SIX REGIONAL academy centres will be launched later this year as Worcester Warriors aim to build a thriving youth set up.
Warriors had become renowned for bringing through talented players, with the likes of Tom Wood, Dylan Hartley and Matt Kvesic going on to play for England.
But after growing frustrating at seeing their rising stars moving to other Aviva Premiership sides to progress their careers the Sixways club made the decision to scale back its academy.
However, director of rugby Dean Ryan made the youth system central to his plans when he arrived at the club last year and brought in Nick Johnston in December as high performance director to get the ball rolling.
Warriors have now set up centres at Broadstreet Rugby Club, Hereford Cathedral School, Luctonians Rugby Club, Telford College of Arts and Technology, Warwick School and a Birmingham location to be announced at a future date. They will open in the autumn and will run alongside the club’s current centre at Sixways.
Youngsters between the ages of 13 and 18 will receive up to seven hours of contact time every week under the guidance of the club’s experienced academy coaches.
Ryan said: “The future success of this club will be determined by ensuring we develop our own young players who display the right attributes and motivations to play for Worcester Warriors.
“We have placed a huge focus on building relationships and finding the right locations to launch these centres to allow us to work with the best young players across the region.
“We will work with players to aid their all-round personal development to ensure they maximise their potential.”
Interim chief executive Anthony Glossop added: “I believe the introduction of these regional academy centres will be transformational for the club as they will allow us to take our brand into new areas to unearth the next generation of Warriors first-team players and supporters.
“We are ambitious to project the club into the heart of these communities and engage with people to grow our fanbase and commercial opportunities in these regions.”