At U17 level, City will compete in the Professional Development League Trophy Final next month, having impressed in the competition so far this campaign.
The side will host Shrewsbury Town on Wednesday, May 7th, with the fixture taking place at Cardiff City Stadium, kicking off at 6:30pm.
In the semi-final stage, the young Bluebirds faced AFC Wimbledon and produced a brilliant performance to secure a place in the final.
Entry for the game at CCS will be free for all supporters, as our U17s aim to capture silverware.
Reflecting on the competition so far, Tom Hutton said: “We’re largely positive about the experience the boys have had. We talk a lot internally as a coaching staff about how we can provide different challenges to the boys and add variety to the games programme. The PDL Trophy is a part of that and gives us that competitive platform for us to challenge the boys in different ways and hold them accountable to results a little bit more than we would in the league. There is jeopardy to these games in that it’s knockout football. How you capture the learning from those moments is slightly different to the normal games programme. That’s something that we try to do throughout and it’s been positive to see the boys getting those opportunities to play and continue their learning through cup competition.
“We are at the sharper end of the development spectrum in the U18s. I don’t think you can ever ignore the importance of the result and you have to capture that in the learning post-game and debrief on that. There’s always a bigger picture which is developing the players first and foremost. The boys are learning how to win and become better footballers, those things go hand-in-hand. This cup campaign has been a memorable one and we want to continue that by having a positive result in the final. These boys have played together for a long time, they’re grown up together and hopefully we can give them a really positive experience at the stadium and come away with the win.
“It’s hugely valuable. The cup competition has enriched the games programme. Firstly, we get to play a lot of teams that we wouldn’t normally play and in doing that, there’s always a contrast of playing styles. Secondly, there is that jeopardy on these games. How you debrief that with the players and learn from it is a huge part of their development because they are moving ever closer to the sharper end of development.”