"With Easty and Damien Eatwell moving into the First Team, the crucial job of carrying on the great work from the previous season falls on the shoulders of Joint Managers Dave Mellor and Will Dodds, working alongside Dave Percy and Tom Bamford.

I’ve known Will for some time predominantly from his role with Winslow Utd’s U18’s squad working alongside Martyn Hutt (Now with our U18 squad) negotiating a the qualifying rounds to take on Ipswich Town at Portman Rd, Will was also the 1st Team Coach with Winslow Utd in their near miss promotion push in SSMD1, I have seen first hand the sessions Will put on for the U18’s and 1st team and have no doubt he’ll pass on that same enthusiasm and knowledge to the Dev squad this coming pre season.

Will is a UEFA C License coach about to embark on his B License Journey whilst at AVDFC, his experience lends itself perfectly to a development environment, and I’m sure will be an asset to the club this season.

Secondly we are extremely happy to introduce Dave Mellor to the club, a highly experienced coach with MK Dons, including managing their Ladies team for a number of seasons, taking on the development of their Boys age group sqauds up to U18, somehow finding time to provide Scouting duties to Peterborough Utd.

Dave is a UEFA B License holder and about to take on his A License and feels that an environment of this type will allow him the opportunity to fulfill that ambition.
During the process of recruitment for this role, I’ve pulled on the opinions of many coaches/players involved in the game to gain a more in depth understanding of Dave’s coaching style, methods etc, the feedback was without fail positive and as such was highly recommended by all.

This is an exciting opportunity for the club, over the last 3/4 weeks we have worked hard to ensure we have a coaching structure in place that can move both the Dev’s and 1st team forward, the appointment of Dave and Will enhance the skill sets ensuring our talented U18’s can follow that pathway in a similar vein to last year knowing the coaching philosophy will be matched throughout the senior section.

Welcome Dave & Will.

Dave Mellor commented "I am delighted to join such a progressive club and look forward to helping the club move forward with its ambitious plans. Thanks to all for making me feel so welcome." and Will Dodds added “I’m delighted to take the role of joint manager with the Development Team. I’ve always heard great things about Aylesbury Vale Dynamos, only confirmed when speaking to the committee, the ambition of the club is very high and it’s something I’m keen to be part of. I’m delighted to work with Dave Mellor, Dave Percy & Tom Bamford, all are clearly passionate about developing players and equipping them for the next steps in their own careers.”