Burton Albion U18 vs Huddersfield Town U18 on 23 Apr 22 - Match Centre

Young Terriers given ownership of game plan

- Huddersfield Town’s Academy back in action on Saturday
- Young Terriers lead game against Burton Albion
- Fans can attend

Huddersfield Town’s Young Terriers are back in Youth Alliance League Action on Saturday 23 April 2022 when they take on Burton Albion in an 11am kick-off.

Town’s youngsters will be showing off their knowledge as the coaches take a back seat and let the players lead.

Ahead of the game, the Academy staff tasked the youngsters with taking charge of both the pre-match build-up and game, including choosing the squad!

One of the key parts of the Academy’s philosophy and development is to give youngsters different tests and challenges, so the Club have a strong belief in allowing players to have real ownership of their own development through exercises such as this.

The youngsters’ season is broken into two parts. The first half of the season, up until Christmas, focuses on teaching them how to play to the Club’s style, whilst the second focuses more on situational understanding and giving the players that responsibility to put what they’re learnt into practice and make decisions about how they play.

The Academy staff fully believe in the capability and understanding of their players to challenge themselves in this way, which was proven right by a successful first player led game against Mansfield Town in March 2022.

The game will take place at the Don Amott Arena (Mickleover Sports, Station Road, Mickleover, DE3 9FB), with supporters able to attend free of charge.

An indepth review of the game will follow on htafc.com.

You can follow all the latest news from the Town Academy on its dedicated Twitter account - @htafcacademy.

Fancy helping the Academy to bring through the next big player for the First Team? CLICK HERE to learn more about the benefits of Blue & White membership!

Young Terriers given ownership of game plan

- Young Terriers lead game against Burton Albion
- Comments from scorer Joseph Johnson
- Academy back in action on Saturday 30 April 2022

Huddersfield Town’s Young Terriers showed off their knowledge as they took on Burton Albion on Saturday morning, in a game where the coaches took a back seat and let the players lead!

Their second player-led game of the season, the Academy staff tasked the youngsters with taking charge of both the pre-match build-up and game, including choosing the squad!

That week included the players deciding the plan for training on the Thursday and Friday leading into the game.

The players then led the full match day too. Only a physio and an analyst travelled to the match with the team, so the players were responsible for everything during the day. Injured defender Shane Maroodza was acting Head Coach in charge of decision-making during the game, handing out instructions and deciding on substitutions.

An impressive performance from the Young Terriers, they took the lead in the 20th minute, before a quick free kick and a goal conceded on the counter saw the scoreline finish 2-1 to the hosts.

16-year-old right back Joseph Johnson, pictured above, bagged Town’s goal and gave his thoughts on the game.

“I thought the game went very well.

“We didn’t have the coaches with us for this game, so we had to be well organised, which I think we were.

“The first half was particularly good; we had the ball quite a lot and we ended the half with some good chances.

“I got a goal in the first half, and I’m delighted with that!

“I’ve been playing as a right wingback the last couple of weeks, which has been quite different to playing as a number nine, especially as you don’t get as many opportunities to score.

“When that chance game, I knew I had to take it, and I’m very happy it paid off.”

Johnson went on to discuss how he found the process of a player-led game.

“I think that type of experience is especially important.

“In the future there might come a time where your coach might not be available, and so you must be able to take the lead both individually and as a team.

“I think this experience has helped a lot with my personal development.”

You can find out more about the Academy’s belief in allowing players to have ownership of their own development by CLICKING HERE.

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