Porthmadog FC director of player development Haydn Jones on his new role

Tindle News

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00:00 Hayden Jones, the new Director of Play Development at Port Mareg. What does this job entail at

00:10 Port Mareg Football Club?

00:13 To me it's instilling a vision, a vision of creating pathways for youth players, elite

00:22 youth players into the first team. But it also entails bringing the community together

00:29 around Port Mareg FC. We look around here now, we see the facilities that we have, looking

00:37 at the Osian Roberts Skills Centre, the Ddawi Wyn stand here. We've got a strong infrastructure

00:45 here in Port Mareg and what we need to do now is to capitalise, to build on this, to

00:50 provide the pathway for local players here and beyond really, to look at Port Mareg as

00:57 a club that can develop players into the next level.

01:02 How long do you see the plan? Is it a year plan or is it more than that?

01:08 As with any youth development programme, it's going to take time. So initially we've got

01:14 a five year plan in place, we're going to formulate and develop, beginning with the

01:20 first year, integrating the junior set-up within Port Mareg into the club, developing

01:27 coaches within the set-up, creating a new culture. We're also going to be re-titling

01:34 the reserve team into the development team. So it's important that we create a link and

01:43 a relationship between all the local clubs here, teams within the club, and to have that

01:52 strong identity coming into the first team. One of the biggest things within the five

01:57 years is to create an environment here where players feel a sense that they're going to

02:02 be developing into senior football. The relationship with the first team is vital for this to succeed.

02:09 So it's generating that relationship so that players feel a part of the first team,

02:16 training regularly with the first team, being incorporated within the matchday squad, hopefully

02:23 getting minutes on the pitch. But the biggest thing is to have that continuity in the training,

02:30 in the philosophy, ensuring that we create players that we can identify as a Port player.

02:38 Players from Port Mareg, do you mean how local will local be?

02:44 To me, obviously there's a talent pool here in Port Mareg we need to nurture further.

02:51 But for me, this is a community club. And for me, community means the wider area here

02:57 with a strong identity, a strong Welsh identity, with the language between supporters and players,

03:05 we're all on the same page. To me, the club has everything going for itself to be this

03:13 strong bastion of a club within the community. So it feels there's a wider reach as well.

03:19 Why do players want to come to Port Mareg? Well, they know they're going to get support

03:24 from the supporters, they know they're going to get support from the coaches and to develop

03:29 further. And the biggest thing is that they're ready then to go into senior football. Hopefully

03:35 with Port Mareg, but yeah, that we generate this feel within Port.

03:40 There's a gap between junior football and senior football. So we need to fill that gap

03:45 with genuine footballers for first team football in future years, do you think?

03:49 100%. To me, this role and generating this vision that we have, incorporating this vision

03:57 that we have, really will sustain the club for future generations. Really, it's not about

04:04 us, now it's what's coming through next. And how do we sustain the club? One important

04:09 element within the five-year plan is to ensure we've got the best training facilities in

04:14 this area. And it has been neglected over the years. There's no point talking about

04:18 player development unless we develop the facilities that will help those players get to the next

04:25 level. And unfortunately, we don't have that here in Porthmadog. So off the field, we've

04:30 got some work to do to reach the local communities to ensure that we can get the best facilities

04:36 here. And then from then, obviously, is to ensure we've got this culture within Porthmadog

04:43 so that players can develop and get to the next level. And that's what we want.

04:49 Porthmadog Juniors are in Porthmadog. What's the message to Porthmadog Juniors?

04:54 Exciting times. It's going to be a period of integration. We're going to be working

05:01 closely together with the coaches involved. We're going to be developing those coaches.

05:06 We would like to strive towards gaining academy status within the Welsh footballing structure.

05:14 We need to be working closely together to ensure that everybody on the match day feels

05:19 welcome here. Parents are feeling welcome, that they belong to Porthmadog FC and it becomes

05:26 our club in a way. And it's going to take time. That's another message. It doesn't

05:31 happen overnight. However, if we start to instil this vision and work together and create

05:39 that synergy between players, parents, supporters, the board, everything working together, we

05:45 can get the club to where we want it to go.

