An insight into our academy

Rugby Park is the starting point for many a young player

Kilmarnock have real pedigree when it comes to its youth academy, with the likes of Steven Naismith and Kris Boyd coming through the youth ranks. The person in charge of the academy is  Paul Di Giacomo, who, of course, himself was a Kilmarnock youth product. He spent 10 years at the club, making over 100 appearances. Di Giacomo’s playing career was curtailed due to injury but he has played his part in nurturing young talent. The club also has a women’s academy, which is managed by Jim Chapman, who is also in charge of the first team in SWPL 2.

In Di Giacomo's role as the Head of the Academy, he is responsible for all age groups in the men’s and boys' academy from under-8s to under-18s. The former Killie frontman heads up a team of coaches. He was quick to emphasise that his main role is to develop and create a pathway for young players to ideally achieve a dream of playing professional football, for Kilmarnock or otherwise.

Over the past year, the academy's poster boy has been David Watson. To date, he has made 62 appearances, after being given his debut in the Trust Trophy in 2021, after signing his first professional contract the day before. The story of how his Killie career started is a memorable one which Di Giacomo recalls: “He joined as a part of a community programme, the mini kickers started by my predecessor Paul McDonald, which I then took on, and was great to see and then develop into an academy player and he's come right through the pathway right from the very start: Under-9s right the way through to under 18s.

"I'm immensely proud of him. He deserves everything that's happened for him so far, and hopefully, his progression continues, and he goes on to make more appearances for Kilmarnock, and who knows where that will take them? That's the dream. That's a unique selling point of the academy. You can use the David Watson story and that's one of the successes. Hopefully, we can get many more of them.”

The story of the man the fans have dubbed ‘The Prestwick Pirlo’ is an inspiring one, however, many young players’ paths to first-team football don’t lie at Rugby Park and are released. This can be tough to take mentally, both for the player and for the person delivering the news. The Killie academy chief stressed the importance of a duty of care to his players, past and present, with a touching story surrounding a former midfielder, he added: “Harvey Gilmour, who was David's teammate, is another real success story for me as Head of Academy. Harvey, who I released last summer, is now back with the club as one of the pre-academy coaches. So, he takes her under-10s and he's getting mentored by Gary Hastings, who's one of her children's academy coaches with the under-12s.

"So, for all Harvey didn't make it as a footballer at Kilmarnock, he went through the whole pathway. We are now supporting him and his coaching journey. He still wants to play football,  and he will find his level somewhere but ultimately have somebody who's come through the full academy pathway and now he's coaching some young players. So, that was him six or seven years ago. That’s a success story for me.”

The fact that the club are still looking out for their academy graduates after they leave the club epitomises the family spirit Killie is known for.

Killie’s youth sides are thriving too, with a Reserve Cup win in 2023 in second-place finishes for the Under-18s  The Under-18s were coached by Craig Clark, but in the season just gone, he has been promoted to the position of first-team Technical Coach, while former Kilmarnock player Chris Burke now manages that team, and almost lead them to a league win and UEFA Youth League football next season.

The club has also seen real progress in the women’s game too. In recent years, the club have taken a greater deal of control over the women’s and girls’ academy. Women’s first team manager and Development Manager Jim Chapman spoke to us about the role and progression of Kilmarnock Women’s FC. On his wide-ranging role, he said: “It was about restructuring the girls’ academy and more importantly, taking over the women's first team and trying to galvanize everything and build a very good environment that's going to produce players for the first team. But most importantly, get the first team moving.”

Chapman has certainly succeeded in both of those goals, with the team finishing third and then second in his first two seasons, only missing out on promotion last season having lost out on promotion to the top flight following a 2-1 playoff defeat to SWPL 1 side Dundee United, however there has been progress year on year. here at the Killie Update, we hope the team can go one better next season and secure its place in SWPL 1. On Chapman’s watch, many young players who have come through the youth academy. Kesley Crainie, Mary Jackson, Louise Cowan, Arwen O’Brien and Lucie Burns have all played a significant part under Chapman’s stewardship. The latter has even been called up for Scotland Under-17s having starred for Killie at just 16, scoring nine goals in all competitions in 2023/24. Burns, alongside men’s academy player Ethan Mersey, won the Academy Rising Star award.

Youth development is something that Chapman has vast experience within both the men’s and women’s game, having served as manager and Head of Academy at Dumbarton in the SPFL as well as working as a women’s football coach Stateside.

Jim Chapman’s blue and white army, as the team are referred to on matchday, is attracting increasingly larger. In the final home game of last season, 143 people headed along to Rugby Park, a new club record. In time, this will be likely to increase. Good promotion of the women’s game is key, however, the Sunday afternoon kick-offs don’t suit everyone. Chapman is hopeful of a solution to this but appreciates that it could be easier said than done with part-time players, he added: “We all represent the club. In terms of the kick-off times, there are different things, and even from a personal point of view, I find it strange. I spent a lot of my life on a Saturday with football, and Sunday was a relaxing family time to catch up, that's the way it always used to be.

“But with women's football on a Sunday now, and it's even for me on the weekend, I'm a bit lost on a Saturday, and I have to try and talk to the family on a Saturday if I can, because Sunday's now Saturday. So, I totally understand that if Saturday the men's team are playing and stuff, you know, then the Sunday could be other things and it could be work commitments, it could be farm, it could be anything.

“We need to look at if there are opportunities to try something different: More midweek games, even Friday nights for the women's team. Something that may be more accessible and give people a bit more time because we've all got commitments.

“If there's any ideas or any suggestions, I would be more than, open to anything that's going to try and help boost the crowd and be more accessible to the fan base at Kilmarnock to get more people through the doors. We'll listen to anything, any ideas, and I know the Killie Trust are like that, so when they bring some suggestions and ideas too, we'll look at that.”

If you fancy cheering on the women’s team, their matches typically are on a Sunday afternoon, kicking off at any time between 14:00-16:00. Keep an eye on the club’s social channels for fixture lists for the upcoming season soon! When it comes to men’s academy matches, SPFL Reserve League matches take place on Tuesday afternoons and the under-18s play on Friday evenings all at Rugby Park.

Kilmarnock’s youth academy and women’s setup are in a good place, making steady progress with strong leadership from Di Giacomo and Chapman. The stories of Watson and Burns from recent seasons show the potential of the club’s academy programmes and pathways. Killie is a good place for young talent to be nurtured.