Charlton Athletic have helped produce some of the best Footballers of our generation. Liverpool’s Joe Gomez, RB Leipzig’s Ademola Lookman and Newcastle United’s Jonjo Shelvey all came through the Addicks academy and have gone on to have successful careers within the game.
Since the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP) began in 2012/13, 27 academy graduates have made a number of first-team appearances including the likes of Rangers’ Joe Aribo and Stoke City’s Jordan Cousins, as well as Gomez, Lookman and Shelvey themselves.
Youth Success
The under-23’s have been very successful over the years too, with the development squad being crowned national champions in the Professional Development League 2’s maiden season. They have also lifted the South division title on three occasions plus the Kent Super Cup twice.
Charlton’s under-18’s also enjoyed their own successes, lifting back-to-back national titles in 2014/15 and 2015/16 and also winning it again at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
There has also been success for the younger age groups with the under-14’s winning the Youdan Trophy in 2016.
Spotting Talent
Academy Manager Steve Avory has been working with the club since 2001 and has worked in various roles within the academy. He has overseen some tremendous achievements throughout the varying age groups.
However, Avory admits that it isn’t always easy to spot a player’s potential, especially when they are young. He focuses more on the mental qualities of the player rather than the physical ones.
“We probably all think we have the eye to spot potential,” said Avory. “Every single person in this country has an interest or an opinion on football and what a talented player is. I could say I might spot it at 14 or 15 and think, ‘Wow, he’s got the potential and ability to play in our first team.’
“I use that word ‘wow’ because there are some players you see and you think they have that ‘wow factor’ and you definitely need to secure them on a scholarship or even offer them a professional contract to keep them at the club for even longer. You think then that those players with the ‘wow factor’ can play in our first team, but there’s no guarantee.
Strong Mentality
Avory also believes that there is more to spotting young talent and feels it is important to be mentally strong and have the drive to win.
“Ability and talent are clearly one thing, but there are many other factors you need. I’m always reminding the players of that. It’s more about the person, their personality and the qualities within that personality that are needed to succeed as a footballer. It could be the physical qualities, qualities such as pace that’s important in the modern game, but I’m particularly talking more about the mental qualities.
“The character, the resilience, the determination, the desire, the humility that a player will have, the attitude that he will have in learning the game. Those are also very, very key factors. However, you can never be 100% sure, you always try to get to know the person to judge whether or not they have those other qualities that will get them to where they want to be.
“But you never know, I have released players at 14 or 15 that have gone on to have careers within the game.”
Every single player in Charlton Athletic’s academy is asked to work hard, be respectful and be disciplined. They want to have players that will go on and play for the first team and beyond that, have careers within the game. But beyond everything else, they want to make them good people.
Careers Elsewhere
As Avory mentioned, he has released players from the academy who have gone to become successful footballers, but he still has no regrets about releasing any of them.
“Every academy manager, every coach if they were honest would say ‘I released him and that was a mistake,’” explained Avory. “We’re sometimes making decisions on a 14-year old and sometimes even younger – it’s not easy as they still haven’t fully developed yet. What we will do however, is provide those young players who are released an exit pathway in terms of opportunity elsewhere.”
Avory thinks that the future of the club is bright, with a lot of younger players currently in the academy who have a high potential of playing for the first team and going on to have successful careers within the game itself. Above all else though, players should love the game.
Player Care
The club also plays a pivotal role in how the players conduct themselves whilst they’re not on the training ground. They often do a lot of extra work that Avory or his colleagues don’t need to observe because they know they’ll do it right.
To help the younger players realise how they should act and conduct themselves, the academy has a player care programme, led by the head of education and welfare, Joe Francis.
“The course now leans more to developing personal characteristics,” Francis explained. “Stuff like self-awareness, identity and social competence accountability. We teach them how to deal with distractions – they’re everywhere.”
Continuity
Avory and Joe have been working with Charlton Athletic’s academy for over 20 years and Joe admits the continuity that delivers can only be beneficial to the player and their families.
“Through continuity, we have the opportunity to work with young people and their families over an extended period of time,” said Francis. “This helps us develop relationships, meaning we can get more out of people and an ability to guide them better if you have that continuity from a young age.
“A big part of my job is to not only get to know the player but also their families, so that when they’re not on the training ground or with us, the message to them is consistent. We have lots of different strands of education – education is not like school in this environment, education is about preparation for the next step in life – whether that be here or away from here.
Managing Distractions
“We have a curriculum that starts with ‘who I am’ and ends up after two years, ‘who I am within this profession.’ And also, how I can manage all those distractions. We also have the formal aspects of education where if a player leaves, they still get a qualification which is very, very important.
“It’s a very big part of our job, we need to make sure that those that leave have a successful pathway so they can make a success of their life.”
Charlton Athletic’s academy is not only producing some brilliant football players, but they are also teaching them important life lessons that they can utilise later in life, and not only within their footballing careers.
“Charlton Athletic” by Ewan-M is licensed under CC BY-SA
