The Bristol Rovers Academy department, led by Byron Anthony, reviews a successful 2024/25 season ahead of the new campaign.
As the curtain came down on season 2024/25 we look back and reflect on another season of progress for the Academy.
The Academy has progressed in multiple areas in the last 12 months and it’s important to celebrate that. Naturally, the pathway will always be looked at and the question on people’s minds will always be who’s the next player coming through and will they play in the first team. To answer those questions is important but it’s even more important to understand that players will continually come through the Academy pathway, but it will depend on if they get opportunities and when they do they need to be ready to make an impact.
Last season the academy had exposure to the first team probably the most we have had in several seasons, Young Player Of The Year Kofi Shaw and Academy Player Of The Year Ollie Dewsbury represented the Academy excellently last season. Shaw was a shining light in a difficult season for the first team and put on some fantastic displays for an 18-year-old. Dewsbury made his debut at the tender age of 15 and has worked extremely hard last season and this was rewarded with first team training and involvement in match day squads before getting his first senior start at Blackpool.
To have four academy graduates on the pitch at the same time is a huge achievement for everyone connected to the Football Club, Jed Ward, Shaw, Dewsbury and Scott Sinclair. Ward and Dewsbury have been with the Football Club since the age of nine, stuff dreams are made of, future Academy players see this and know it is possible.
Our under 15 Quincy Dixon also appeared on the bench twice in the Emirates FA Cup, which was fantastic for Dixon at such a young age to train with the first team and to be involved on a match day.
Several scholars also appeared on the bench for the first team in the Vertu Trophy, another competition that allows some of the Academy players to get first team exposure and make an impact.
The Academy can also celebrate on the international front where we have had seven players represent countries from Wales to Lithuania, Canada, and New Zealand to name a few. It is excellent exposure for the players and further development going away on international duty to another country and being coached by different coaches will only enhance learning to come back into our environment.
Our loan programme had significant growth last season with every scholar going out on loan to experience playing senior football. It is important that players get exposure to loans especially as we don’t have an under 21s team, meaning the players have to be ready earlier. The loans for both Dewsbury and Shaw were pivotal to their development and gave them challenges they wouldn’t have had in youth team football. We have built connections with clubs from step 3-6 and work with specific clubs to gain different experiences depending on the player’s needs.
Each season we look to challenge players in different festivals and tournaments and this year we took the academy age groups to Belgium on tour, and this gave the players experience of different cultures, being away from home and playing against different opposition. The players absolutely loved it, and we will be looking to do this more in the near future.
Finally, it was fitting that the under 15s won the development league at The Memorial Stadium, defeating Plymouth in the final. Our under 12s also reached the semi-final of the Premier League Cup having defeated Brentford, Cardiff and Watford on route, a fantastic effort to get so close to the final. The disappointment didn’t last long as they won the Hageland Cup in Belgium. Every age group had the opportunity to play on The Memorial Stadium for the second season running this is so important for our young players to experience.
