The return of the Centre of Excellence has caused plenty of excitement in the local community, and Assistant boss Dave Kevan is hopes its return will regain trust in the City.
Former Notts goalkeeper Mick Leonard has taken over the running of the Centre of Excellence, and Kevan believes his appointment was vital.
Article from Nottingham Evening Post, Friday 4 July 2008
Notts County might have saved money when they axed their famous Centre of Excellence two years ago.
But they have paid a heavy price ever since.
With it went the club's lifeblood; its heart and soul, and, according to assistant boss Dave Kevan, the trust of the people of Nottingham.
The Magpies had earned a fine reputation for being committed to nurturing precocious prospects, with the likes of Dean Yates, Michael Johnson, Mark Draper and Tommy Johnson all graduating from its youth programme to become club legends.
But that reputation was tarnished on that fateful day in May 2006 when 120 youngsters were released and teams from under-nines to under-16s were disbanded.
The decision to end the youth programme was taken as part of a major cost-cutting exercise, with Notts heading towards a £500,000 loss for a second successive year.
Kevan, who was an apprentice with the Magpies between 1984 and 1986, believes the club will need to work hard to regain peoples' trust when the Centre of Excellence is re-launched with age-group teams from under-nines to under-16s in September.
He said: "I think Notts County has an excellent name with regards to producing young footballers, so that is a big help.
"But I think it will be tough in the first place because of what happened previously, in terms of it being shut-down.
"We are going to have to gain a lot of trust locally, among parents and youngsters alike.
"That will be key to it all really, gaining a little bit of trust in the local community, that we are a forward-thinking football club and we certainly want to promote our own youth players through into our first-team.
"I think once that message gets out, and parents and kids see that happening, I can only see us going from strength to strength."
Former Magpies' keeper Mick Leonard has been appointed as the head of the new youth programme. He has been running a centre of excellence in Dubai, for youngsters from across Europe and Asia.
He will oversee the training of youngsters at Dayncourt School Specialist Sports College, in Radcliffe-on-Trent.
And Kevan is confident the club has the right man in place to nurture the club's stars of the future.
"I know Mick very well.
"He was a player here when I first came to the club," he added.
"He is a smashing lad and it will be great to have him around the place again.
"I am really looking forward to having him work with us and I am sure he will do a very good job.
"He has worked with the New Zealand FA and over in Dubai, and he had a spell at Nottingham Forest as well, so he knows the job inside out.
"He knows how tough it will be but he also knows what is needed.
"I am sure he will get stuck into it.
"We wanted Mick because we felt he was the right person for it.
"He has certainly got a feeling and an affinity towards the football club, and he has been working in that field.
"We needed someone who shares the same beliefs and ideas as us, and that we can trust. We are bringing in someone we can trust and we are very confident he will do a good job.
"Everything is in place. It's just a case of finding young talent out there and try and help them make their way through the grades to eventually go into our team.
"We are not going to see the benefits of it in 12 months, but when you commit to a youth programme you know it is a long-term programme. Five, six, seven years down the line, I am sure Notts County football club and supporters will see the benefits of it."
