Ramone Blackett, Aged 21, Trial with Barnsley
UK Football Trialist Ramone Blackett, brother of Manchester United defender Tyler, has returned from a week-long trial with Barnsley Football Club. Blackett, 21, attended our Manchester trial in February this year and impressed on the day, attracting attention from a number of clubs.
The winger formerly of Man United, Wigan and Blackpool, recently spent a week with League One Barnsley, where he was put through his paces with the u21 squad. Despite being told they wouldn’t be signing him, Blackett gained some valuable experience from his trial and spoke to us about his week at Oakwell. “It was great, I really enjoyed it and thought I did well,” he said. “I was mostly with the u21’s for the week, although there was some First Team interest but nothing came of it. Typically I got there for around 09.30am for a 10.30am start, and we’d go until 2pm, sometimes 4pm depending on what we were doing. We did a lot of fitness as it’s still pre-season, we were in the gym quite a bit and everything was so professional and structured, one day we did legs, then upper body, all the food was planned out for us – at lunch there was pasta, fish, chicken and lots of fruit, anything to give us energy for the afternoon session.”
Blackett added: “Then we’d spend quite a bit of time working on defending, tactics, that kind of thing – it was all to a good level.” Blackett wasn’t the only player on trial that week, also training were other players in a similar position to himself, something which he found helped him settle in and make him feel at home. “There were a few of us there that they were looking at, so knowing I wasn’t the only one helped me settle in pretty quickly. We were all knew and I did know a few of the boys already so you know, it was a really friendly environment.” Unfortunately for Blackett, Barnsley took the decision not to keep him on after his trial and he will now be returning to UK Football Trials in a bid to take his career in a new direction, but he has some advice for anyone who is lucky enough to secure a pro trial. “It didn’t quite work out for me, but I’d say to anyone who’s going for a trial – be confident. Show your main attributes and strengths, that’s why they got you in in the first place. You already know that they like you, otherwise you wouldn’t be there.”
If you want to follow Blackett and earn a pro club trial, or even play alongside him at our next trials in August, join “The Search” now by clicking on the Trial Dates tab at the top of the page and registering your details! Price increase as spaces sell out and they are going fast, so call the office team as soon as possible for the cheapest price!