05:50 Any meeting set up for this to be brought forward?

05:53 We've got a parents meeting next Friday. We're talking regularly now with the first team

06:01 manager, Chris. There's a pre-season schedule put in place. Off the field, off the pitch,

06:11 working hard to pull everything together. Just watch this space. Hopefully now we can

06:17 start implementing the work, starting on the work.

06:20 Thank you very much.

06:22 Thank you very much.

06:23 Well, just thinking, we're back in town today. A bit outside. We played three years ago.

06:33 But now we're looking forward to this new one. And the word is 'Llangyfragedd'

06:39 and 'Llangyfragedd' means 'the development of the player's development as a professional'.

06:44 What can you say about this work? A new work, I assume?

06:47 Yes, it's a very important work to create the development we want in the professional football

06:53 club. That is to develop young players in our area and create a special environment for

07:01 the first team. So, the work over the last month has been great. They've come into the

07:07 park to work. But I've seen a lot of opportunities too. This is a great opportunity for the club

07:14 to sell, of what kind of club the park is. And for me, seeing the success is that it

07:20 will be a club that develops young players here to go into the football league.

07:28 Is it just a young team park looking at the remote areas? Or is it just a regular park?

07:34 I think it's a park. This club is special. And I think it's a big club in our area.

07:44 And I think it's our club too. So I think it's important for us to put the message out

07:50 there. We're looking for players who want to get into the football league. And every

07:57 player is coming to a club that will be able to match the players' potential. Who will

08:04 give the best opportunities to the players. So yes, we're looking at a new start. We're

08:11 looking at the players we have in the league already. And what's exciting to us is that

08:16 there's a strong team here already, among the young teams. And we have a five-year plan.

08:22 And we have specific messages that we want to start over the next five years, including

08:28 improving the chances of playing here. So that the young player has a chance to develop

08:35 their skills by ensuring that we have a better chance when we come here. So yes, I see

08:43 Port Madog as a club that will develop in the future, but also looking at what we have

08:49 already here. It's good to be part of Port Madog Juniors, because they've been great

08:54 this year in helping the first team. Do you have a message for Port Madog Juniors, with

09:00 the players who are coming? Certainly, yes. It's all about developing the players in.

09:05 So the first step is to integrate the Port Madog Juniors teams into the Port Madog Football

09:12 League. And the players in the Juniors, through collaboration, are supporting this. So that's

09:21 an important step. The second step is to look at what we have in the second team, as a team.

09:29 And that we're re-branding the team. That we're not using the term "second team"

09:35 in Port Madog, but that it's a team that's developing. And for me, what I want to see

09:42 is that the player, who from 6th to 16th, sees the team developing as their own team, and

09:51 then the final step is to make the team develop, integrate the development team into the first

09:57 team. So that's the message. A message of encouragement, I think, to the young players

10:03 in Port Madog. But more importantly, it's an opportunity for us to create a unique culture

10:09 that will carry our heritage as a club, and that we're a community club.

10:14 What does this team look like in five years from now? What do you think will happen in

10:23 the next five years? That's a big question.

10:27 It's clear that any programme that develops the player takes time. But what we do is

10:36 plan their future, and hope to develop that future and develop the player.

10:42 In five years, the message is that we're taking on the status of an academy. That the

10:49 Port Madog Youth Club can build an academy. That there's an opportunity for our local

10:55 area to play the best possible football in the history of Welsh football. That's our

11:03 message. Of course, we want to develop the form at the same time, and also develop the

11:08 facilities to reach that level. The other thing I'd like to see in five years is that

11:15 the integration, that the elite players, young players, have the opportunity to come in

11:21 and play football. That is, that they're part of the first team, Port Madog, and that

11:30 they feel a special purpose. And that Port Madog will come in, to step into the football

11:40 team. So I'd like to thank that person as well.

11:44 Thank you, Edun. Good luck. My message, remember, is here, and support Port. Thank you very much.

11:50 variant.

11:52 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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