U5/U6 Academy (Boys and Girls)

Welcome to our Academy Page for 4 to 6yr olds (academy been running successfully since 1998, so this is our 28th season of offering such an opportunity !!).

Manager : Paul McMahon mob: 0780 777 8494 email: thedoc1959@yahoo.co.uk

Coach : Lewis Taylor mob: 07768 876 087 email: lewist80@gmail.com

Support Coaches : Other parents help the qualified coaches above when required, and can also become qualified if they request.

Saturday Academy sessions are held on grass 8.30am to 9.30am at Winwick Leisure Centre, Myddleton Lane, Winwick, WA2 8LQ (mythreewords > ///adjusting.dads.bunkers). During the winter months we may run sessions indoors, or at an outdoor astro facility, so please contact the coaches above to be certain when and where the next sessions are taking place.

8.30am – 9.30am Myddleton Lane, Winwick

Saturday 17th Jan – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 24th Jan – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 31st Jan – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 7th Feb – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 14th Feb – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 21st Feb – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 28th Feb – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 7th March – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 14th March – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 21st March – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 28th March – Myddleton Lane
Saturday 4th April – Myddleton Lane

Players wishing to train please message the coaches above.

Parents very welcome to bring your child along, and also to help at sessions – the Club fully supports those wishing to become qualified coaches too. In fact we need parents to help, give it a go, its pretty enjoyable and I can assure you from first hand experience that the smiling faces on the kids when they learn something new is worth its weight in gold when you may have had a tough week yourself !!

All Year 1 players complete a Registration and Health Form in readiness for the start of the new season (the FA deem the new season to be from 1st July every year, with organised league matches from September of the Year 2 school year, when children have become the minimum age of 6 to be allowed to play in any organised game of FA sanctioned football in which all players are then protected by public liability and accident insurance cover. That is why Winwick Athletic FC will NOT play friendly matches against other clubs until after 1st July, when the children taking part are ALL 6, as otherwise it breaches FA rules and is exposing everyone involved without any insurance cover, including for the adults coaching such sessions).

Winwick Athletic FC Player – ONLINE Registration and Health Form 2026/27

SUMMARY: We train outdoors on grass every Saturday morning 8.30am to 9.30am but may move to an indoor winter training venue, depending on player numbers and weather conditions. When indoors, clothing worn by players should protect knees and elbows from tumbles on the indoor wood surfacing, when outdoors football boots prevent slipping on wet grass. Shin pads should be worn to protect the children whether indoors or outdoors.

All children welcome once they are old enough to enjoy the sessions we put on. We cater for Pre-Reception, Reception and Year 1 Children, so bring your child down, either a girl or a boy, and see how they get on. No cost the first 3-weeks, thereafter £3 per session attended.

We adopt an ‘age appropriate’ coaching approach and the sessions might look to a new parent a little ‘cluttered’ at times and often resembling very little of what adults usually recognise as ‘football’ on the tv. However this is all by design to provide the children with the essential agility, balance, ball-to-eye coordination, movement, awareness and other skills necessary to play football. This approach, along with creating a safe fun environment for the kids to learn by ‘playing’, sets the platform for every player to develop in a deliberate way that is fully recognised by the FA as enabling the children to become independent decision makers in the best way possible. The children also grow in confidence knowing they are being supported every step of their footballing journey without fear of making any ‘mistakes’. Our history as a Charter Standard Community Level Club, to national award winning standards, shows that we are totally committed to this age appropriate approach and want to engage with our local community to offer a valuable opportunity for local children to take part in sport and to make new friends.

We normally form U7s Teams from 1st July every year but start to arrange the players into ‘age groups’ from about April each year. Historically we have formed between 1 and 3 teams (5v5) teams each year. The FA, from the 2026/27 season, are bringing in 3v3 football for the U7s age group, with players not playing 5v5 matches until U8s and U9s on a 40m x 30m size pitch. The format of football played then becomes 7v7 at U10s and U11s; 9v9 at U12s and U13s and then 11v11 from U14s.