A young footballer from Australia has completed a memorable visit to Morecambe FC.
Robbie May from Perth in Western Australia travelled to England in November for 5 weeks of training, as part of Morecambe FC’s ‘International Academy’ programme.
The International Academy offers young players the chance to come to Morecambe and experience the life of a professional footballer and to develop their game. The youngsters work with Academy coaches and medical professionals and become immersed in the daily life of a working football club.
Leaving behind a heatwave in Perth; Robbie travelled for 24 hours to report for training in Morecambe and admits it took him a while to acclimatise:
“At the beginning, I found it difficult playing in the cold, but it didn’t take me long to get used to it.”
Robbie was impressed with the training programme:
“The training is based more on game style, including set pieces, overload in defence and attack, 2nd phase on set pieces, pressing as a team etc. The players all work hard and I always had an option to play to. I learned a lot from my 5 week experience with Morecambe – a lot about my positioning in both attacking and defending play, my movement with and without the ball and how sharp I need to be.”
“The facilities were great and the coaches were fantastic – they gave me confidence on the ball and always encouraged me to keep going. My host family was wonderful – they went out of their way to make sure I was okay and felt at home with them.”
I would like to thank everyone at Morecambe FC for making me feel so welcome and for the wonderful experience – I will never forget it.”
Head of Youth Stewart Drummond adds, “We enjoyed having Robbie with us as part of the international programme and we’re pleased that he enjoyed the experience. We are working hard to extend the club’s global reach and working with overseas players offers a good development opportunity for our coaching staff and benefits the players too.”
For more information on the International Academy, visit: https://www.morecambefc.com/teams/international/