SKY Blue Lionesses Charlotte Owen and Lara Drage have both signed for a Girls Professional Games Academy (PGA).
The two under-15 players played an integral part in the Sky Blues’ Girls Emerging Talent Centre (ETC) last season.
And the two players have now progressed on their respective footballing journeys following a successful period in the Sky Blues ETC.
Charlotte said: “The key thing for me is the ability to learn and improve at the ETC and translate that into my grassroots club. The advanced environment with high level coaches and players at the ETC has improved my confidence, abilities and understanding of the game.
“The key thing for me is the ability to learn and improve at the ETC and translate that into my grassroots club. The advanced environment with high level coaches and players at the ETC has improved my confidence, abilities and understanding of the game.”
Charlotte joined the Sky Blues ETC unattached to a club, looking for a challenge, and tried out with Coventry’s under-14 boys Junior Premier League (JPL) team.
She earned her place in the squad and continued to play with the team throughout the 2023/24 season at centre-back.
Playing against local PGA’s in the JPL, Charlotte made an impression to various scouts across the season to earn a place in a PGA this season.
The Sky Blues Lionesses have also referred Charlotte to the Discover My Talent (DMT) showcase events where they also stretched and challenged her teammate Lara.
Following her showcase event at DMT, Lara was invited for a second look at the England Women National Pathway training camp. From there, talent reporters familiarised with her.
Lara said: “The ETC is a great training environment, with fantastic and supportive coaches. I enjoyed training with talented local players and playing friendly games against other ETCs as well as playing at St George’s Park.”
The ETC is a talent identification programme in partnership with the FA. It aims at unearthing and developing future Lionesses through an advanced and elite coaching environment.
Coaches at the ETC are UEFA C and B licenced and train players by utilising a technical curriculum devised by the FA, to develop a specific player profile ready to join the England Women National Pathway.
Sky Blues in the Community further the mission of the ETC to improve girls’ football and its standard within the local leagues.
They train players from under-9 through to under-16 who come from a wide range of clubs.
For more information about the Sky Blues Lionesses ETC, email: [email protected] or call: 02476 100 525
