At half-time of Sunday's City Women's match at St James Park, members of the Community Trust's Girls' Pathway paraded the pitch after another successful season.
Funded by the Premier League and the FA, and operated by City Community Trust, the pathway is home to over 330 players across Exeter and North Devon, from the ages of eight to 18, as well as 25 coaches.
The pathway spans several areas playing at different levels, giving girls the opportunity to develop in a technical and tactical programme, through weekly training sessions throughout the season and regional fixtures.
Junior Premier League
There are four teams competing in the JPL across four age groups, under-14, 15, 16 and under-18. The under-18s side play in partnership with Exeter College, through their women's football academy programme.
During their first season in the league, the under-14s finished as runners up, while the under-15s competed in the Premier Division, facing the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
In their final season before moving to the Exeter College Academy, the under-16s finished as runners up with a brilliant season under coaches Steve and Connor Madge.
The North Devon centre provided more players this year, with players progressing through the pathway to represent the JPL teams, showing the close partnership between both centres, merging together to provide opportunities for the club. Several of the players in the JPL set up have featured for Devon FA this season too.
Emerging Talent Centre
It's been a busy year for the ETC age groups, with fixtures against teams of the calibre of Chelsea and Aston Villa being the highlights of the year.
The youngest under-9 group have thrived off the coaching of Josh Raynor & Iza Naveed in their first year in the pathway. The improvements since September in this group has been brilliant to see, as had their enthusiasm and brilliant attendance to training.
The under-10 and under-11 groups have progressed in the same way, with good performances, especially in the most recent festival at Millfield School. The under-11s applied themselves impressively, playing an age group up in the under-12 age category, whilst the under-10 group won three games out of three vs Forest Green.
The under-10 and under-11 groups have enjoyed trying their had at futsal this year, competing in a taster event and regional competition at Paignton Academy.
Girls' Performance Centre
There has been some fantastic performances from both the under-12 and under-13 GPC groups this year.
The under-12s played out a 4-4 thriller at Chelsea and most recently competed at the Canary Cup in Norwich, beating the likes of Brentford and Brighton in the group stage. An unbeaten group stage set up a quarter final against Nottingham forest. While that match unfortunately ended in defeat, it was a brilliant trip and experience for the players and parents.
The under-13 group, coached by Ryan Berner has shown masses of improvements, with a notable win away to Wycombe being the highlight of the year. This group has had a great year in preparation for next seasons first year of JPL fixtures.
Girls' Development Centre
Another year of development for the girls in our GDC, taking part in fixtures against the Devon Girls Football League representative squads. It has also been great to see some of the GDC players step up to the GPC showing a real pathway for girls right the way through.
North Devon
The North Devon Centre has increased in numbers and now provides sessions for 65 girls in the area from ages under-10 to under-16.
The youngest group, under-10s and 11s, have shown fantastic improvement in their first year with excellent coaching from Roger Bonaparte. The girls most recently competed against the Devon Girls' League and played out a 4-3 thriller, with a winner in the last minute by Halle Long.
The under-12 and 13 group has consisted of lots of new players this year, with the exception of Honey Huxtable, Nancy Newman and Ava Santos who have been with the centre since day one!
Our U14/U15 group has been well supported by coach Katie Winter. The group has competed against DGFL, Plymouth Argyle and also featured in under-16 fixtures for the centre. Several members of the group play grassroots football for Braunton FC who have completed an unbeaten league campaign in the North Devon Girls' League.
The under-16 group have had their last season at the centre, concluding with a convincing 3-0 win on Thursday evening. This group have been at the centre for two years, but the improvements in their overall game have been brilliant to see.
Several players have gone on to play senior football for local clubs Fremington FC and Bideford AFC. Three of the girls, Daisy, Megan and Edith, will continue their journey in the pathway in the Exeter College Women’s Football Academy.
Find Out More About the Pathway
The pathway is operated by the City Community Trust, and managed by former City Women manager Aaron Wakley. You can find more information on the pathway, including how to request a trial, by clicking here!