Reds Elite Training

For a long time, players at community football clubs who wanted extra development had limited options. They could attend a private academy. They could pay for sessions at an independent coaching centre. Or they could settle for what their weekly team training provided and hope it was enough.

None of those felt right to us.

Virginia United FC has the coaches, the facility, and the football knowledge to offer something better, and it is our responsibility to make that available to our players. Reds Elite Training exists so that development stays within the club. So that players never have to look elsewhere for the quality coaching they deserve. So that the standard of football development at VUFC reaches every player in our community, from our Pre-Academy and community players through to the Academy pathway.

This is about access. Real access, to real coaching, at your home club.

Reds Elite Training is a structured, coached development program that sits alongside your regular team environment, not instead of it.

It is not camp-style. It is not one-size-fits-all. It is a purposefully designed program built around individual player development - small groups, qualified coaches, progressive sessions with a curriculum that builds week on week.

The environment is different from team training by design. In your team session, the focus is the team, the shape, the system, the result on Saturday. 

In Reds Elite Training, the focus is you. Your technique, your decision-making, your 1v1 ability, your positioning, your strengths, and the areas of your game you want to develop.

That individual attention is something a team session of fifteen or twenty players simply cannot provide. Reds Elite does.

Everything delivered under the Reds Elite banner is held to the same standard we apply across our FQA Academy and high performance programs.

The program is directed by Ellis Shaw - Virginia United's FQ Academy Junior Technical Director and Head Coach of our Youth program. Ellis brings Academy-level coaching methodology into the community development environment. The curriculum, the session design, and the coaching approach are all the foundation of how we develop players at the Club to the top level. 

The program operates under the oversight of Head of High Performance Stuart Kelly, ensuring the quality and professionalism of what we deliver never falls short of what our players deserve.

Every coach involved in Reds Elite Training is suitably qualified. That is not a box we tick, it is a standard we set and maintain. Players and families can come into any Reds Elite session knowing they are in the hands of coaches who know what they are doing and are invested in their development.

Goalkeeping is a specialist position that deserves specialist coaching, and Reds Elite Training includes a dedicated GK program to reflect that.

Reds Elite GK Training is led by Jayden Bennett, Virginia United's Club GK Coach and a GK B Diploma coach. Jayden brings specialist goalkeeping knowledge from the Club's own program into every session.

GK Training covers the full range of goalkeeping development: shot stopping, handling, footwork, positioning, distribution, and 1v1 situations, in a structured, progressive session format. It is part of the Reds Elite program and held to the same coaching standards.

Reds Elite Training is geared towards our Pre-Academy and community players who want more from their football development.

It focuses on the individual skill that these players often miss out on in a team environment, to support their progress to the Academy and beyond.

It is for the junior player who loves the game and wants more time on the ball. The teenager preparing for a step up in level. The player who wants to sharpen a specific part of their game. The goalkeeper who knows they need dedicated work outside of team sessions.

Programs are open to Virginia United FC registered players and are designed to be accessible, structured, and genuinely worthwhile. Our FQA Academy and Pre-Academy programs remain the Club's elite pathway, and Reds Elite is a way to build the skills that help players get there.

The programs we launch are the beginning of something larger.

As Reds Elite Training grows, so does the range of what we offer. More specialist clinics. Programs across more age groups. Development opportunities across more areas of the game.

Our goal is to build a genuine development culture at Virginia United - where players at every level of the club have a clear pathway to get better, and where the quality of what we provide reflects the ambitions we have for this club and for our community.

Reds Elite Training is how we get there.

Registration is open now for all Term 4 programs. Choose the program that suits your player and register using the links below.

Goalkeeper Clinics
Mondays, 2 November to 7 December (six weeks). Under 9 to 12: 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Under 13 and above: 6:15pm to 7:15pm. Limited to 6 players per age group. $150 for the full term ($30 per session). Led by Jayden Bennett.
Register for the Goalkeeper Clinics

Position Clinics
Wednesdays, 4 November to 9 December. Each position runs for two weeks: Strikers (4 and 11 November), Midfielders (18 and 25 November) and Defenders (2 and 9 December). Under 9 to 12: 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Under 13 and above: 6:15pm to 7:15pm. $30 per session. Book one position or all three.
Register for the Position Clinics

Little Reds x Reds Elite
Thursdays, 5 November to 10 December (six weeks), ages 6 to 9. Session 1: 5:00pm to 6:00pm. Session 2: 6:15pm to 7:15pm. Limited to 12 players per session. $150 for the full term ($30 per session).
Register for Little Reds x Reds Elite

1-on-1 Coaching with Ellis Shaw
Private 50 minute sessions designed around the player, for all ages and abilities. $100 per session or a 5 session pack for $450.
Book 1-on-1 Coaching with Ellis