A new partnership between Brentford’s Academy and West Thames College is giving youngsters a second chance to earn a professional football contract while also learning practical skills.

Started in the summer, the Brentford Youth Alliance team sees 40 boys, aged between 16 and 18,  train three times a week while attending practical BTEC college courses on Tuesday’s and Fridays.

Matches are played on a Wednesday afternoon in the Football Conference Youth Alliance, the biggest Youth League in the country, with Brentford entering two teams this campaign.

Brentford’s Alliance Teams are run by Academy coach Dan Wright who joined the club in the summer from Bristol City’s Academy having previously being Academy manager at Eastleigh.

Speaking to Bees Player Dan said the aim of the partnership was to give youngsters, some of who were released from Football League clubs in the summer, a way back into football.

Given the close links between the Youth Alliance Programme and the Academy at Jersey Road Dan said he has been encouraged by the way some of his players have performed when they have been invited to play with the Academy.

“The programme is a partnership between Brentford and West Thames College,” said Dan.

“The idea is to give boys who have had opportunities with Brentford, and at other football clubs, a second chance.

“These are boys who weren’t offered scholarships and we have got ones from Brentford, MK Dons, Leicester City and other clubs.

“They come down to us and train three times a week and then play on a Wednesday and study their BTEC level two or level three at the College.

“They train on a Monday afternoon and then on a Tuesday morning and will be in College Tuesday afternoon.

“Wednesday is a game day, either home or away, and then Thursday they train in the afternoon and Friday is college all day.

“We are working off the same syllabus as the Academy so these guys are receiving the same practice and detail as we would give to the scholars.

“The idea is to hopefully get them back into the system or to see them playing as high as they can in the non-league.

“The course only started in September but we have already had three boys train with the Academy at Jersey Road.

“Anthony Hayes, Under-17s Head Coach, is very open for them to come into sessions and if they are good enough they will get a game.

“It isn’t just a token session here and there, if they think he is good enough they will put him on the pitch.

“Whatever talent ID or recruitment process you do there will always be a mistake somewhere or someone that slips through the net.

“We are hoping that we have the best players outside Academy football to give them an opportunity to go back in.

“The boys love it.

“For the boys that have been in the professional clubs and have come out they recognise the opportunities that they have missed.

“Now they are hanging on every word the coach says and are taking every session really seriously.

“At the other end of the spectrum the boys who haven’t had this opportunity are loving it because it is a new experience as they get three hours a week with a coach and games at a decent facility.

With 40 boys enrolled on the programme this year Brentford have entered two teams, the Brentford Griffins and the Brentford Bees, in the Football Conference Youth Alliance.

The Youth Alliance is made up of the Youth Teams from larger League Two and Non-League teams such as Luton Town, Boreham Wood and Eastleigh and similar Youth Alliance programmes at clubs such as Southampton and Watford.

The Brentford Griffins have started the season strongly in the London and South East Division and are 5th after six games while the Brentford Bees are 9th in the Home Counties and South West Division.

For Dan being able to play in such a competitive and well regarded league is a huge positive of the partnership.

He admits it has been a steep learning curve for some of the boys but there are definitely positive steps being made with each match and training session.

“The boys play in the Football Conference Youth Alliance which is the biggest national Youth Football League,” said Dan.

“They play other schemes just as us; Southampton have got two teams, Fulham, Watford and Tottenham.

“There are also large non-league teams like Eastleigh, Gosport Borough and Boreham Wood.

“It is competitive Under-19s league and a lot of our boys are first-years so they are playing boys one or two years older than them so it is a good test.

“If they weren’t here I think some of them would be going to work.

“Some of them would be on a normal football course but not have the contact time with their coach.

“They would be training Tuesday and Thursday in non-league football.

“That extra contact time with the coach is important because they are getting all the technical and tactical work with the coach.

“It has been difficult for some of the boys because we are asking them to play the Brentford way which is quite quick and quite technical.

“Some of them are effective footballers but they probably aren’t as technical as others in the group.

“There are two or three who have been at pro clubs and can play at that level so it is just about merging that together and finding a level they can play at.

“Whenever you throw 11 boys into a team it is difficult.

“We have got two groups.

“One group is slightly stronger that the other and they have done really well so far.

“They have only lost one game this season and are playing really good attractive football.”

Away from the footballing side of the partnership the boys spend two days a week at West Thames College studying for a BTEC.

With many boys understanding that a life in football is a life that not all of them will enjoy Dan believes it is good to be able to offer them another pathway.

Dan said the boys have taken really well to the classroom based side of the partnership and already sees examples of boys preparing for later careers.

“A lot of the boys know that the football dream is a difficult one to follow and they have experienced that,” said Dan.

“We have got boys who are already coaching in the community programme.

“We have got one lad who already wants to be a PE Teacher.

“He sees this as a way of keeping his high quality and he is already looking at it from a coaching point of view.

“There are a lot of pathways that they can explore through the college so it is double-edged.

“The BTEC is practically based which really suits our boys.

“Neil and the guys at the College are really patient and they go through the units step by step.

“There is a lot of practical work and group work.”

Despite only being set up three months ago thoughts are already turning to doubling the programme’s size in time for the 2015/16 season.

Dan admits that doubling the intake to around 80 boys will put added pressure on coaches and teams but he said that increasing the numbers will only give more boys the opportunity to get their way back into football.

“There are plans to make it twice as big next year,” said Dan.

“We are at an intake of 40 this year and we looking at 80 next year.

“That will be the maximum that we run as the boys will graduate next year.

“We are looking to run four sides so there will be lots of scope for those boys to play football and lots of coaching to do.”

Bees Player subscribers can listen to the full interview here