Charlton Athletic have an academy setup to boast about, with players such as Joe Gomez, Jonjo Shelvey and Ademola Lookman all coming through the ranks at the club.
The man at the heart of all this is Steve Avory. He is currently the club’s academy manager and has been at Charlton for 19 years, meaning he was a part of the development of Champions League winner Joe Gomez, as well as many other top flight footballers.
Humble Beginnings
Avory started out as a school teacher, and did that for 21 years. His last role was head of PE and so was heavily involved in school teams competing in the south-east.
During his school days as a teacher, Avory decided he wanted to become a coach and qualified as an A Licensed Coach at 29 years old.
“I saw a pathway that meant I could potentially become national team manager of the England Schools FA, and once I qualified as an A Licensed coach, this pathway became more realistic”.
Building Experience
Avory also shared his experience in developing talented young players within the school system and at county level:
“I was heavily involved with school football and dedicated a lot of time to county level teams, which is where I was working with a lot of very talented players”.
“I feel as though I really built up my coaching experience there with the teams and players of that calibre”.
Career Progression
This experience led to Avory’s aspiration becoming reality as he was appointed as assistant coach to the national team in 1990 and later became manager between 1991 and 1994.
His managerial record with the national side was impressive having played 24, winning 14, drawing seven and losing just three. Therefore, proving to be a worthy appointment.
Subsequently, Avory went back to teaching for a short while and ended up taking a part-time coaching role at Brighton and Hove Albion before making the switch to south-east London in 2001.
His first role at the club was to be assistant academy manager, before moving onto head of coaching and finally academy manager. He has been the academy manager for the last five years and has been lucky enough to work with some outstanding players who he has known from a young age.
Avory alludes to some of the names mentioned earlier in what he has seen from them since a young age, and what impressed him the most”
“Players playing at the top level like Gomez, Lookman, Shelvey and Ezri Konsa all had winning mentalities which is one thing, but they also loved playing the game. They wanted to be out training with the ball all the time which is so important”.http://
Charlton Academy chief Steve Avory on the rise of Liverpool ‘Rolls Royce’ @J_Gomez97 #LFC https://t.co/lZ842uVCuo
— James Pearce (@JamesPearceLFC) September 13, 2018
This is something that Avory and his staff look to instil into the current crop of players, as he says that “anyone that shows they do not enjoy it, they’re the ones that give us some concern”.
So, it’s clear that Avory’s experience in coaching youngsters goes back many years and has clearly made a big impact in player development at the club, which explains why he is so highly regarded by the club and why he has been in his current position for the last five years.
