Alex Wynter joins Academy Player Care staff
Former Crystal Palace midfielder and Academy graduate Alex Wynter has returned to the club as a Player Care Officer.
Wynter is the Player Care Officer for Under-9s through to Under-16s, his role is designed to provide holistic support off the pitch for all players coming through that age range.
“It’s great to be back at the club - it’s changed a lot, but this place has always felt like home.” said Wynter on his return.
“I’m now a Player Care Officer throughout the Academy for the U9s-U16s. I’ll be providing support to the boys and their parents throughout their Academy journey, along with implementing and planning a Life Skills Programme for them. It’s sort of the link between the players, parents and coaches.”
He will work closely with the existing Player Care Officers at the club, among them Kiran Dingri - who pioneered a three-year aftercare programme for players released at Under-21s.
“It’s a great facility for the boys to go and enjoy their football. We’ve always been a club that wants to promote their youth into the first-team and with these facilities and support the boys have got every chance now to go and fulfil that. I joined at U9s and left at the age of 21, I was here the whole way through now everything’s changed.
“We used to train at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, but now everything is here on site… Back when I was coming through there was only day release from school, which essentially meant you came in to play football. Once you became a scholar you did education days, which was a Monday afternoon, but that was at Selhurst Park because facilities here didn’t exist.
“What’s been going on here with the facilities has been brilliant and with the new wings due to open in a few months time - it’s a really good time for the Academy.”