Girls’ Centre of Excellence given green light for a third successive season

Teesside University is celebrating after securing an FA licence to run a Girls’ Centre of Excellence for a third successive season.

At the Girls’ Centre of Excellence the region’s best female footballers have access to state of the art facilities, coaching expertise and sport science fitness support.

Teesside is the only university in the country chosen to host an FA Girls’ Centre of Excellence and is already producing footballers of international calibre.

Among the Centre’s star players are Emma Kelly, currently representing England at under-17 level and Olivia Watt, who was selected for the England under-15 camp.

Four under-13 players – Shelly Brogdan, Sarah Cramer, Leonie Hutchinson and Poppy Pattison – were also chosen to attend the recent Northern Elite Performance Camp.

In addition, the Centre’s Technical Director Gemma Grainger, who is studying her BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise (Coaching Science) degree at Teesside, is the England under-19 Assistant Coach and helped them qualify for this summer’s European Championships to be held in Wales.

Emma Kelly said: 'The Centre has been really helpful. I definitely feel like I’ve improved as a player as a result of coming here and hopefully I can continue to improve and keep making it into the national squad.'

Olivia Watt added: 'It’s great to be able to come into the University and use such amazing facilities. I really feel the training and sports science testing we do gives me an extra edge when I go down to England camps.'

The girls at the Centre train three times a week and are split into five age categories, from under 9s to under 17s.

Paul Kreczak, Centre Manager, said: 'We were thrilled to receive official confirmation of our third season as an FA Centre of Excellence.

'The facilities at the University are fantastic and the expertise of the staff has really helped to develop the players. I believe that the sport science support we offer alongside the technical coaching gives talented female players the most comprehensive football programme in the country.

'Our aim is to produce elite level players for the female game and looking at some of the girls we have within our squads shows that Teesside University is leading the way in producing the female footballers of the future.'

One of the unique aspects about Teesside University FA Girls’ Centre of Excellence is the access to sport science fitness and strength and conditioning support.

The sport science service at the University has highly qualified and experienced staff, accredited with the British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences.

The girls undertake fitness tests four times a season which are specifically tailored to provide information on the most important components of fitness for football.

Players also receive an individual training programme and their strength and conditioning is also monitored to help with injury reduction and improve functional movement.

Matthew Wright, Sports Development Officer (Elite Sport) at Teesside University, said: 'The girls are a pleasure to work with and they demonstrate that given the right culture and training environment young people from the North East can achieve exceptionally high standards without leaving the region. We are already seeing graduates of the Centre coming to study here and gaining further support through our Elite Athlete Scheme to give themselves the best possible start in their sporting and academic careers.'

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