GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY INFORMATION BOOKLET - GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY - Hull City Ladies

GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY

 GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY
INFORMATION BOOKLET

OUR VISION:
Our vision is to fulfill elite female potential in everything we do, to provide the highest level of coaching
and development for girls in Hull and the surrounding region, helping them reach and exceed their
potential whilst providing a pathway into senior women’s football so they can go onto play at the
highest level of football for both club and country.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT:
• To apply Excellent Technical & Tactical, Psycho-social and Sports Science practices to provide a holistic
development programme for elite female footballers.

• Players must be challenged to become independent decision makers, creative and resilient, with the
ability to understand different states of the game and react positively, to the needs of the team at any
given moment

OUR CORE VALUES:
• To be proud of who you are, work hard, display honesty, togetherness and strive to be the best you
can be. These qualities must be demonstrated at all times.

• To believe in yourself, believe in the person standing next to you and be brave.

THE GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY HAS THE
FOLLOWING FIVE KEY AIMS:
• To optimise each individual’s psycho-social development and maintain their health, well being and
potential through facilitated coaching with a player centred focus incorporating England DNA to reach
their best of their ability so they can go onto play at the highest level of football.

• To identify female players of ability and place them in an elite academy development programme
that is designed to produce excellent players and well balanced young people.

• The girls in the elite academy will train with us to maximise their playing potential whilst also training
for their respective clubs and will also compete for their junior clubs at the weekend. This will help to
increase confidence, skill, strength, condition, speed, technical/tactical play, together with helping to
support the grass-roots community football teams and clubs.

• To develop players confidence, knowledge and skills further.

• We aim to create a positive learning environment using the Long Term Player Development Model
across the four corners of; technical, physical, social, and psychological at every stage of their
development

FOREWORD: INSPIRING THE NEXT
GENERATION
Hull City Ladies are going from strength to strength and are improving on and off the field. We
currently compete in the Women’s National League (Women’s Football pyramid Tier Three) and have
fantastic players and staff.

We pride ourselves on having a club that celebrates its equality & diversity which our supporters,
community and the city can be proud of and can only enhance the growth of the club, women’s & girl's
football. Hull City Ladies work tirelessly both on and off the field to help enhance the women's game
within the heart of our city and globally.

There will be opportunities and chances to play for the Hull City Ladies' first team and the Hull City
Ladies Reserve team. Abi Wallace, Faith Martin, Aoife Brannigan have all appeared this season and are
proof that First Team Manager Adi Costello will give players a chance. Abi, Faith, Florence Pegrum,
Harley Skinner and Tillie Oxley have all joined the club from York RTC and have all appeared for the
Tigresses in 2020. Maddie Blundell also joined the club from York RTC and has received a squad number
for Hull City Ladies and stars for the reserves,alongside Kazia Walby who came to the club from
Doncaster RTC.

The Tigresses are brilliant role models for our academy young players and we have fantastic
experienced players who can help players evolve, improve and grow.

First team manager Adi Costello said: “Whilst I am in charge we will give those that are good enough
regardless of age a chance, we won’t throw them in without the full support of all the staff & players.”

Our Club Ambassador, Carol Thomas is an inspiration to the Tigresses & female footballers. Carol
became the first England captain to surpass 50 caps and is a fantastic role model for the girls in the
academy. Thomas said: “I was approached with regard to becoming the Tigresses first ever Ambassador
and Lifetime Honorary Member, as a true hullensian, I am deeply honoured to accept these roles from
my local club.”

Academy Manager, Bob Wilkinson said:

“The Hull City Ladies Girls Elite Academy vision, structure and philosophy is there to develop players
across all four corners of the Long Term Player Development Model. I am really looking forward to
passing on my extensive knowledge, experience and coaching delivery for the seasons ahead, to be
part of this holistic team, to develop every player I can, to build and promote a Girls Elite Academy for
the area and to pursue a positive and successful future for everyone concerned.”

DEVELOP, EMPOWER & ACHIEVE
One purpose of the Academy is to identify female players of ability and place them in an elite development
programme that is designed to produce excellent players and well balanced young people.

Our Girls Elite Academy will mirror Regional Talent Centres in all aspects, however, girls in our academy will
train with us to maximise their playing potential whilst also training for their respective clubs and will also
compete for their junior clubs at the weekend. Hull is a great catchment area for promising young female
footballers.

