Youth System
OFK Beograd's youth system has a reputation as one of the best in Serbia. In its 95 years of existence, it produced hundreds of players who played for OFK Beograd's senior first team, the national team and who became players of international calibre.
Players such as Ilija Petković, Mitar Mrkela, Dragoslav Stepanović, Slobodan Santrač, Saša Ćurčić and Branislav Ivanović all played in different periods of time but they all share one thing together and that is their youth development at OFK Beograd.
Since OFK Beograd's existence, attention was always turned to the younger categories of players and the results of that work are directly responsible for the club's success. Modern football is a serious aspect of the club, this is why it does everything in its possibility to modernize the training facilities. Recently, the club has built a whole new private training center, compromising eight playing fields along with training equipment with the newest technology. OFK Beograd is constantly in search of better quality at their youth team.
A youth school was created compromising 150 players born in between 1996 and 1999. There are also seven competitive teams for which more than 170 players are playing. The youth system compromises around 20 highly qualified coaches who are all specialised in certain areas of the game. Most of the coaches are former players who spent years at the club and who also went through the same youth system. Several physios are also present and are equipped with the newest technology for their work.
Currently, the board is examining the possibility of cutting a hundred players from the youth system as they believe the coaches would have an easier job and could concentrate on individuals.
OFK Beograd is always proud of their Youth Club and the atmosphere they create for youth development. They are getting better coaching every year and it is said that the players now progress more rapidly than they did in the past. The club is always a strong contender in the Serbian SuperLiga and usually qualifies for European competitions, which proves the quality and huge efforts put in the youth system.
Read more about this topic: OFK Beograd
Famous quotes containing the words youth and/or system:
“When the merry bells ring round,
And the jocund rebecks sound
To many a youth and many a maid,
Dancing in the chequered shade;
And young and old come forth to play
On a sunshine holiday,”
—John Milton (1608–1674)
“The truth is, the whole administration under Roosevelt was demoralized by the system of dealing directly with subordinates. It was obviated in the State Department and the War Department under [Secretary of State Elihu] Root and me [Taft was the Secretary of War], because we simply ignored the interference and went on as we chose.... The subordinates gained nothing by his assumption of authority, but it was not so in the other departments.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)