Bolton Wanderers F.C. Reserves and Academy
| Full name | Bolton Wanderers F.C. Development Squad |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | The Trotters |
| Founded | 1874 (as Christ Church FC) |
| Ground | County Ground Leyland |
| Manager |
 David Lee (Under-23s) & Jimmy Phillips (Under-18s) |
| League | Professional U21 Development League 1 Division 2 |
|
2014–15 2014–15 |
Barclays U21 Premier League Division 2, 9th Barclays Under 18 Premier League North Division, 12th |
Bolton Wanderers Development Squad are the youth team of Bolton Wanderers and play in the FA Premier U21 League, Division 2. They also participate in the Manchester Senior Cup, although in recent years the teams entered in this competition have featured an increasing number of youth players.
Bolton Wanderers Development Squad play their home games at the County Ground in Leyland, the home ground of the Lancashire F.A.
Throughout the history of Bolton Wanderers F.C. many of the club's best known players have progressed through the reserve team. These include former captain Kevin Nolan.
The Bolton Wanderers Academy was established in 1998 and is based at the club and the main training ground. It replaced the older, more informal youth system, and enabled the club to focus their youth development and scouting, employing new techniques and FA standards.
It is overseen by former Bolton Wanderers F.C. player Jimmy Phillips. It provides a stepping stone for youngsters to progress to the highest levels of football at Bolton Wanderers.
Scouts attend many local youth matches looking for talented boys. A boy will then be invited to attend training sessions at the Academy. They are taken in as young as the age of eight. At this age, the boys start by simply attending after-school training sessions, but as they reach their middle-teens, their academic needs will be taken over by the Academy if they are deemed athletically talented enough.
Between the ages of eight and twelve the boys play in eight-a-side games of three twenty-minute periods. It allows the boys to play as defenders or as attackers in small groups within a system and is not as physically demanding as playing eleven-a-side matches.
The first player to graduate from the Academy to the first team was the former club captain, Kevin Nolan who had previously been on the youth books of Liverpool. He has since been followed into the first team by Joey O'Brien, Ricardo Vaz Tê, Nicky Hunt. Josh Vela, Zach Clough and Rob Holding amongst others.
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