North Wales college team continues to flourish

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai‘s (GLLM) football team have once again been successful in gaining their place in the Premier Division of the English Colleges Football Association (ECFA) League.

It was quite a successful year on the pitch for the GLLM squad in its first season playing as a Grŵp Llandrillo Menai with a combination of players from all campuses pitting their wits against the best college footballers in England and Wales.

Coleg Menai’s Academi coordinator Marc Lloyd Williams, who also manages the Welsh Schools and Welsh Colleges squads, believes giving learners the opportunity to play competitive football at the highest level enables them to further develop their skills both on and off the pitch by offering an excellent academic and vocational journey

He said: “It was a step in the right direction for us as a Grŵp 12 months ago entering this league for the first time, allowing the Grŵp’s best players to come together and play at an elite level on a regular basis and creating a pathway for players to further develop their footballing ability across all levels.

“A fine example of this is Coleg Menai’s Cian Owain Williams, who signed a professional apprenticeship with Championship club Swansea City in January and was part of the Wales U-17 squad that progressed to the Elite rounds of the UEFA U-17 Tournament.”

Five GLLM players were selected to represent Welsh Schools U-18 at the prestigious Roma Caput Mundi tournament in Italy playing against Moldova, Italy and England and for the Home Nations Centenary Shield, with a further four chosen for the Welsh Colleges U-19 squad for their matches v Australia, England and the RAF.

Williams added: “As a Grŵp we continually have players who are selected to represent Wales at both Schoolboy U-18 and Colleges U-19 level and it is great to see a number of these players both past and present progressing to play at the highest club level in Welsh football for Cymru Premier or Cymru North clubs in our catchment areas along with a number of these players being part of Ynys Mon’s Gold Medal success in last year’s Island Games.”

In addition to this, Williams believes opportunities presented by the sports academy provision at GLLM also contributes to health and well-being of the learners.

“Sport and especially football can play an integral role in the well-being of our learners; increasing self-confidence, improving concentration, reducing stress and anxiety levels; therefore enabling the learners to successfully combine their academic and vocational studies with elite sporting opportunities.

“You could say it’s a marriage made in heaven for budding young footballers aged 16-19 years old!!”

In order to provide a structured pathway to the Grŵp’s ‘Elite’ team, an additional three feeder teams will play a significant role.

A Coleg Menai Meirion Dwyfor combined team and two sides from Coleg Llandrillo will compete in the ECFA Championship and Development leagues which will provide a progression for players within the Grŵp based on their performances at each level.

Representing the Grŵp’s football teams at any of these levels within the ECFA structure will broaden the horizons of our learners and allow them to further develop their team-work and social skills which will hold them in good stead in their future careers.

If you are planning on studying an academic or vocational course at any of Grwp Llandrillo Menai’s campuses in September and would like to get involved in sporting academies e-mail gllmacademy@gllm.ac.uk for more information.

To view the range of academic or vocational course courses available why not visit http://www.gllm.ac.uk