Youth Academy: A look back at the first half of the season

Plantin, Peleka on top

Once again this season, the capital club can count on a high-quality crop of youth academy stars, with a number of promising youngsters in the pipeline. Although he signed his first professional contract this summer, Léo Plantin continues to get plenty of playing time with the reserves, continuing his development. A key member of Thierry Perreux's squad, the young left-winger has already made 39 appearances in the first ten rounds of the league season.

That makes him the second-highest scorer in the Rouge et Bleu squad, behind Tony Mendy, who has already scored 74 goals this season. In addition to Léo Plantin, another youngster who alternates between Raul Gonzalez’s senior squad and the youth academy is Wallem Peleka. A change of environment that allows the young left-back to develop alongside the best and, at the same time, to benefit from more playing time within the youth academy, where he is a leader.

Théo Ducap (32 goals) and Amara Karamoko (29 goals) also made their mark on the squad during the recent friendly against Tremblay, catching Raul Gonzalez’s eye. Noa Narcisse, who finished 2023 in sparkling form, could well follow in their footsteps.

A POSITIVE RECORD

Currently fourth in their federal group with six wins, two draws and four defeats, the capital club remain within striking distance of the top of the table. Just four points behind Union Sportive Dreux Vernouillet, Thierry Perreux's men have high hopes for 2024.

The Parisians have benefited from a number of outstanding performances from Léo, who was decisive in the crunch clashes against Hazebrouck (32-28) in Round 1, when he scored seven goals. The left-winger went one better a few weeks later, bagging nine against Annecy (25-22).

Les Rouge et Bleu finished 2023 with back-to-back wins, including a 34-26 victory over Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt in a match marked by Tony's stellar performance (10 goals).

The young right-back proved decisive once again when the league resumed, scoring nine goals in the Round 12 clash with Hazebrouck. Unfortunately, this performance was not enough to prevent a narrow defeat for Thierry Perreux's men (26-24).

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT: THE MAIN OBJECTIVE

The youth academy's winter preparations came to a close with a 30-26 defeat to Athletic Club Boulogne-Billancourt. It was nothing to be worried about, according to Thierry Perreux, who highlighted the fact that their preparations were cut short by a number of setbacks. "Preparation has been a little difficult because we've had a number of injuries."

However, the coach of the capital club's reserves insists that the youth academy's priority is to support youngsters as they progress: "Our aim is to give our all in every game. We can't win promotion, but we mustn't get relegated. Over and above the sporting aspect, our goal is to develop the players. That's the main objective of a youth academy. The competition is an assessment of what we work on during the week."

(Credits: Paris Saint-Germain Handball Association)