, Gareth Arnison, Jonny Wright, Nathan Waterston, Gari Rowntree or Kyle May who made hundreds and hundreds of appearances for the club in distinguished careers with the Reds.
In recent times, talented performers such as Lewis Moore, Sam Christian, Owen Johnston, Alfie McDonough, Josh Palmer and Ted Thomson, plus many others, have made their first team debuts having played youth and development team football for Workington. Some of those could emulate our heroes of the past or move on to different challenges elsewhere.
The new stadium is going to be an exciting chapter for Workington Football Club in the near future and many of our U12, U14 and U16 age groups have a great incentive to progress.
Some of them will become the backbone of Workington teams for the long-term future.
WAFC can reflect on a long, fascinating history but can look forward to a bright, exciting future.
This week we will be focusing on the 26/27 cohort and introducing all our Junior squads, boys and girls for the forthcoming season. Keep an eye on our social media channels, who will become the future stars?
