This is the youngest age group of football players at FC Madras. The Under-13’s are divided into three teams for training purposes. The Elite Team, Development Team, and Emerging Team. These players represent the raw talent, who, with proper guidance and training from our coaches, can develop basic skills to play the game of football.
Johann Cruyff once said, “You play football with your head, and your legs are there to help you.”
At this stage in their career, they will be trained to ‘think and play’ to help them make smart decisions as football players from a very young age.
Our focus with this age group is on getting familiar with the ball, improving technique, and learning the value of keeping possession. We encourage kids to learn about decision-making, risk-taking, 1v1, and understanding formation and shape. Players will learn to control and pass the ball at speed using both feet all within the framework of the team shape and the game.
Training schedule for U-13s: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
This is the oldest age group of football players that are trained at FC Madras. Like the U-13s, they are too divided into three teams for training purposes. The Elite Team, Development Team, and Emerging Team. At this stage in their career, we will help them decide as to what kind of a player they would like to be. Our coaches will offer advice and train them to excel in a particular position on the football pitch to add more value to the players. The development at this stage of a player’s career is very crucial and we, at FC Madras, take immense pride and dedication to offer top-class coaching sessions to help them develop into the future of Indian football.
With the U-15 team, we increase our focus on team training sessions, helping them to develop as a group during the week and taking what they have learnt into training matches, friendly games, or competitions. Our youth sessions become faster and more intense, allowing players to utilize control and speed in restricted areas; less space, less time, more skill. A player’s long-term development plan with us includes problem-solving, awareness of the ball, and competent technique.
Training schedule for U-15s: Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Sathiesh Kumar V.P has represented India and he has 25 senior caps for the national team. The Tamil Nadu born goalkeeper is the only footballer from Tamil Nadu to win an I-League title as a player and a coach. As a player, he had won multiple I-League titles with East Bengal (2002-03), Dempo SC (2004-05) (2006-07) & (2007-08). Sathiesh was part of the Dempo SC team that became the first team from the sub-continent to quality for the AFC Cup semi-finals in 2008. In 2015, he quit competitive football and he had offers from ISL clubs such as Chennaiyin FC and FC Goa which he rejected. He signed as a goalkeeper coach with erstwhile I-League team Chennai City FC in the 2016-17 season and helped them lift their inaugural I-League trophy in the 2018-19 season. He has also represented Chennai City FC in the AFC Champions League playoffs and AFC Cup in the 2019-20 season. In the 2020-21 season, Sathiesh Kumar decided to have a new challenge and decided to move to FC Bengaluru United as a goalkeeper coach before joining FC Madras.
Sathiesh KumarGoalkeeper Coach – U13 & U15
Our head coach is Ramesh Bista and he holds the AFC ‘A’ license in coaching. His playing career largely consisted of representing amatuer and professional football teams including the Karnataka Sporting Association (KSA). He has achieved many milestones in his coaching career so far. Former teams and academies where he has served as a head coach include Liverpool International Academy-DSK Shivajians and FC Pune City U-18’s before taking over the coaching setup at FC Madras in 2021. Coach Bista’s vision for FC Madras is to create a strong grassroots programme in order to help strengthen the youth development process in the academy. His ultimate goal is to turn FC Madras into a talent factory where the players eventually end up playing at the elite professional level in Indian football or abroad. His wealth of experience in coaching will be very important for FC Madras’s growth.
Ramesh BistaCoach – U15
Othallo Tabia is a born winner. His playing career is the perfect example of that. His achievements include winning the I-League, Durand Cup, Federation Cup, IFA Shield and representing Maharashtra in the Santosh Trophy. He has played for a range of I-League teams such as Pune FC, Salgaocar FC and more. During his time at Kerala University, they were crowned all India champions in 2002. As an AFC ‘B’ license holder, Othallo has coached various teams and academies. He has coached the Kerala Blasters football academy and was the assistant coach of Kerala Blasters U-19 team. In addition, he has worked overseas in Kuwait for Soccer Kerala football academy. Coach Othallo Tabia joined FC Madras in January 2021 and intends on producing world class talent at FC Madras and aims to compete against the best football academies in the world.
