Introducing....

The club are delighted to announce the appointment of the latest addition to Garry Flitcroft’s back-room staff with the arrival of seventeen year old Jonothan Gains.
 

Local lad Jonothan’s background in football is already very impressive, even at such an early age.  And his history with Leigh goes back an equally long way.... he started out several years ago playing for Leigh RMI Juniors then soon began to get involved with the Soccer Schools under the watchful eye of Steve Hilton. He then took on an additional job of being kit man for the Leigh RMI Reserve team under Steve Eckersley and briefly for a time in the first team during Steve Bleasdale's first spell with the club before moving with Eckersley  to Atherton LR for a short while.
 

Last year he was involved in the “Get active be volunteering “ group as part of the Wigan Sports Development unit. His skills did no go unnoticed and a move into Leigh Genesis Juniors was the next step.  With a refereeing certificate and his FA Level1 as well as junior coaching qualifications Jonothan currently manages coaching his U8 and U6 sides as well as studying for his BTEC National Diploma in Sport with Wigan and Leigh College.  Additionally he mentors new young referees, guiding them with his experience and enthusiasm for the game.  His numerous performances both coaching and refereeing these young teams is always said to be exemplary.
 

Following his appointment on Wednesday, Jono was straight into it on Thursday, moving the team into the new ground and getting all the kit and equipment ready for the new season.  His hard work ethic and keen eye for detail has become apparent already as he continues to work hard on getting things ship shape for pre-season training which commences next week.
 

Rob Atherton, Junior Secretary, spoke of the appointment,
 

 “Jonothan is a young volunteer of exceptional talent. His coaching and knowledge of football is very high for a person of 17 years of age. He is an extremely valuable person to our football club and with people like Jonothan about the future of football is very bright. This appointment is absolutely right from all angles. It shows all our junior members what can be achieved and further strengthens the already strong first team / junior relationship. My sincere thanks to Garry and Donna for giving Jonothan this fantastic opportunity”

With a tough few weeks coming up at this busy time of season for the new boy, Jonothan also has the additional pressure of studying for his driving  test to contend with!  But he is looking forward to juggling the responsibilities of his new role with his college work, driving lessons and commitments to the Junior teams he works with, and is now more excited than ever about the season ahead.

Welcome on board Jonothan!