Mens Development Squad General Manager
Sqn Ldr P Merritt (Paul)
SO2 A4 Arm and SE Avail & Plans
Headquarters Air Command
Royal Air Force High Wycombe
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP14 4UE
Tel: 01494-495680 (Mil: 95221-5680)
paul.merritt647@mod.uk
Mens Development Squad Head Coach
Chief Technician M Wilkinson (Wilky)
RAF Benson
Wallingford
Oxon
OX10 6AA
Tel: 01491-837343 (Mil: 95261-7343)
BENQAS-SNCO1@benson.raf.mod.uk
Mens Development Squad Season 2010-11-staff profiles can be found on right hand side under related documents.
The primary aim of the RAF Mens Development Squad (DS) is to coach and prepare young RAF footballers to play in the Service’s Senior Representative Team (SRT). A secondary aim of the Squad is to develop administrative, coaching and therapy staff for progression into more senior positions within the RAF FA. In order to achieve the aims, the Squad gathers once a month, generally at DCAE Cosford, for 4 consecutive days, including a weekend. Players are coached and mentored by qualified staff on 2 of the days and play a fixture on each of the other 2 days. Opposition for fixtures includes county schools FA teams, university representative teams and Army and RN teams. The DS usually plays 2 national level teams on an annual basis: English Colleges FA and England Schoolboys.
For the 2010/11 season, the Squad will continue to focus primarily on the U23 age group following the formalisation of an Inter-services tournament at that level in 2007/8. The Squad will hold up to 7 gatherings during the season and play in up to 14 fixtures; of those fixtures the 2 Inter-Service fixtures will be fully competitive with the remainder being used for player and staff development. For each weekend the target player attendance is 30 with all players getting an opportunity to play in a fixture.
The primary indicator of success for the Squad is the progression of players to the SRT. During the last few seasons more than a dozen players have moved from the DS and played for the SRT. In 2009/10 5 players were selected to join the SRT for their pre-Inter-Services fixtures in Ireland and Scotland.
The Squad is always keen to receive player recommendations, particularly those that are under 23 years of age. Recommendations can be made by contacting the members of staff detailed below. Anyone interested in joining the staff of the Squad in any role should contact the General Manager in the first instance.
OIC Football and stn team managers and coaches are always welcome to attend Squad weekends to gain a greater understanding of the organisation, to observe coaching sessions and to have the opportunity to see a competitive fixture, enabling stn staffs to make player recommendations cognisant of the standard required. Please contact the General Manager or Head Coach to make such arrangements.
In Summary:
Find and develop young officers and airmen with the potential to play football for the RAF FA Senior Representative Team (SRT).
Call Up Priorities:
The target player attendance for Squad weekends is 30. Call-up priority for weekends is as follows:
- Players under the age of 23 years on 1 Sep 10.
- Players over the age of 23 years on 1 Sep 10 who have been recommended to the RAF FA as having the potential to play at representative level, but who have not yet been involved with either the Squad or the SRT.
- Players specifically requested by the SRT Team Manager or coaching staff.
Players over the age of 23 on 1 Sep 10 should account for no more than 5 of the target player attendance for any one weekend unless availability of players under age 23 is 10 or less.