“We want representation in the first team” – The vision set out for Women’s Under-21s side

Ahead of the 2024/25 Professional Game Academy League campaign, our Under-21s and First Team coaching staff highlight the vision of the Women’s Academy as part of an exciting new era.

Our Under-21s begin the new campaign on Wednesday (28 August) with a trip to Arsenal and, as promoted last week, supporters can access the full fixture list on our website, with post-match reports also available to read after each fixture.

Women’s Academy Technical Coaching Manager Nick Hardy – who will also take charge of the side this season – will oversee the development of the programme pathway for players and also staff, and he outlined the main aspirations for the academy from this season and beyond.

“The biggest aspiration is creating a pathway to the first team, the short to mid-term is creating an environment and programme where we can develop within the academy setting,” Nick said.

“The main aim is we have someone that goes through that whole journey and, I think, we already have evidence of that with Jehanne Pierre, who just had a call-up to England U17s and she has been with us since the age of 10 and gone through that pathway.

“The opportunity and possibility is there, it’s just about enhancing it and making it a possibility for even more individuals. In return, hopefully towards the back end of this season and in years to come, there’s representation in the first team from the academy journey.”

The Club has seen a number of academy graduates make their competitive debuts for our First Team over the last five season, with forward Lenna Gunning-Williams also becoming the first academy graduate to sign a professional contract with the Club in July, 2023.

A key member in Robert Vilahamn’s coaching staff in helping to provide support for academy players into the senior squad is First Team Coach, Anton Blackwood.

“I work as an assistant to Robert in the first team, primarily focusing on the technical aspect to improve the players, but I also do quite a unique role of being a transitional coach,” Anton said when discussing his duties.

“So I would help transition our young players into the first-team environment, currently working with the likes of Lenna, Araya [Dennis] and Elkie [Bowyer], trying to support them and help them get to that next step, whether that’s going out to another club on a dual-registration, playing internationally or just getting into the first-team matchday squad and getting minutes on the pitch.

“I also work with the Under-16s, so I will help those group of players progress into the Under-21s and then help the Under-21s players into the first team.”

One of our own and Club legend, Jenna Schillaci, who made an excess of 300 appearances for us during her 13 seasons in Lilywhite, is also part of the backroom staff for the Under-21s, working as an Academy Operations Manager.

Talking about her role within the academy and how she hopes to use her experience to help the next generation, she said: “I’m hopefully should be around the girls slightly more on the pitch, have more day-to-day contact with them, and just being there as a point of contact for the players if they are struggling or need any advice.

“It will be a long season and they will be balancing quite a lot, I obviously had that experience of playing alongside working and the best way of balancing it all together. It feels like a new era for the academy – I first started working within this set-up in 2020 and in the short space of four years, it feels the academy is really kicking on now. With the investment from the Club, the new players and staff we brought in, the access to the Women’s building, it’s an exciting time to be a part of.

“A lot of these players are still young, learning their trade, so being there, having been where they are and you know what motivates yourself, and I hope I can bring that to them, especially for some of them who have come from grassroots level and can be quite daunting coming into an environment like this.”