THERE are few more satisfying feelings as a junior football coach than seeing one of your charges make the grade as a professional, and Bolton's Dave Price has overseen his fair share over the past 30-plus years. From his days as a teacher at Deane School and helping the Bolton town team, to working with the English Schools' Football Association and then his current role in Manchester United's academy, many young players have been aided in their development and gone on to forge good careers in the beautiful game. The Bolton News' deputy sports editor David Pye went to meet the man who has helped make footballing dreams come true

DAVE Price has come a long way since first kicking a ball around in Bolton as a youngster to help develop the next generation at one of the world's biggest football clubs.

A self-confessed failed footballer, albeit with injury curtailing his hopes, teaching would be his first calling at Breightmet High School in 1975 before moving to the Deane School in 1982, while keeping his eye on the ball through coaching youngsters around Bolton with the town team.

It was a role he relished, even if it swamped most of his time away from work and it took the understanding of wife Vivien who helped wash kits, make refreshments and even put up nets on occasion for it to work out.

But his efforts helped future stars like Jason Wilcox, Paul Moulden, David and Gary Flitcroft and Julian Darby on the path to the professional game from the school fields in Bolton.

The Price was certainly right for the town's youngsters who would benefit from Dave's commitment and that approach saw him progress to an international role with the English Schools' Football Association.

Again, he worked with some of the nation's brightest talents from Ryan Giggs, Phil and Gary Neville to Joe Cole, Michael Owen and Jermain Defoe.

Early retirement from teaching forced him away from that role, but he was soon a man in demand due to his reputation as a star maker, and United were quick to acquire his services a decade ago.

Since then, the production line has continued with current Reds graduates Marcus Rashford and Bolton's Ashley Fletcher all young players who have benefitted from the wealth of experience Dave has to offer, even in his role now of support staff responsible for transport and the well-being of youngsters at United.

And he still takes as much pride as ever at seeing one of his protegés progress to a high level.

"The great thing about my job is seeing people come through," he said.

"Seeing Jason Wilcox as a kid in the Bolton town team and now at City as their under-18s’ coach – that's great.

"I know lots of people at lots of clubs because I have seen them come through.

"Jermain Defoe was in my team as a youngster and I have a team picture with him on it.

"The likes of David Flitcroft as well who I still see quite often.

"I saw him at Bury last season when we took a youth team from United to watch England play Holland at Gigg Lane.

"United had just signed Tim Fosu-Mensah [who was playing for Holland] and had a boy in the England side so we went to watch.

"After the game we were on the bus trying to get away from the ground and David came out and spotted us and got the other cars to move.

"He still calls me sir to this day.

"He is a lovely lad and the Flitcrofts are a lovely family.

"Of the youngsters I had in town teams at Bolton, obviously Paul Moulden stood out.

"Another was Jimmy Blair who didn’t move into professional football but he was a wonderful player who I played as a sweeper one game and he scored a hat-trick – he didn’t whack a ball but knew how to strike it.

"Nationally, when I was with England I saw Joe Cole do some frightening things with a football – even just warming up at Lilleshall.

"Michael Owen was another – he was lightning quick.

"The best thing about all those I have mentioned, though, was that aside from being talented footballers, they were all nice boys.

"You always keep an eye on their careers like Jermain and Joe and the lads I have seen come though at United like Jonny Evans, Darron Gibson, Ryan Shawcross, Michael Keane and David Jones at Burnley, Danny Drinkwater and Danny Simpson at Leicester.

"At one time I counted up the boys who had gone through schools football and there was something like 50 or 60 from Bolton town or county teams that were in professional football.

"You take pride in that as people who had been involved with their development."

Of course, times have changed since Dave first began coaching with the Bolton town team and at Wanderers' – the team he still follows to this day – centre of excellence.

And he says the academy system's down side is that it virtually put an end to town and county sides as everyone knew them.

He added: "It is not the same now because kids don’t play schools football like they used to because of academies.

"That’s sad for me. We had centres of excellence with town teams – we didn’t need centres of excellence at clubs.

"We had access to every player in the schools’ football system, sadly that’s not the case today.

"It was good to see Bolton Schools’ Under-15s win the county cup this year though.

"Not every area of the country has enough clubs and some, like the North West, have too many. It make things very difficult.

"The best still get through. You look at Bolton boy Ashley Fletcher who is with us at United.

"He would have played for the town team had he not been at our academy.

"His head of PE at Canon Slade, Chris Brookes, played in the town team."

From teaching at Deane School to his office at United's Aon training complex, the love of his home town has never waned.

Dave keeps pictures of the Bolton town teams in his office at Carrington.

Now in his sixties, he loves his job as much as ever and with one eye on Wanderers, he hopes their faith in young players will pay off like it has over the years at Old Trafford.

He said: "I still love the job as much as I ever did, and what’s not to love?

"It is brilliant – I now get paid for something I did for nothing when I was teaching.

"It is like coming to a five-star hotel every day at United.

"As someone who works with youngsters from under-9s to u15s at United and up to the youth team, I know it is important for every club to bring talent through.

"Young players must be the way forward for Wanderers.

"I have read the pieces in The Bolton News about those who have come through and done well.

"There is a history of that at the club going back to the likes of Peter Reid and Sam Allardyce.

"Nicky Hunt, who is a big mate of my son’s and a nice lad, was another who got his break as a youngster there.

"Sometimes you have to go back to go forward.

"They weren’t doing it with the bigger names so why not give the young players a chance?

"I think every club likes to see their own people come through because it gives the fans a link with the club."

With the commitment of people like Dave Price at clubs up and down the land, that honing of talent will continue to play its part at every level.