The Shrimps Academy have appointed Ollie Ras as its Lead Professional Development Phase Coach.
The 27-year-old joined the Academy set-up on a part-time basis working with the U9s, which quickly became full-time, before becoming a Lead Foundation Phase Coach.
In this role, he looked after the U7s to U12s, coaching training sessions and overseeing matches on a weekly basis for the young Shrimps.
The promotion will see Ras focussing on the U17s to U19s, a step up he said he’s excited to be making.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
“The opportunity came about when Finchy [Darren Finch] moved on, and I thought why not, there’s an opportunity there.
“It’s just an opportunity I’m looking forward to taking on and hopefully I’ll play a tiny part in some of these players’ journeys as they try and get onto the first team pitch.
“Over the second half of last season I’d say, I was more and more out with the scholars on a day-to-day basis working with the old U18s coach, getting some hints and tips on how it works and almost trying to lean on the expertise that’s already there.
“The more and more the season went on last year, the more in the back of my mind I was thinking that’s where I want to get to.
“I didn’t know how long it would take, it’s probably come a little bit earlier than I thought, but it’s definitely something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
The new intake of scholars arrived at the Club last month, just days after finishing their GCSE exams, and Ras says preparations for the new campaign are going well.
He added: “The hard things are out of the way already, the footballs are out early anyway, that’s something we all believe in.
“It’s a case of getting that balance right between stuff with the footballs but also getting the fitness levels right.
“We had our first Pre-Season game on Tuesday, that went well, building up 45 minutes here and there, 60 minutes when we can, giving ourselves different opportunities.
“Saturday [16 July] is against a men’s first team in Skelmersdale United whereas Tuesday was Academy level, so it’s getting the boys up against different varieties of opposition and getting us as prepared as we can individually but also as a team for the season coming up.”