Othallo TabiaCoach – U13
Kuttimani possesses a wealth of experience from his playing career after playing at the highest level of Indian football. He has represented Team India at the AFC Championships, South Asian Games, and plenty more tournaments in different age groups. Furthermore, he has played for Mumbai City FC in the Indian Super League (ISL) and Bangalore FC, Mumbai FC, Pune FC and a few more teams in the I-League. Kuttimani’s coaching career includes being the coach of Ozone FC’s U-18 squad in the I-League. His glittering playing career will surely add immense value to the football development programme at FC Madras. Coach Kuttimani’s experience and knowledge of the game will help our players develop into future stars of Indian Football.
Kuttimani SampathkumarCoach – U13
For most parts of his career, he played in Division 1 and 2 of Tamil Nadu football. Some of the teams he represented are Chennai United FC, Octopus Marine FC and Rangoon FC. His coaching career began in 2011 and over time, he has developed a great level of expertise in grassroots football development. Coach Vijaya Balan has been part of FC Madras since 2018 and holds an AFC ‘C’ license. He started off as a youth coach at various training camps across Chennai. He was given the role of head coach for the academy’s U-15 team which won the Hero Youth I-League South zone in 2018/2019. With the plethora of grassroot experience he possesses, Vijaya Balan aims to deliver the best quality of coaching and guidance for the development of youth talent at FC Madras. He hopes to see FC Madras as one of the leading youth football academies in South Asia.
Vijaya BalanCoach – U13
Yuvaraj has represented his school in various state level and national level tournaments. He was also part of the Madras University football team that played in the All India Football Federation Cup. Several appearances in the CFA Senior division league for Arrows FC rounds off his youthful and exciting playing career. After a smooth transition into coaching, he has been part of FC Madras since 2019 and was the head coach of the U-13 squad. He led the team in the Hero Youth I-League that were winners of the South zone tournament. Coach Yuvaraj holds an AFC ‘C’ license. His youthful energy combined with existing experience of coaching children will enable FC Madras to succeed on and off the field.
Yuvaraj ManiCoach – U15
Vignesh Kamaraj has played for a variety of teams across different leagues and tournaments during his playing career that started in 2008. Most notable ones include representing SAI (Sports Authority of India) on a merit qualification, SDAT (Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu) and Octopus Marine FC in division 2 of Tamil Nadu football. Quite similar to the rest of the coaches, Vignesh has a wealth of experience in coaching children in the grassroots programmes across Chennai and holds the AIFF ‘D’ license. Coach Vignesh joined FC Madras in 2018. His initial role was the assistant coach of the U-18 team in the Hero Youth League. In addition to that, he has also coached the FC Madras U-15s and U-13s in the Hero Youth League in 2019/2020. Vignesh believes that learning will never stop, especially in football and intends on coaching in an organised manner while preaching discipline on and off the field.
Vignesh KamarajCoach – U15
Shashanka Hassan is also a Gold medal winner of Isshinryu World Karate Association (I.W.K.A). He started his career in 2016 as a First-aid Professional from Chatham University helping athletes of all sports in providing first aid. He enrolled himself in a Volunteer Help Program with UPMC Shadyside where he had trained to prevent delirium in the patients. In 2020, Shashanka became a Teacher’s Assistant at Chatham University where he provided assistance to the exercise science department and helped students achieve their laboratory goals. His versatile skills include the ability to assess athletes for imbalance & mobility, ability to write exercise programs, ability to offer rehab exercises to athletes, & understanding of Kinesiology. He is currently working as a Human Performance Assistance with FC Madras.
Shashanka HassanHuman Performance Assistant – U13 & U15
For the U-13 and U-15 age categories, game time is the most important element that contributes to a player’s development. Games program will allow players to get more game time and exposure to play under pressure and in different scenarios.
Players will play the following games:
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