3 min read
31st Jan 2023
A group of under-17s will travel to Spain this week, ahead of facing Valencia in an international friendly at Ciudad Deportiva de Paterna.
This will be the second time in as many months the team have experienced a trip abroad, having come up against Dutch side PSV in November. And next on the agenda for the players and coaches is Spanish opposition, as the one-night excursion takes them to the Valencia training ground for a training session and then a fixture with Los che.
It’s another example of where the academy at Wolves aims to provide players with unique experiences and ones that better prepare them for the future, in their roles as footballers but also as human beings. Under-18s coach James McPike has suggested the couple of days away, which will be led by Ian Sharps, will support the journey of the youngsters for when they make the transition into full-time football later down the line.
On how international travel aids development
“It will be our 15s, 16s and 17s going out there and ultimately we want to try and create these really good experiences for them that’ll hopefully support them on their journey.
“It’s a good opportunity to try and understand the boys a little bit, learn more about them and build some relationships.
“We’re playing against international opposition, so we’ll focus on us and what we do. We’re not too sure what they’re about.
“It helps the boys develop their adaptability, their game understanding and problem solving.
“Ultimately, being away gives us the chance to see if they can self-manage themselves around hotels, meal times, and demonstrate those professional behaviours.”
On what to expect from Valencia
“We’re going off when we watched the 21s play Valencia and how technically sharp they were. They could play the ball round really fluidly, but they weren’t also afraid to make runs.
“We’re expecting a challenging game. If their 21s are anything to go by, it’s going to be a good experience and challenge for the boys.”
On creating new experiences
“Their whole journey is about their experiences. The more experiences we can give them in professional environments in terms of international fixtures, playing Spanish opposition and Dutch opposition, they’re the kind of players we want to produce for the first-team and beyond.
“Giving them experiences like that, hopefully they’ll have some memories later down the line of it.
“It won’t be new to them to travel abroad to play Valencia in Spain. Playing in the 18s and playing at stadiums – all these experiences we give them are to better prepare them when they make the transition over to first-team football.”