Mr David Gardiner, Head of Foundation in Bolton Wanderers said that Ljubljana Open is more then a Football event.

Interview with Mr David Gardiner, Head of Foundation is about Academy programme which they have in Bolton Wanderers Football club. 
Mr Gardiner said that Ljubljana Open is more then a Football event, it is also a great Social and team-building exercise for clubs.  


1. Dear Mr David Gardiner could you please explain your daily work?

On a daily Basis I am responsible for the Co-Ordination and implementation of our Pre Academy Coaching Programme and our Academy U9-U11 Coaching Programme along with the co-ordination of the coaches.  I work closely with the head of Youth, head of Goal Keeping, Recruitment, Head of coaching and Academy Manager.

• A week will consist of separate Staff meetings with Management, Coaching Staff, Medical and Fitness Staff and also our Scouting Department.
• Preparation and planning for Coaching sessions using our Electronic database takes place each day.  
• Planning of Games, Festival, Tournaments
• Player Reports
• Match Reports 
• Coaching Sessions
• Session Observations
• CPD

2. What is your club philosophy, style of play?

Our Club Philosophy is to develop a player’s technique and skill to play a passing game from the back through the thirds of the field to create goal scoring opportunities. We encourage players to develop their individual game understanding and roles and responsibilities as they work through the coaching phases.

3. How is academy organized? How many teams are in?

We have academy U9-U16 Teams.  Supporting them is also a Pre Academy in which around 120 boys train from the age of 5 – 8 Years old.

4. We heard about your four stage model that the academy utilizes as players Progress through each age group. Could you please explain stages?

- Learning to train (U6 - U9)

This is the fundamental stage for learning, where the children are extremely receptive to skill acquisition.  The players will work to master the ball and be successful in 1v1 situations.  At this stage the players will play in 7v7 games.

- Training to train (U10 - U13)

During this phase players will continue to enhance technical and tactical skills.  Players are training to train.  At the beginning of this stage the players have moved away from their small sided games and are now participating in 9v9 making the transition to 11v11 at the beginning of their U12 year. 

- Training to compete (U14 - U16)

During this phase players will continue to enhance their tactical and technical skills and learning their individual roles and responsibilities within a team.  This will be achieved with the inclusion of functions, phases and units in possession and out of possession.

-  Competing to win (U16+)

During this phase players will enhance their tactical and technical skills and individual roles and responsibilities in a team.  Players will now train to win whilst developing their winning mentality.  Players will work towards understanding all aspects of the game including the importance of set plays.

5. How is organized scouting process in academy? How the scouts are instructed?

The Scouts have a meeting first thing on a Monday morning in which the previous week is discussed and the week commencing.  Everything is planned and co-ordinated from this meeting.

6. What do you do for training your coaches, according to Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP)?

All our Academy Coaches have to be registered with the FA Licensing Club. Each coach has to be a minimum of UEFA B Licence and also working towards completing their Youth Module 3 assessment.  The more senior role you hold, the more qualifications you have.  We have a continuous CPD programme in place which is provided by our In House Coaching Programme along with CPD provided by the FA and also the Premier league. Each coach is required to do a minimum number of hours CPD each year.

7. What is your opinion about Ljubljana Open tournament? What good practice could you share with us?

The Ljubljana Open is a Fantastic Tournament that we have participated in for the past 2 summers. The tournament itself is excellently organized and from the moment we arrive in Slovenia we are looked after with great hospitality.  Not only from a football perspective it’s also a great Social and team-building exercise for our Club.

The level of competition is very high and the boys and coaching staff enjoy testing themselves against teams and coaches from around the world.  It provides many different challenges in particular playing against different styles of play and implemented tactics.  The tournament provides a good number of games and playing time for each player.  

The playing and accommodation facilities are very good and the tournament is concluded In style when each team gets to play in the National Stadium on the last day.

We look forward to returning in June 2014.