The nearest Girls Academy/Regional Talent Centres (RTC’s) are York, Leeds and Doncaster and whilst these
are great RTC’s they are out of town and their location prevents many young talented footballers from our
region attending them.

Our Girls Elite Academy is on the doorstep and we will provide the same professional coaching, syllabus and
player centric development which is shown at other RTC's. Each player will have an Individual Learning
Profile (ILP), together with scheduled Player/Parent Reviews. This will help to increase confidence, skill,
strength, condition, speed and technical/tactical play.

MORE THAN FOOTBALL
The overall aim is for girls to reach the best of their ability so they can go onto play at the highest level of
football for both club and country. We believe that it’s not all about winning, whilst we still always strive for
excellence, we endeavour to educate its players in all positions of the game, including technical, personal,
tactical, social, moral and physiological development.

Our aims will be for the players to have a good work ethic, have self-belief, have good determination, and
be a team player. Also, to work hard, believe in yourself, believe in the person standing next to you, believe
in yourself as a team and be brave.

For the first year/season (2020/21), the Girls Elite Academy will not play any league fixtures, however, we
will have friendlies. The sessions will be innovative, inclusive, fun and engaging in order to give girls more
contact time, the opportunity to polish their skills, improve technique, have fun and extend their football
knowledge whilst playing in a safe and friendly environment.

COST AND PLAYER’S BENEFITS
From 1st September 2021 the academy will be an annual subscription of £300 with payment options
available.

This will include: Each player will receive their own academy kit, which is designed and made by Hope &
Glory Sportswear.

Players will be coached by UEFA licensed coaches. We also have fantastic goalkeeper, analyst and physio
staff members. More detail on our excellent coaches are below.

Access to exclusive opportunities will be given and all junior players and Under 16’s will be enabled to
gain free entry to every home game of the season which includes League games, League Cup games and
FA Cup games.

Girls in the Academy will receive priority access for mascots, ball-girls. Hull City Ladies player
attendances and Q&A sessions can also be offered. Players will also be given education workshops and
special guest talks.

All parents will be given opportunities to purchase season passes, matchday tickets, and merchandise at a
special discounted rate. Discount codes will also be given to players if they want to purchase additional
Hull City Ladies attire.

From 1st September 2021 players will receive a minimum of four hours of training per week. The
academy will follow a structured player centric syllabus and each player will have a player/parent review
after a designated time period to compliment their respective Individual Learning Portfolio.

Players will receive professional photography and professional headshots from Kevin Greene, which will
then go on our teams section profile on our club website.

COACHING EXCELLENCE
All staff that are employed by Hull City Ladies have exceptional knowledge, experience and are highly-qualified to
help develop the next generation of female elite players for the club. All staff also hold FA Enhanced DBS/CRB
checks, up-to-date FA Safeguarding and Emergency First Aid qualifications.

BOB WILKINSON, ACADEMY MANAGER, TECHNICAL DIRECTOR, & LEAD COACH UNDER 16’S

academy@hullcityladies.com

Bob has been involved in coaching football for many years in both the North East and Yorkshire areas and has been
an FA Licensed UEFA B/Level 3 coach since 2007. He is currently doing his UEFA A Licence Diploma together with
his UEFA A Elite Youth Licence. He is a current FA Affiliate Tutor, delivering the Level 1 and Level 2 coaching
qualifications for both the North and West Riding County FA areas and was an FA Coach Mentor for many years until
the scheme was stopped Nationally in 2020. Bob was also a Technical Coach for the Under 16’s at York Regional
Talent Club (RTC) for over 3 years till 2020.

He is the Manager and Head Coach at Harrogate Town AFC Ladies, who currently play in the North East Regional
Women’s football league and also a coach for Durham University AFC Men’s team who play in the national BUCS
League. He is also a West Riding County affiliated referee and always positively promotes the laws of the game with
all his player involvement and interactions.

Bob said: “I truly believe that every moment matters in coaching and I am passionate about long term player
development of all age groups, both male and female, both outfield and goalkeeper and always with the intention
to develop players to their best of their ability and beyond, from grassroots to elite and hopefully onto future elite
professional football, together with my own continuous personal development. I am so looking forward to working
with these players to continue their playing and development pathways.”

