Gillingham Football Club

Full information on the club's Development Centres around Kent

Gillingham Football Club currently have six Development Centres up and running throughout the County. These are based in Canterbury, Chatham, Folkestone, Dartford, Maidstone and Sittingbourne, giving the opportunity for young players in all four corners of Kent to become part of the only professional league club in the county.

Although the main aim is to recruit players for our academy, players can, and are encouraged, to remain registered with their local teams. We fully understand the importance of grassroots football and are keen to help develop players for the future whether they stay on with their local club or progress into our academy.

Regular Open Evenings are held throughout the year to recruit players into the centres and any talented players spotted at our Community run Soccer Schools and football activities are also invited to attend.

Lead Foundation Phase Rob Peck heads up the boys Development Centres, which focus on young players at U6 to u12s. Players work on a simplified syllabus that mirrors the main academy. We aim to give individual players plenty of time 'on the ball' during each session, encouraging ball manipulation and confidence in possession. 

In addition to our main centres Gillingham Football Club also run elite centres for all age groups over three different venues throughout the county. These centres act as a stepping stone between the six main Centres and the academy.

Having these centres also enables us to keep an eye on players who in the first instance don't quite make it in to our academy. During the season centres have the opportunity to play games against one another to ensure a consistent standard of player is recruited, it also enables each player to develop at a faster rate than that might otherwise be the case. Games are also organised on a termly basis against local grassroots sides.

 Foundation Phase Manager

Rob Peck – rpeck@priestfield.com

Development Centre Managers:

Craig Coles - Canterbury

Warren Bull - Dartford

Craig Harvey – Medway/ Chatham

Barry Cooper- Maidstone

Ross Pressnell – Sittingbourne

Barry Cooper – Folkestone

Elite Centre Managers:

Under 8s – Ian Sanders (Gillingham)

Under 9s to 12s – Craig Coles (Canterbury University)

Under 13s to 16s – Ian Sanders  (Chatham)

For further information regarding the boys Development Centres please email Rob Peck on rpeck@priestfield.com

All our staff are FA qualified, licensed and DBS checked.