THE Ulu Klang Recreation Club’s (UKRC) junior football programme has grown into a grooming ground for young talents.The programme when initiated in 2005 had about 40 students but today the number of trainees has soared to almost 150.

Watchful eye: Chief coach Keng Lian keeping a close eye on two players.

Then the programme was handled by one coach. Now they have a chief coach in Kok Keng Lin and four others — Omran Omar, Azhar Abdullah, Nor Amin Ismail and Sheikh Rashidi Bux.

UKRC president Andrew Gopal said they were surprised with the progress their trainees have made in the past five years.

“Now the programme caters for the various age groups. We have boys aged from six to 17. Some of our trainees have earned call ups to represent either Kuala Lumpur or Selangor in age group competitions.

Two players have earned places in SMK Victoria — Kuala Lumpur’s centre of excellence for football — and are studying and training there,’’ said Andrew.

Hakim Khairuddin and Mohd Aiman Omran were members of the Selangor Under-12 football team while Mohd Fais Mohamad and Mohamad Shahril Ali were in the Kuala Lumpur Under-12 squad.

Two others — P. Tharvin and S. Arvind, after their impressive performance in age group competitions, were offered to train and study at SMK Victoria Institution.

Tharvin is 14 and Arvind 15. Both are members of the SMK Victoria Institution team. Andrew said both Tharvin and Arvind were pioneers of the UKRC junior development programme.

Commitment: A keen battle among the trainees for the ball during training.

Horsing around: It is time to have some fun for the trainees.

“They have shown tremendous progress and we want to see them graduate into the senior squad. We are also working with our contacts in Perth, Australia to send the two players for a training stint during the school holidays. They will be able to gain valuable exposure,’’ he added.

The UKRC also organises an Under-12 competition every year. They invite teams from the Klang Valley for the event. Following the success of the championship, the UKRC is also keen to initiate an Under-17 age group competition.

Coaches' view: Andrew (right) and Jeffrey (left) with Hakim Kharuddin, Nor Aiman Omran, Arvind and Thavin.

The UKRC junior development co-ordinator Jeffrey Lau Chuk Hoi said they accepted invitations to take part in competition organised by other football academies in the Klang Valley.

Impressive: Arvind has improved steadily.

“Training alone is not enough. The boys must get the chance to gauge their progress and age-group competitions are the best platform to evaluate them.

“Winning is secondary as our aim is to expose them to the competitive atmosphere. But our young players have been doing well in these competitions,’’ said Jeffrey.

This year, the UKRC took part in the Community League (Under -12); Little League (Under-16); Kuala Lumpur City Hall (Under 9); YFA League (Under-14 and Under-16) and KLYSC (Under-11 and Under-11).

Andrew said the club would be forming a Under-18 team to participate in the Football Association of Selangor (FAS) league next season.

“It is important for us to create opportunities for our trainees. Our next obvious step is to play in the league. The FAS league is competitive and we are convinced that our players will benefit from playing in the competition,’’ said Andrew.

The UKRC training sessions are held on Saturdays and Sundays (8.30am to 10.30am). The participants are charged a monthly fee of RM50 each.

For more information on the programme, contact 016-2759217.