RedPassion.co.uk Wrexham FC Message Board - Resolution R

Somebodies response to me talking about a DoF the other day was "change the record". Well I wont. We need football to be front and centre of what we do, what makes us as a club and how we prioritise.

The Trust are apposed to this resolution so it needs 75% of members. I see this as a first step towards moving football back into the spotlight. I hear the Boards comments but you have had plenty of time to show any interest in football and do the job properly. If you feel we shouldnt have a CoE then propose to us why, in the meantime do it with the standards we would expect from local Welsh Prem sides.

Bagger Vance and I very rarely agree on much but in this instance doing a proper job for the kids has us aligned and I understand he had some input so thanks to him and the proposer and seconders etc.

Its time to start focussing on football......

Ps its Wrexham AFC lads!

Resolution R
Creation of a Director of Wrexham FC position with the specific remit of responsibility for youth football
Proposer – Adrian Bryan Wrex ID = 9700488
Seconder - Phil Davies Wrex ID = 9844200
Seconder – Luke Newell Wrex ID = 9700627
Background
Over the past 10 years we have seen a reduction in the standards of youth at Wrexham FC. Our Under 19 team play at a Tier 3 College System. There are significantly reduced chances for our youngsters to stake a claim in the first team. We loan young players from other clubs as oppose to utilising our own. The pathway from youth to first team football has been taken away and not replaced with suitable alternatives (eg under 23 or under 21 football). The Centre of Excellence and youth teams do not regularly feature on the club’s social media channels or in briefing updates sent to members from the WST board.
However, we do not have to look too far back to see the financial riches that can be involved in producing high quality youngsters due to the sell on clause we benefited from when Danny Ward transferred from Liverpool to Leicester netting the club a significant amount of money that would be very difficult to obtain through other income generation channels.
Club Directors when questioned, always point to a lack of CoE funding outside of the Football league. Whilst this is true it is a failed strategy they appear to be employing to wait for promotion to the football league to run an effective youth system. With each passing year our system is further away from other successful ones in the area and we are another age group away from producing the quality of players we desire.
It is also a lazy excuse that the club Directors have used saying that the funding is not available given that there have been no obvious attempts at gaining sponsorship for the youth set up. In the club’s sponsorship brochure there are no opportunities to sponsor youth football.
Proposal
The club is to appoint a Director of Wrexham FC with the remit of having responsibility for the youth of the club. This role reports directly to the WST board and being a football role should always form part of the panel when interviewing for first team managers and coaches. This person can be appointed from within the WST board if a suitable person exists or could be an external co-opted appointment. It is envisaged that this will be an unpaid role utilising a person with prior skill sets in line management.
The role is to include but not be limited to
1) Recruit and Train an adequate team of coaches including the following positions.
- Head of Centre of Excellence/Youth
- Head of Recruitment
- Child Welfare Officer
2) Ensuring the following standards are met across all youth sections of the club from CoE to scholars (these standards are in line with the FAW Academy Program Regulations [url]https://www.faw.cymru/files/1615/6279/4253/ACADEMY_REGULATIONS_-_2019-20.pdf[/url] )
- All Coaches to hold a valid DBS check
- All coaches to be First Aid Qualified
- All coaches to have attended FAW Child welfare course.
- Minimum of 2 parents evenings per year with player action plans
- Minimum of 20 Games per year
- Head of Youth/CoE to be an A Class coach
- All other coaches to be a B class coach or a C class coach but actively working towards B class.
- Maximum of 12 players per coach
- Minimum of 1 dedicated goalkeeping session per week
3) Promote a pathway within Wrexham FC for youth players to develop into first team players.
4) Ensure that the club has an adequate scouting network to identify talented young footballers in the Wrexham, wider North Wales and Chester/Wirral areas. All Wrexham based Junior Tournaments should have a Scouting presence from Wrexham FC.
5) Ensure the Youth team are playing at a minimum standard of National League Youth football (they currently play at colleges league). Within 12 months of the club gaining Promotion to the Football League, the Youth are to apply for EPP Category 3 status.
6) Work with the Commercial department to find funding streams and / or sponsorship to fund the Centre of Excellence
7) Work with the Media Team to ensure that Youth Football has a visible profile at the club including updates on the club website and Social Media Channels.
The standards mentioned above should be subjected to an annual audit as is the criteria to be an affiliated club of either the FAW or EPP programs. The results of this audit is to become a standing agenda item each year at the Wrexham AFC AGM.
An expectation is that the role will be filed within 6 months of the AGM. If that has not happened then the members shall be briefed in full as to why it did not happen, what steps had been taken and what the future timeline of events is.
Background Information
There will be changes to the club structure including the way that we appoint Directors. We would prefer to wait until the review is completed
and present members with a comprehensive set of proposals to approve. We would not wish to appoint people and then have to remove them once the issue is fully considered.
This resolution is an extraordinary resolution and requires a change to the constitution. As such it requires 75% of members to support it for it to carry.