Youngsters Get Senior Opportunity At Poole

24 Jul 2017 By Steve Whitney

As part of the move to integrate players at all levels of the club, Poole Town have signed a number of last season`s successful under-18 players to an expanded first-team squad.

Ollie Balmer, Josh Leslie-Smith and Harvey Wright have all signed for the first-team after an outstanding season in which they won the 2016/17 South West Counties Youth League.

With the advent of the new player development programme, players leaving the youth ranks have a defined path to the first-team.

Many of Balmer, Leslie-Smith and Wright`s former under-18 team-mates are signed to the development squad and also train with the first-team, making the transition seamless.

Director of Football Nick Spetch said: “It's really exciting to see the development of Poole Town youth players. I expect there to be more as the season gets underway as they will be an important ingredient for our team in the future.

“This is great news for youth football in the area as players can see a direct path open to Step 2 and beyond. In the past, there has been a temptation for 18-year-olds to drop a step or two to get regular senior football”.

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