Baldock Town Youth training to be live on satellite broadcaster’s 24-hour sports news channel

SKY Sports News cameras are coming to Baldock Town Youth Football Club.

The satellite broadcaster will transmit live from the club’s pitches at Knights Templar ATP on Monday evening as part of a live debate on the transition of youth football teams from seven-a-side to 11-a-side.

Some coaches advocate the need for a gradual process which would see the 10 and 11-year-olds go from teams with seven players to teams with nine before they make the step up to full-size teams and pitches.

One supporter of the gradual process is Anthony White who is a Level 3 UEFA B License coach and is also a coach at Baldock and the managing director of The London Soccerdome which is the largest indoor football facility in Europe.

Speaking about the need for a gradual step-up for young footballers, Mr White told The Comet: “I think it’s a good idea because the move from seven-a-side on mini pitches to 11-a-side is a big step for 10 and 11-year-olds.

“They are faced with more players, bigger pitches, bigger goals and offsides.

“Sometimes this transition happens in just four months, from the end of one season to the start of the next. Nine against nine allows this to be a more gradual process which means they have time to adjust and learn spatial awareness, runs off the ball etc.”

Mr White, who is from Baldock, has also announced that the London Soccerdome has set up an exclusive link with Baldock Town Youth which allows the club and its young players to utilise the arena’s facilities for training and games.

No other team in the country has that privilege.

Teams that have used the facilities in recent seasons include Stevenage, Millwall, Charlton Athletic and Southend United, and some of the players that have used it was Chelsea’s Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard, and former Arsenal star Ray Parlour.

Sky Sports News will broadcast live from Baldock Town Youth from 7.30pm on Monday evening.