Harriers' new academy up and rolling

Kidderminster Harriers today got to work on building a platform for the club's stars of the future as their new academy steps up a gear.

Harriers have picked nearly 70 teenagers for their new youth set-up, which has been launched in conjunction with Stourbridge College.

All of them will get the chance to work with the Harriers' players and management, who will spend a set number of hours each month working with the group at the club's Zortech Avenue training ground.

The students, aged 16 and over, combine football with a range of courses at the college, ranging from sports development and coaching all the way through to gym instruction and apprenticeships.

Their academic term officially starts at the beginning of September but the football has already begun, with former Birmingham defender Jerry Gill appointed as academy manager last month.

And youth boss Gill believes the club will reap the dividends of the foundations they have put into place.

He said: "We have a great mixture of talent to nurture in the run up to the start of the academic year at Stourbridge College.

"All the lads who went through the tough selection process turned up to start their courses except for one, which shows how successful this joint partnership is going to be.

"It's really exciting to launch a football academy, which is most certainly going to make an enormous contribution to the next generation of quality football players."