                                                 Bob Wilkinson

PAUL SMITH, UNDER 16’S & 14’S TECHNICAL COACH

Paul is an FA licensed coach and has been working at grassroots level for the past 6 years. Many of you will
recognise him from his coaching role at Elloughton Blackburn FC where he has coached U8 up to U14 taking that
club from a single girls team to seven teams in the 2020/21 and starting an FA Wildcats centre.

Paul is passionate about Girls football and loves to help girls come together and develop both individually and as
a team. He will also be working towards higher coaching qualifications himself mentored by Bob.

Paul is originally from Luton (but don't hold that against him) but lived for many years in Greece and was once
oddly asked to trial for Aswan Utd in Egypt!

Paul said "Joining the Hull Girls Academy team was too good an opportunity to miss and I cant wait to help
develop the skills of the girls and bring them together as a team".

KARL SOUTHWICK, UNDER 14’S TECHNICAL
COACH

Karl is a FA Level II coach who has over 15 years of
coaching experience in the UK and US, with 7 years
of this spent specializing in girls/women's football in
the US.

Karl has provided professional football training to
100's of players at Grassroots, Collegiate and
Professional Football working with players from
Bayern Munich, USWL's, Ex-Premiership Players,
Brazil U23 International Women's Players.

 "I am very excited to be joining the team at Hull City                       Karl Southwick
Ladies. It is my passion to work with players in the
local community and help them achieve their goals of
playing at the professional Level. It is an exciting
time to be part of the Hull City Ladies family," he said.

JOSH REED, UNDER 12’S TECHNICAL COACH

Josh has over 8 years of coaching experience in both the U.K. and the United States, ranging from Youth
Academies to Men’s and Women’s Collegiate teams.

He is an FA and FAW qualified coach and is currently awaiting admittance to the FA Wales’ UEFA B course starting
in September. Josh also holds his USSF D license from his time in the States.

“I am really looking forward to working with the girls, and playing a role in their development to help to guide
them towards their undoubted bright futures in the game,” he said.

ALEXANDER FINDLEY, UNDER 12’S TECHNICAL COACH

Alexander is an FA licensed coach and has been working at grassroots level for the past 5 years mainly in the UK
but he did have a 6 week coaching contract in the US as part of the Chicago Fire Community Soccer programme.
As well as this he was previously been a Goalkeeper Coach with New Life Hull FC (now Hull Saints) and was the
U11s Assistant Manager/Coach at South Cave Sporting FC.

He is Level 1 qualified in Coaching Football and in Talent Identification for Football. Alex is also a Level 2
qualified in Fitness based Gym Instructor and has a Level 3 qualification in Sports Massage.

Alex said:" I am really looking forward to working with the girls, and playing a role in their development and
furthering my development as a coach in the Hull City Ladies coaching system."

                                 Josh Reed                      Alexander Findley

CHRIS PEACHEY, UNDER 10’S TECHNICAL COACH

Chris is currently a level 2 coach and a level 1 futsal coach and has been involved with girls football at Hornsea
Sporting for 4 years coaching boys football and then building a girls department at the club which started with 4
girls and now as over 80 girls playing football every week

He prides himself on being a fun and approachable coach and is really passionate about long term player
development and always looking at new ways to develop coaching knowledge and experience.

Chris is currently coaching a girls u9's and a boys u9's team as well as running a wildcats development centre (for
foundation aged girls).

Chis Peachey said: “I'm really excited to be working with some amazing talented young girls in the local area,
and to help develop and play a part in the girls football journey with them and making it a really fun and
enjoyable experience.”

LUCY MCINTOSH, UNDER 10’S TECHNICAL COACH & HULL CITY LADIES PLAYER

Lucy is currently in her first year studying a Sports Rehabilitation degree at the University of Hull. She is originally
from the North East where she has previously been a coach at Whitley Bay FC development, coaching children
from the ages of 4-12.

Lucy has played football since the age of 5 and has previously been part of Newcastle United Academy for 4
years. As well this, she has played in the North East Regional League before moving to university, and is currently
in the Hull City Ladies Squad.

Lucy said: “I’m really looking forward to working with you all and watching you develop into super little
footballers - If you believe, you can achieve!”.

                                           Chris Peachey            Lucy McIntosh

MEG COOKE, ALL AGE GROUPS & GKS, HULL CITY LADIES PLAYER

Meg has been involved in football from a very young age and has played for a number of teams across the
country including Herefordshire, Gloucestershire centre of excellence and West Brom.

