THE worn City programmes thrust under his nose for signing may have seen better days but they are a welcome reminder of home for Danny Cadamarteri.

The former striker, now retired from the game because of a long-standing knee injury, has come back to his roots – and you sense he couldn't be happier.

Cadamarteri and fellow professional Andy Welsh, a team-mate at his last club Carlisle, are the driving force behind a new coaching programme for youngsters which looks to focus on fun as much as football.

Both currently work for the academy at Sheffield Wednesday and the sideline around West Yorkshire fits in nicely. It has also helped Cadamarteri reconnect with his home city.

He said: "We do sessions at Clayton and there have been quite a few Bradford City fans popping up. They've brought in some old programmes for me to sign – and I mean, old!

"The young kids won't be old enough to have seen me play but their parents must have told them about it. It's brought me back to my roots, which has been good."

The soccer aKIDemy project has been a while in the planning. Cadamarteri, who shares the coaching with Welsh and Alex McQuoid, draws on his own personal experience growing up as a young footballer.

He said: "I didn't come from a particularly wealthy background, so there weren't opportunities like this. We want to involve the kids who maybe couldn't afford it otherwise.

"There are summer camps all over the place but we try and do things a little bit different. There's a big emphasis on the fun perspective as well, which you've got to have.

"We're trying to teach better technical skills but it's not crammed in. I've seen a lot of kids go into academies for a six-week trial period. Some stay a bit longer but others fall out of the system – they just need more time.

"Six weeks may seem long enough but a lot of kids are different. We try to offer them a more relaxed environment."

Cadamarteri is currently studying for his UEFA A qualifying badge; Welsh – a free agent who is still looking for another pro club – for the B level.

They run two levels of camp, with the best young players picked for 'elite' sessions. From there, they will recommend youngsters for a trial with clubs – one is currently being looked at by the Owls.

Cadamarteri said: "My own lad is at Sheffield Wednesday but used to be at the Huddersfield academy for a little while in their development centre.

"They asked me to do a bit of coaching there and you see what a cut-throat business football can be.

"There were 20 or so kids involved but then two or three weeks later that was down to only five or six. It's not just in Huddersfield, that's the nature of the game.

"We've got plenty of playing experience to pass on but we also want the kids to enjoy what they are doing and not feel pressured."

Cadamarteri wants to expand aKIDemy to take in half a dozen sites around Bradford and Huddersfield. Further camps are planned in Queensbury and Birkenshaw.

They run on two age groups: the 'diddy' camps aged from five to seven and the all-day sessions with those eight to 13.

Girls are also involved and they hope to create closer links with Bradford City Ladies. Cadamarteri had a brief stint working with the women's team at Leeds.

After playing for 11 clubs, the 34-year-old officially hung up his boots in April. But by that point, he had not kicked a ball in 12 months since what turned out to be his final professional game as a substitute for Carlisle against Preston.

The decision was made on medical grounds and did not come as a shock.

Cadamarteri said: "I half-expected it after the first operation (on my knee). I've known (Yorkshire Clinic surgeon) Steve Bollen for a long time and he pre-empted it by warning me about the situation if it didn't go well.

"In the end, I had nearly 20 months to get my head round it before actually retiring. I think that helped make it a bit easier.

"If I'm honest, I've been lucky in that I didn't have that (empty) feeling of suddenly coming straight out of the game. I had that time to do my coaching badges, so I always kept involved.

"I was coaching at Huddersfield briefly, then I took on Leeds United ladies, before this one at Sheffield Wednesday came up. That was a great opportunity for me which I couldn't turn down.

"But it's also nice to be around and about the area again. While I was doing my badges, I was coaching at Everton, Leeds, Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday but never around Bradford.

"It's been good to be more local again and quite nice to still be recognised."

Details on the coaching courses are available at thesocceraKIDemy.co.uk or via Twitter @soccer_aKIDemy.