FC Halifax Town: Shaymen hoping to inspire the next generation into the first-team

It does everything else, engaging with children across Calderdale from toddlers to teenagers, culminating in a two-year education and football course at Calderdale College.

By the time its students graduate, they are prepared for a career on the pitch or off it.

But so far, except for brief first-team appearances for Ross Barrows, Shiraz Khan and Sam Hillhouse. the pathway to The Shaymen's senior side remains untrodden.

"I was waiting for that question!," says the club's head of youth development Steve Nichol.

"It's why the programme was created. If you look at the start and end point, any player that enters the programme is a better player by the time they leave.

"I don't think players are ready for our first-team when they leave us aged 18 if I'm honest.

"We've tried various approaches to bridge that gap, including a hybrid approach where we've retained players on a contract and they'll train with the first-team and go out on loan to get some experience."

Nichol's own research indicates that only six academy players over the last 18 months have established themselves in the first-team at National League clubs.

"There was one who was sold to Peterbrough by Fylde," he says. "The average age of those when they made their debut was 18 years and 11 months, so many clubs are making decisions on these players at the age of 18.

"It's in their third year where they're making their debut and showing they can progress towards first-team football, so it's about how we bridge that gap. That's the challenge, how we cover the players from 18-21.

"There have been players at the club I thought could have progressed to the first-team.

"Pete (Wild) and Chris (Millington) have a background in academy football and I think they've got a good grasp of what our programme is, where the players are by the end of it, and we're looking at how we can work together to bridge that gap."

Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth, who was called up to the England under 19 squad last week, could have done so eventually had he not been cherry-picked by Brighton.

Two players, Jake Taylor, 19, and Jay Benn, 18, are out on loan at Silsden in the North-West Counties League. The pair also train with the Halifax first-team.

"I think it's about communication and contact, and the belief that we want to progress players on the programme, giving them a platform from which they can develop," says Nichol.