YORK City this week revealed the next crop of youngsters they hope to groom for footballing stardom.
From the club's under-16 side, Chris Hogg, Graeme Law, Sean Davies, Michael McKenzie, Matthew Coad and Levent Yalcin have all been offered three-year youth trainee scholarships by the club for next season.
Middlesbrough-born Hogg's inclusion will come as no surprise.
Just last week he was captaining England Under-15s in a 0-0 draw with Holland and their 2-1 defeat at the hands of Germany.
The centre-back is skipper of City Under-16s, played in the intermediates' narrow FA Youth Cup fourth round defeat at Wolves and had trials with Manchester United last year.
Copmanthorpe-based Law, a player comfortable in any position down the right hand side, also played for the Under-19s in their FA Youth Cup run.
Fellow York youngster McKenzie can play in central midfield or at right wing and was also named in the squad that played at Molineux.
Coad is a central midfielder from Darlington while Sean Davies, a centre-back, and Levent Yalcin both hail from Middlesbrough.
Hogg, Law and Yalcin were last year part of a 16-man squad chosen to represent the North East at a coaching festival in Staffordshire for the best English schoolboys.
But while the dreams of those six moved a step closer to realisation another three teenagers saw their hopes of a professional career suffer a blow.
Head of youth development Paul Stancliffe and assistant youth coach Brian Neaves have had the painful task of deciding which of the ten teenagers now more than midway through the second year of their youth scholarships should progress into the third and final year.
Striker Gary Ormston, left-back Chris Gowen and utility player Adam Russell have all been informed they will not be retained for next season.
Neaves explained: "They are still under contract until the end of the season and they have to fulfil the education side of the scholarship as well as the football.
"Obviously, they are very, very disappointed but we are trying to fix them up trials with other clubs and help them as much as we can."
It means goalkeeper John Collinson, midfielder Ben Rhodes, winger Marc Salvati, centre-half Peter Vasey, striker Scott Emmerson, midfielder Leigh Wood and winger Kieran Darlow - the latter three all currently in the first team squad - will progress into their third and final year.
Moving up into the second year will be the club's current crop of first years; strikers Luke Ibbotson and Daniel Barry, defender Stuart Wise, goalkeeper Mark Hampshire and left-sided midfielder Marvin Boyce.
The future of the sole remaining third year trainee, John Fielding, should be decided soon.
Meanwhile, last week's 4-3 defeat to Scarborough in the Youth Alliance North East Conference ensured City intermediates just missed out on qualifying for the Merit Northern Section premier division programme.
Instead, the youngsters will now compete in the MNS division one although their opening fixture earlier today at home to Stockport was postponed.
Their remaining fixtures are as follows: March 10 away at West Bromwich Albion; March 24 away at Halifax Town; March 31 at home to Rotherham; April 14 away at Oldham Athletic; April 21 at home to Notts County; Friday, April 27, away at Scarborough.
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