SHAKERS' junior players are currently finding it hard to train at the moment, with the youth team's usual practice facilities at Goshen completely underwater.

The spate of wet Weather has also caused the cancellation of the coming weekend's Centre of Excellence fixtures, adding further weight to Head of Youth Neil Hanks' assertions that developmental football should be moved to a more favourable time of year, with a season spanning from March to November.

Almost with an air of truth, he joked: "To play at Goshen at the moment, you need to go down there with wellies and a snorkel! We're having to find alternative places for the youth team to train - in the corridor under the stand if need be for certain exercises - and it doesn't do anybody any good.

" If we could play through the summer, it would allow the players to come on in leaps and bounds as we'd be able to work on their ball skills more intensively, rather than just trying to keep them warm

as we do at this time of year.

" It's as much as we can do just to stop the kids from shivering at training sessions, and we all come off the training pitch with white fingers and burning ears.

"It's sad that when we actually get to play Centre of Excellence games at this time of year, it's often so cold and wet that many of the parents have to shelter in their cars for warmth, and

miss out on seeing their child develop as a footballer.

" I long for the chance to play matches in the summer heat with families able to lie on the grass and

drink pop while watching their child play. It would be better for everyone but sadly those that run the game don,t seem to want to know."

Weather permitting, the youth team can now look forward to their set of fixtures in the forthcoming merit section, which gets underway next weekend.

Three of the Shakers' four home games take place on the same day as first team home games, allowing fans to see the stars of the future in action in the morning at Lower Gigg, before moving to the terraces to watch the first team

heroes.

The Shakers have been placed in the Umbro Isotonic League Merit Division Three

(Northern Section), with the fixture list as follows:

Sat Feb 14 Halifax Town A

Sat Feb 21 Rochdale A

Sat Feb 28 York City H

Sat March 20 Burnley or Stockport* A

Sat March 27 Macclesfield Town H

Sat April 10 Darlington A

Sat April 17 Wrexham H

Sat April 24 Chester City H

*Dependant on whichever side finishes 7th in the as yet incomplete North West

league section

All home games take place at Lower Gigg, kicking off at 10.30am, with the exception of the Wrexham game which kicks off at 11am. All away games kick off at 11am.