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Blackpool FC Youth Department and Centre of Excellence is the youth department and Centre of Excllence of Blackpool F.C.. Players ages range from seven to eighteen and the youth team play in the Football League Youth Alliance North West Conference.

Background
Blackpool have spent recent years gradually improving and developing the club's Youth department and Centre of Excellence. The club have scouts in the local area especially around the Fylde coast, as well as having connections in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland which have resulted in young players from both places joining the Centre of Excellence. Blackpool are gradually building relationships with partner clubs and have development centres both in Blackpool as well as two in Preston.

Youth Department
The current Head of the Youth Department, since June 2006, in charge of all youth team affairs is Gary Parkinson. The Assistant Head of Youth is Garreth Barker and the goalkeeping coach is Mark Westhead.

The youth team compete in the Football League Youth Alliance, North West Conference. In the 2007-08 season they won the Lancashire FA Youth Cup on 28 April 2008 when they beat Wigan Athletic 2-0 at Bloomfield Road. They also won the Lancashire FA Youth Cup in the 1985-86 season. Youth team players also play in the club's reserve team in the Central League Division One West.

Players to have come through the Blackpool youth team include Danny Coid who is currently the longest serving player at the club and 2008 is his testemonial year. Other players to have made it into the Blackpool first team in recent years have inlcuded Matty Kay and Danny Mitchley, both of whom are still with the club, as well as Phil Doughty, Lewis Edge and Matthew Blinkhorn. Ross Lloyd and Ashton Bayliss are two first year professionals having progressed through the youth team.

Current squad
2009-10 season squad.

Centre of Excellence
The Centre of Excellence is currently run by Garreth Barker who is in charge of all the centre affairs. The centre also has a eicated goalkeeping coach, who is currently Kyle Valentine. The centre caters for age groups from under-7 to under-16, and each age group team, from under-9s to 16s, has two UEFA qualified coaches, including former players Phil Clarkson, Andrew Lyons and Michael Bird. The centre has a number of age group teams - Under-9, under-10, under-11, under-12, under-13, under-14, under-15 and under-16. The club also have a number of girls teams - Under-10, under-11, under-12, under-13, under-15 and under-16 as well as Blackpool Girls FC, formed in 2008 who compete in the 2008-09 season in the Lancashire County FA Division Two.

There are currently two Northern Ireland youth internationals on scholarships with Blackpool. Karl Steel, a defender from Ballymoney, who was signed from Coleraine academy school and Robbie Hume, a midfielder who has played for Northern Ireland at Under-16 and Under-17 levels.

Partner clubs
In 2008 the club linked up with Isle of Man Football League club Union Mills with them becoming a partner club in the Seasiders Centre of Excellence. Blackpool Centre of Excellence staff and coaches have visited Union Mills and continue to work with the club, staff and players. As part of the link up, in 2008 Blackpool signed two players from the Isle of Man who attend the Centre of Excellence in Blackpool.

In November 2008 Blackpool staff visited Union Mills, to help train the club's coaches, and announced that they would soon be opening a Development Centre on the island.

Blackpool also plan to set up a working relationship with an Irish football league club in 2008.

Development Centres
Blackpool run a number of Development Centre's which provide coaching to local youngsters usually in six week blocks. Any players deemed competent enough are then invited for a trial at Blackpool FC Centre of Excellence.

The under-8s Development Centre currently runs at St Marys Catholic College in Blackpool.
 * Under-8s Development Centre

Preston Development Centre opened in 2007 in Preston and caters for under-9s to under-12s.
 * Preston Development Centre

A second centre was opened in Preston in 2008. Preston College Development Centre is based at Preston College.
 * Preston College Development Centre

Coaching staff
Youth coaching staff: