In Marseille, Olympique de Marseille trembled (2-2), here, Toulouse FC narrowly won (1-2). Here, the under-17 team of Jeunesse Villenavaise frequents the elite, the U17 Nat (for national), which brings together all professional clubs and the best coaches. Souleyman from Bègles, Guilhem from Salles, and others not only rub shoulders with the big world, they also compete with it.
On the eve of facing TFC, Luca Martin and his players dream of standing up to the professional club, just like they did against Marseille (2-2).
At the club house, there is a video session with Matteo. People come and go. “You see, there’s a difference, in professional clubs, they have a special room,” smiles the coach.
While Marmande and Angoulême, the only other clubs in Nouvelle-Aquitaine at this level, are fighting for survival, JV has long secured its place in the top 5 of its group. “It’s a pride, we belong to a minority,” says defender Kelyane. It’s a little miracle and at the same time anything but a coincidence.
Efforts and solidarity:
A small miracle, as the resources are not equal. “In professional clubs, they have adjusted schedules, we train from 7:30 to 9 pm, after classes, four to five times a week, it makes a big difference,” summarizes James, a powerful attacker. Esteban, a marathon midfielder, agrees, especially since he is “alternating in landscaping, it’s hard.” “Monday mornings in class at 8 am, when we come back from a trip the previous night, it hurts,” adds Kelyane.
No one talks about it in U17, everyone dreams of it: signing for a professional club.
Luca Martin, coach and head of the youth sector, acknowledges the differences. “We often train on half a field, shared with the U18s, our opponents have a full one. They often double daily sessions, we can only do it during vacations. Training centers have dieticians, I don’t know what my players eat at home. They do weight training in gyms, with machines, we make do with what we have. They have doctors, physiotherapists, we have a student physio, who comes once a week and for matches.”
“The club makes efforts,” says James. “I played in Rouen last year, even for trips of 3.5 or 4 hours, we left on the day, here we leave the day before, stay at the hotel, meals are taken care of. The staff is as well equipped as anywhere else.”
With Luca, a salaried employee, two STAPS students, in civic service, ensure physical preparation and video sessions, volunteer leaders, including an almost intendant co-president, put in hours.
The players “pay back” by forming a “supportive team, with a good atmosphere,” swears Souleyman. “I thought it would be tense, with competition,” confirms Esteban. There is no money here, the team is shaped by efforts, joy, and everyone’s dream: to be recruited by a professional club, as this U17 championship is the gateway to entering a major training center. So no “big vacations” because training resumes on July 20, and only one in December. “We don’t have the life of regular teens,” notes Kelyane, no outings, not even time to linger outside the school after classes.” No regrets for Amir: “We don’t do all this for nothing, we take pleasure in trying to reach the top level.”
A company of musketeers:
A small miracle; Villenave’s U17 performances are anything but a coincidence. They come from a strong formative base enhanced by recruiting the best young talents from around. “The generation born in 2008 brought the club up two years ago,” explains Luca Martin, who arrived from Dordogne seven years ago. With a musketeer look, he leads a group of musketeers, with the 2009 generation shining in U17 and aiming for the U19 Nat next year, the 2010 generation pushing, the 2011 generation dominating the Girondins de Bordeaux in U15.
In U17, half of the group has been trained here like Esteban, with the club for four years, Rayan for three, Guilhem scouted in District two years ago, and the others arrived last summer. Examples: James and Axel from Girondins and Rouen, Kelyane from Stade Bordelais, Dylan, with impeccably braided hair, played in Poitiers and Niort.
“We want to work better, have more local players, who stay to eventually move the first team, currently in Régional 1, to national,” hopes Luca Martin.
