U16 Boys Junior Premier League Trials

The Foundation will be taking part in the Junior Premier League (JPL) Programme for the 23/24 season, and will be entering a Boys U16 squad once again. Therefore, we are inviting boys to trial for our well established and successful U16 squad for the upcoming 23/24 season.

About the Junior Premier League

The Junior Premier League is a player development focused league, driving innovation and ensuring every player has a premier experience. We endeavour to be the world’s best provider of competitive opportunities for development and advancement in youth football. The Junior Premier League is now 11 years old and from a small beginning, we are now England’s only National league for youth players from U7 to U18 and are the largest league in the country with over 25,000 players.

Playing environment – we endeavour to create an environment where development comes first. Competition can be fun, and players do enjoy winning but we focus our ethos on enabling players to express themselves without fear of making mistakes and without fear of the result. The important thing is we educate the coaches and parents before the season and then throughout the season to understand and support this ethos.

Minimum game time rule – every player selected for a matchday squad must play at least 50% of the game.

Club Standards – JPL carefully selects all clubs to ensure they are offering a great environment for players. This isn’t only in terms of coaching resource but it’s also important for players to have an environment where they feel safe to train and play and that the club has the appropriate infrastructure in place to allow them to be the best athlete they can be.

Trial Details

The trial will be taking place on Tuesday 6 June between 7.15pm-9pm on the practice pitch at Portman Road, and is available to boys currently in School Year 10 (U15) and heading into School Year 11 (U16) in September 2023. The Foundation will then be holding a “callback” session for successful participants following the initial trial, which will then determine whether they are able to progress into the squad for next season.

Trialists must wear blue shirts, blue shorts, and blue socks.

To book your place on the trial, please click HERE.

The 23/24 Season

Once trials are complete, we shall select a maximum squad of 20-22 players to be signed to the Ipswich Town Squad. A matchday squad consists of 16 players for each match based on squad rotations. The team commitment will involve squad specific training session on a Tuesday evening located at Portman Road, with matches taking place on Saturdays across the East Region. We ask all players and parents to check their availability to commit to the requirements for the new season before registering for the trial. Players may also sign for their grassroots team, providing this doesn’t clash with any JPL commitments.

To find out more information, please contact Kevin Aylett at kevin.aylett@itfc.co.uk.