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Jimmy Phillips believes Wanderers’ future is in the safe hands of the old boys.
The academy boss, a veteran of more than 300 appearances for Bolton as a player, has utilised the coaching skills of other ex-stars such as David Lee, Tony Kelly and Nicky Spooner to create a “family feel” at Lostock.
After the emergence of Zach Clough, Josh Vela, Rob Holding and Tom Walker – all of whom came through the system from a very early age – the academy has been given due praise, following a spell where its methods had been called into question.
Through the Premier League era and the early days after relegation the two sides of the club often seemed at odds, with younger players failing to progress after reserve-team level.
But Phillips believes the long-term decision to stick with coaches who have an affinity to the club is now bearing fruit.
“When I was playing football I decided a long time before I actually retired that I wanted to go into coaching and develop myself,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky with the opportunities I’ve had whilst here at the club because I’ve had the opportunity to coach from the youngster right the way up to first-team level.
“Before I took on the academy role I had a wide variety of opportunities on the coaching side of things and I like to pass those experiences on to the all of the kids we have here.
“It’s the same with the likes of Nicky Spooner and David Lee too – they’ve played for the club and now they are passing on their beliefs and experiences to the next generation.
“When I took over I decided the best way forward was to develop our own coaches, who at the time were working with under-8s and u9s so to give them a chance of a full-time role when one became available.
“We’ve since developed most of our coaches who are with us now from bringing them through the academy – it was important for us to progress from within and that has created a good club feel here.
“Nicky is a prime example – he was a part-time coach when I came in, so we gave him a full-time role with the u9s to 11s and he’s developed into a very good coach for the club.
“We want that family feel as we believe having that is a massive part of the club in general.”
Selling Wanderers has become an easier task despite dropping down to a category two level last season.
The examples set by graduates in Neil Lennon’s first team have served to attract better youngsters from the locality, who are now going through the system.
But Phillips insists the academy will not rest on its laurels and continue to try and offer young footballers the best possible route into a professional club.
“We’ve got to interact with players’ parents and prove to them we can give their sons the best coaching experience possible, but also we have to look after their welfare off the field, which we endeavour to sort out where we can,” he said.
“It’s definitely a two-way relationship which you would not perhaps get at a higher level or at the bigger clubs where the scale is much bigger.
“Hopefully, for the players and parents, the main appeal of coming here is to develop the player in a safe and friendly environment.
“The real key is the focus on the schoolboy level, especially at the level we find ourselves now, and it’s key for us moving forward that it is retained.”
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The academy boss, a veteran of more than 300 appearances for Bolton as a player, has utilised the coaching skills of other ex-stars such as David Lee, Tony Kelly and Nicky Spooner to create a “family feel” at Lostock.
After the emergence of Zach Clough, Josh Vela, Rob Holding and Tom Walker – all of whom came through the system from a very early age – the academy has been given due praise, following a spell where its methods had been called into question.
Through the Premier League era and the early days after relegation the two sides of the club often seemed at odds, with younger players failing to progress after reserve-team level.
But Phillips believes the long-term decision to stick with coaches who have an affinity to the club is now bearing fruit.
“When I was playing football I decided a long time before I actually retired that I wanted to go into coaching and develop myself,” he said.
“I’ve been very lucky with the opportunities I’ve had whilst here at the club because I’ve had the opportunity to coach from the youngster right the way up to first-team level.
“Before I took on the academy role I had a wide variety of opportunities on the coaching side of things and I like to pass those experiences on to the all of the kids we have here.
“It’s the same with the likes of Nicky Spooner and David Lee too – they’ve played for the club and now they are passing on their beliefs and experiences to the next generation.
“When I took over I decided the best way forward was to develop our own coaches, who at the time were working with under-8s and u9s so to give them a chance of a full-time role when one became available.
“We’ve since developed most of our coaches who are with us now from bringing them through the academy – it was important for us to progress from within and that has created a good club feel here.
“Nicky is a prime example – he was a part-time coach when I came in, so we gave him a full-time role with the u9s to 11s and he’s developed into a very good coach for the club.
“We want that family feel as we believe having that is a massive part of the club in general.”
Selling Wanderers has become an easier task despite dropping down to a category two level last season.
The examples set by graduates in Neil Lennon’s first team have served to attract better youngsters from the locality, who are now going through the system.
But Phillips insists the academy will not rest on its laurels and continue to try and offer young footballers the best possible route into a professional club.
“We’ve got to interact with players’ parents and prove to them we can give their sons the best coaching experience possible, but also we have to look after their welfare off the field, which we endeavour to sort out where we can,” he said.
“It’s definitely a two-way relationship which you would not perhaps get at a higher level or at the bigger clubs where the scale is much bigger.
“Hopefully, for the players and parents, the main appeal of coming here is to develop the player in a safe and friendly environment.
“The real key is the focus on the schoolboy level, especially at the level we find ourselves now, and it’s key for us moving forward that it is retained.”
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