She is currently a goalkeeper for the Hull City Ladies senior team and has been at the club since 2019. Meg has
been involved in numerous projects, including holiday camps and after school clubs, helping to empower girls in
the region.

Meg said: “I have just started my Introduction to Coaching Football (previously FA Level 1) course and I am
excited to begin my coaching journey with the Hull City Girls Academy.”

ANDREW HARDEY, UNDER 14’S & 16’S, CURRENT HULL CITY LADIES ASSISTANT TEAM MANAGER

Andrew is Hull City Ladies current assistant manager and has a wealth of experience working in women's football.

Andrew will be working closely with the Under 14's and the Under 16's and helping young female talent
transition from the Under 16's to hopefully the senior team. He is passionate about Girls football and loves to
help girls come together and improve both individually and as a team.

                                     Andrew Hardey                Meg Cooke

SAMANTHA ROBINSON, SPORTS THERAPIST

Samantha is the founder of Phoenix Sports Injuries Ltd. She qualified as a Graduate Sports Rehabilitator (GSR) at
The University of Hull 2020, during this time she was able to work with different sporting teams in the area of
musculoskeletal injuries and injury rehabilitation plans.

Although only just completing her degree Samantha has been involved in the sporting industry for over 15 years
working in the public sector as a Level 4 Fitness Instructor.

Sam said “ I am looking forward to working with the talented girls in the academy, I am on hand if anyone picks
up a knock or gets injured.

I would say if the unfortunate does happen and someone gets injured I am on hand there and then to sort it at the
time and there to follow it up after on, whether that be a rehabilitation programme to make that certain area
stronger or a catch up with the parents to make them aware and to be generally there to be on hand to answer any
questions parents may have”.

JAMES LOGAN, STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACH (S&C)

James holds an undergraduate degree in BSc Sports Coaching and is currently studying his masters degree in MSc
Strength and Conditioning at Leeds Beckett University, whilst working towards his UKSCA Qualification. He also
holds a Level 3 Personal Trainer and Level 4 Strength and Conditioning Qualification.

He works as an intern at Leeds Beckett University, overseeing the S&C sessions for the talented student athletes in
American Football, Rugby League and Womens Rugby League. Alongside this, he is also an intern at Leeds United
Ladies RTC, working as a S&C Coach with U16's to U10's.

Furthermore, he is a S&C coach for the Leeds City College Rugby League Development Academy in partnership with
the Leeds Rhinos Foundation and the Lead S&C Coach for Harrogate Town Ladies First Team.

He is a former Rugby League Academy Player and now runs his own coaching business coaching several high
performance athletes as well as members of the general population and helps to support the athletic development
of young children through various sports.

                              Sam Robinson                     James Logan

PAUL KIRBITSON, GK TECHNICAL COACH & CURRENT HULL CITY LADIES GK COACH

Paul has worked at the elite level of academy football for many years. 6 years with York City Regional Talent
Club, (RTC's), under many managers his role was to develop female Goalkeepers from U10s through to 16 years
of age.

Paul ethos is a simple one, from U14s and below we work hard to install the basics, this is called 'THE
FOUNDATION PHASE', it does what it says 'we build the foundations' 'a strong foundation will last a lifetime'.

At U14 level we reinforce those foundations and introduce the technical aspects of goalkeeping. Above U14 we
reinforce/improve the technical aspect of the game and introduce the tactical/game understanding part of
football, in preparation to move forward in youth/adult football. All the while reinforcing the basics, this is the
YOUTH PHASE.

Paul said: "I am proud that I have worked with girls who have gone on to represent their respective countries, 2
are currently within the England set up, 1 having represented England at U15 level and currently our Ladies No1,
the other still within the England camps.

In addition 2 have represented Wales, one currently with the U19s and due to play in the euros and is at
Birmingham City Academy. The other plays for Leeds Utd ladies. I am looking forward to working with the
goalkeeper in the academy and my ethos is to help individuals not only as Goalkeepers, but to have a well
balanced individuals too."

                                                                                         ONE TEAM
                                                                                        ONE DREAM
                                                                  GIRLS ELITE ACADEMY
                                                                                        #TIGRESSWAY

               Paul Kirbitson

WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE
We not only want to develop elite players within the Girls Academy and help them fulfil their potential.
We want to help, grow and evolve grass-roots football. The academy will work with football clubs to
increase girls' participation and to create further contact time.

