Newtown Football Club has appointed Jim Sharman as Reserve Team Manager for the 2011/2012 season.
Having had a season without a reserve team for the first time, the club realises how important this additional facet is to its healthy existence. Jim is associated with Churchstoke Football Club at present, and runs their Sunday League team as well as being involved with youths and took a team to the Ian Rush International tournament in Aberystwyth last summer where they lost in the final to a Hereford Utd side. He moved to the Mid-Wales area six years ago having come from an ex-Forces background and now lives with his family in Chirbury, and works at Broadcrown in Newtown, having previously worked in childcare for five years. His own playing career was as a goalkeeper and had periods withBorussia Dortmund U19s whilst living in Germany and with Shrewsbury Town as a defender/mid-fielder with the U19s. The club discussed with Jim the formation of a mainly U19 squad as it will fit in with existing Licensing requirements and also tie in with the discussions currently on-going at Welsh Premier Board level of the formation of a possible U19 or U21 league at national level.
The team would compete in the Welsh Youth Cup, the Central Wales Youth League and Cup and would also seek to provide regular Saturday football by joining the Montgomery Amateur League in Division Two.
Jim intends to work closely with David Jarman, the Youth Team Manager with a view to bringing those players back into the Newtown fold next season to form the basis of the new Newtown Reserve side. The first team has demonstrated its need for a fully functioning reserve set up that it can call upon when short of players and it is hoped to attract the best youth players from the area to compete at the top level in Welsh Youth football, should an Under 19s national league achieve fruition. Newtown may also consider entering a second Youth team should the Mid-Wales Youth League continue next season with a view to accommodating the players leaving the Under 16s Academy team at the end of this season.