Town favourite steps into important Academy role
- Jon Worthington is Huddersfield Town’s new Under-17 Coach
- Former Club Captain makes move into coaching from medical team
- Leigh Bromby discusses ‘one of the most vital jobs in the Academy’
Huddersfield Town has today appointed former Club Captain Jon Worthington as its new Under-17 Coach.
Jon, now 36, made nearly 250 appearances for the Club between 2002 and 2009 having graduated from the Club’s Academy before re-joining as part of the medical team in June 2015.
‘Worthy’ subsequently adopted the lead role in the Academy’s medical setup and will now move into this role to begin his coaching career under Academy Manager Leigh Bromby.
He will begin work with Town’s newest class of scholars when they return to begin their pre-season at PPG Canalside on 1 July.
Bromby had fulfilled the role on an interim basis following Mark Hudson’s move to become First Team Coach under Jan Siewert, with Dean Whitehead taking the Under-19 squad.
Academy Manager Leigh Bromby explained:
“Being Under-17 Coach in our Academy setup makes you a very influential figure. It’s a very specialist role at this Club; one of the most vital in terms of player development.
“Year on year, our Under-17 group will be entirely new to the Club. As such, they will not have the coaching and knowledge behind them that our previous Under-16 players would in terms of, for example, knowing our playing style.
“Also, our focus at Under-17 level is entirely on developing the players; not on winning games. Everything is focused on giving our players challenges to overcome and skills that will stand them in good stead over the course of their careers.
“Most coaches are former footballers themselves and I can tell you that is a difficult mindset to adopt when you’ve focused on winning all your career! We redress that balance as the players move to the Under-19s and Elite Development Squad, but the focus of the Academy is on improving the individuals throughout.
“Jon is the person I wanted to coach our Under-17s because he totally agrees with and believes in that philosophy. You couldn’t meet a more driven winner than Jon, but he understands that his job is all about improving the abilities of our players.
“Jon is determined to be a success as a coach, and he will be a great example to our players of what it takes to have a successful career. He embodies so many of the qualities we look for in a Huddersfield Town team; fight, desire, passion, pride and, importantly, real quality in everything he does.”
Jon commented:
“I’m delighted to get the opportunity to take this role on. It’s so exciting that I’ll get the chance to influence the first steps that our new scholars will take in their development at Huddersfield Town.
“Having played for this Club, and as a part of the Academy environment for the last four years, I totally understand what we’re trying to achieve here. I can’t wait to get out on the pitch with the players when they return in July.”
