Rocks coach delighted as England role extended

Darin Killpartrick has been given another spell in charge of the England Colleges football squad.
Darin Killpartrick has been reappointed to coach the England Colleges teamDarin Killpartrick has been reappointed to coach the England Colleges team
Darin Killpartrick has been reappointed to coach the England Colleges team

The Rocks coach is regarded as one of the best coaches of young players in the business and is delighted to be continuing overseeing the FA-run colleges side for the rest of the year.

Killpartrick said: “I was made England Colleges under-17 coach four years ago and under-19 coach the following year.

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“They changed the age groups around and I started as the manager of the under-18s last year. I have been involved in the England Colleges FA league for 12 years now, watching it grow and merge with the Association of Colleges (AoC).”

In the season just finished, Killpartrick took the squad for a training camp at Manchester City’s facilities and friendlies against an independent schools team and Wales.

He took the team to Rome this year where they played in the Roma Caput Mundi tournament, playing against Italy,Romania and Greece.

Now he will be at the helm as they face friendlies against Championship academies and Wales and then move on to another Rome tournament.

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Killpartrick is a key man in the football academy at Chichester College, where the likes of Micky Demetriou, James Crane, Ollie Pearce, Dan Sackman, Corey Heath and Omar Bugiel have come through to play for their country.

Association of Colleges Sport

Lauren O’Sullivan, national football development manager at AoC Sport said they aimed to provide college students with the opportunity to develop as players and as people while representing their country.

They have seen a number of players transfer into the National League and even the Football League.

O’Sullivan said: “We aim to provide every player with a high-quality experience and having teams led by experienced coaches and role models such as Darin is so important to this programme and players’ development.

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“Darin is an integral member of the staff – his experience as a UEFA A-licence qualified coach coupled with working at Chichester College as well as with Bognor FC enables him to truly understand the needs of and demands on the college players and how best to support their development and progression.”

Killpartrick said: “I’m proud and honoured to manage my country again at this level. I love working with this age group, developing players in the long-term player development model.

“Future Elite Sports have been excellent in supporting the programme for another year and I am excited to put together another national team to compete in Rome.”

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