East Kilbride U20s boss Martin Fellowes reckons the Lowland League’s development system sets his players up for a good crack at senior level.
Last season, the Kilby youngsters finished second in the fifth tier’s elite development league, Conference A, competing alongside SPFL clubs Edinburgh City, East Fife, Kelty Hearts and Stirling Albion, alongside a host of teams Kevin Rutkiewicz’s men face week to week.
It has proven fruitful with plenty of debuts handed to academy products and five of them - Ross Taylor, Aidan McDonald, Ross Smith, Reece McGuire, and Aidan Fellowes - have been fully promoted to senior level for this season.
It came after a large period of restructuring within the youth football system and Fellowes, who is also a first team coach and the club's former kitman, reckons it’s been handled expertly.
He explained: “The boys have been playing in the league where it’s been slightly different because of the involvement of some SPFL teams like Edinburgh City and East Fife.
“There’s been a mixture of teams in the Lowland and leagues above so it’s been quite good. Results have been quite good.
“The league has been pretty good. They have had to deal with a lot. The league went from 16 teams to 68 overnight with the West of Scotland Football League trying to put loads of teams in.
“There’s been a lot of restructuring going on so I think they have done a really good job making it competitive.
“They have made it travel-friendly. There’s a bit of travel involved in ours as it’s more competition-based.
“But our boys have bought into travelling to places like East Fife and Kelty Hearts on a Friday night. They like going to places with good set-ups.”
Success has been found in promoting from within at K-Park and Fellowes is hopeful this term’s crop of aspiring senior players at East Kilbride can also one day progress.
There are success stories from last term to look back on as templates after training with the likes of Scottish Cup winner Chris Millar and Partick Thistle legend Chris Erskine last term.
He added: “We have had good success with boys breaking into the first team. I say to the boys that circumstances over how you make it into the first team are kind of irrelevant.
“You take the opportunity that presents itself. Ross Taylor is a great example.
“He didn’t have involvement with the first team all season and then because of a couple of injuries, he found himself thrown in.
“Until he got injured, he found himself becoming a steady part of the squad. So the circumstances have allowed them to get involved.
“But to the boys’ credit and to nobody else’s really, it is them that have to take that opportunity when it comes about. The debuts the boys have had, nobody has looked out of place or let anyone down.
“That’s a testament to how well they have done. They were competing with guys like Chris Erskine and Chris Millar, players who’ve been at the top level, last season.
“It can only help them that they’ve competed with these guys.”
So far this season, East Kilbride have won one, drawn one and lost one in Conference A and currently sit fifth in the table. On Friday night they played their latest match, drawing 1-1 at home to Broomhill with Blair McDonald on target for Kilby.
Their next league match is on September 9 at home to Stirling Albion.
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