We already do fantastic work in the community and run popular after school clubs, futsal sessions and
half-term camps. This helps to promote increased participation and retention in the female game.

The Tigress Club Partner programme is an initiative that allows grass-roots clubs to become partnered
with a local elite women’s football club. We currently have 18 teams part of the programme as clubs
receive many benefits for being a member.

TOGETHER STRONGER
Hull City Ladies have an extended and growing network of sponsors and key partners. These fantastic
partners range from an award-winning agency Init Creative who specialise in video, animation, design,
and web design to an international football agent. Kevin Greene Photography seizes moments of
celebration, on and off the playing field which will elevate the Academies journey. OctoVision also can
elevate the Academy using their brilliant aerial drone photography as they fuse their passion for aerial
photography and cinematography with the latest drone and camera equipment. Our main sponsors
Wolds Engineering are a fantastic sponsor, they provide companies with all their PPE needs and they will
help promote the Academy to wider audiences. Our first team players and staff have sponsors, we
envision that academy players will have sponsors in the near future.

Dates/Times/Venue
The young girls who are part of our academy are provided with two nights of training a week, this will
enable players to still train for their junior club.

For training venue, dates and times, please see our website for further details.
hullcityladies.com . All dates, times and venue are subject to change.

All dates, times and venue are subject to change.

ACADEMY SPONSORS
Hull City Ladies senior players have player sponsors, this allows businesses to help support a local
women's football club whilst receiving many fantastic benefits such as representation on our club
website and social media posts in which we promote your social media handles, website and specific
deals. More details about player academy sponsorships is in another booklet.

The principal & community partner for the academy is Hull Kitchens, who proudly are represented on
the front of the training shirt. They deliver your favourite local takeaway food and goods directly to
your door. Kevin Greene Photography and Hope + Glory are represented on the sleeves on the shirt.
Kevin is Hull City Ladies Head Photographer and owns his own photography business. Hope + Glory are
the Tigresses main kit supplier and have supplied fantastic kits and training wear for numerous years
now.

HEY MIND proudly represents the back of the shirt. HEY Mind are a fantastic charity who are working
hard to create more awareness and support for people within Hull and East Yorkshire. We are helping
by having Hull and East Yorkshire Mind on our Girls Elite Academy training wear and we will be working
in partnership on numerous fundraising and awareness initiatives to further support the charity.

Samantha Robinson is the Girls Elite Academy Sports Therapist and a Hull City Ladies Key Partner
through her business Phoenix Sports Injuries.

COVID-19 DISCLAIMER
In everything we do, we will always adhere to guidelines set by the government and the FA. The FA
continues to work closely with the DCMS and Sport England in order to provide good practice guidance for
those responsible for delivering different aspects of grass-roots football.

As the weeks progress, Government Covid restrictions will be eased further.
Whatever the government outcomes are we’ll update our guidance accordingly. It’s essential everyone is
clear about the restrictions and works together to manage social distancing and promote good hygiene.

Hull City Ladies are clear that safety for all concerned is of paramount importance to us and have a full
Covid 19 Risk assessment in place, this also includes a Covid Officer (Beth van Tilburg). This can be viewed
if requested.

SAFEGUARDING
(Welfare Officer: Beth van Tilburg - 07879779601 - welfare@hullcityladies.com)

At Hull City Ladies, we take safeguarding very seriously. We believe football should be an enjoyable and
safe activity for everyone. We offer an open door policy and Beth our Welfare Officer who has over 15
years experience in safeguarding is happy to answer any questions or address any worries or concerns
you may have.

The safety of children at the Academy is of paramount importance to us and we shall continue to do our
best to help safeguard children when they are in our care. This means that all staff and volunteers are
fully DBS cleared and recruited in a safe manner.

In order to achieve this, Hull City Ladies has developed a number of policies and procedures designed to
ensure that children and young people can enjoy the range of opportunities open to them to participate in
football in a safe environment.

You can view the following policies on our website:

Safeguarding Policy - Safeguarding – Complaints Procedure

CONTACT US
     HULL CITY LADIES FOOTBALL CLUB
K2 TOWER, 60 BOND STREET, HULL, HU1 3EN

     #TigressWay
    01482 426068           www.hullcityladies.com

    HullCityLFC     HullCityLFC        hullcitylfc

                   HullCityGirls