SPECIAL YOUTH REPORT: We need to give the youngsters' a chance to develop

WELLING UNITED skipper Jack Parkinson says gaining his coaching qualifications has made him a much better player.

Bromley based Parkinson, 22, is a UEFA A Licence Coach, and apart from playing Conference South football for Welling United, he coaches the Cray Wanderers under 16’s side, guiding them to two Cup finals. 

He has also managed the Bromley Schools’ side to the English Schools Football Association Inter Association Final, following their deserved 1-0 win over Vale of White Horse from Oxfordshire at Beckenham Town’s Eden Park Avenue last Wednesday evening.

Parkinson said: “Obviously my football needs to come first.  I’ve been offered a few full-time jobs in football.  I enjoy coaching, I’ve got my A Licence and it’s helped me massively in my football.

“As you know, in non-league we’re not full-time so being a part-time coach, which is my job and playing is what I do but the coaching has helped my playing a massive, massive amount and I’m sure a lot of people who have done the B Licence and the A Licence would agree.

“It’s helped my game untold just that little bit more, understanding on and off the ball, communication, saying the right things at times.”

When asked whether he would manage at a much higher level of the game, Parkinson replied, “I don’t know.  I’m only 22.  Maybe.  Ask me that question when I’m 38, when I hang my boots up.”

Younger brother Tom, 20, who plays for Ryman League Division One South side Hythe Town, and coaches at Kent County League side University of Kent.

“Coaching is something that Tom does as well.  He loves it.  He’s quite keen but to be fair with Tom the way that he goes with his injuries, I think he could be coaching or managing (before me),” added Jack.

Jack added: “I don’t even want to talk about getting into coaching just yet.  Playing is the key for me and my ambition is to get in the League so that has to come first.  The coach badges is something that I’ve done now and it’s something to full back on. 

“I don’t even want to think about managing or coaching.  I enjoy what I’m doing with the youth set-up.  I’m not interested in coaching or managing men’s football at all.  I’m 22.  My ambition is to play in the league. If that does come about then fantastic. If it doesn’t, then I’m happy with what I’m doing.”

Parkinson had trials with League sides Stevenage and Southend United last summer and when asked whether Welling United have received any interest from other clubs, he said: “I’ve not heard anything since.  Obviously there might be a few sniffs, who knows what could happen in the summer but I enjoy my time when I went to both of them. 

“It could’ve worked out at Stevenage but it didn’t feel it was right at the time. I’m happy with my decision. I never look back.   You can only look forward and I’m enjoying it where I am (at Welling United) and at the end of the season we’ll try and see what happens.”

A scout from Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur was in attendance at Eden Park Avenue to watch Parkinson’s Bromley School’s Under 15’s seal their place in the national final.

Not every single youngster will make it as a professional footballer, but as Parkinson knows to his advantage, it’s not the end of the world if you’re a semi-professional football playing non-league football.

“The parents are all quite clued up,” explained Parkinson.  “We all know football is a cut throat game and if you’re that one who is a little bit different and make it then so be it.

Speaking about his school side, Parkinson said: “You have to use it as a stepping stone and use it for what it’s worth.  The coaching’s good, however long it lasts, it lasts and whatever happens in the long run there will be many opening doors for them.

“Although the District won’t run next year, we’ll stay together as a team and we’ll play games and there will be different avenues for them, hopefully in non-league.“

And if you graft in the youth ranks, then your club’s first team manager will take an interest in you and offer first team experience – as is the case at Ryman Premier League Cray Wanderers.

Dan Parkinson (Jack’s younger brother), was handed his debut when he played the last 20 minutes in the Wands’ recent  1-0 win against Hastings United, while Ashley Long and Sam Norton took their place on the bench.

Ian Jenkins, 44, explained why he is focusing blooding the youngsters through to the first team squad.

“Obviously, financially it makes sense,” he said.   “Our first 15-16 players in the squad are top, top players so we have to use them.  They are good enough for the standard so we’ve got three senior players out injured so instead of bringing other people in and spending a bit more money on more senior players, I’m using the youth.”

Speaking about the latest crop of young talent, Jenkins said: “They’re having a good season themselves. They’re all capable of playing at our level so we’ve put them in and they’ve done alright, the ones that have been around us.

“Dan Parkinson made his debut and came on for 20 minutes and done really well.  The others haven’t had an input on the playing side yet but they’ve fitted in well in training and they’ve been around the club and it’s good for the future.”

The trio should note that George Porter was snapped up by League One outfit Leyton Orient a couple of years ago after Jenkins gave him his chance.  The pacy attacker was playing for the club’s Academy and it was not too long before Russell Slade took him to east London.

But once youngsters come to the end of their youth careers, then they have to either sign for that club’s reserve side – or find a club elsewhere to embark on their career.

Blue Square Bet (Conference) South club Bromley run a number youth sides in the Kent Youth League, one in the Ryman Youth League and two Academy sides in the Youth Football Conference set-up.

One player who has made the first-team squad from the Academy this season is attacker Aaron Rhule.  Murray Jones, the Academy team manager, is also the assistant manager of first team manager Mark Goldberg.

However, the Hayes Lane outfit disbanded their reserve side (which played in the Capital League) two years’ ago, and Keith Bird, who is the joint-manager of the Under 18 Kent Youth League Central side, would like second string football return.

Bird, 44, said: “The club are considering that, what they want to do with the reserves and we’d be delighted, Mike Paye and I to run (the reserve side).”

Many sides come through the age groups (and some even swap clubs at some stage when other opportunities arrive) and it’s a crying shame when teams are disbanded once they come to the end of the conveyor belt at the age of 17-18.

Bird added: “We’ve been as a team for eight years – and Richard Shackleford who does the back offside side – the three of us have been together for about eight years and we’ll serve the club however the club wants us to serve.

“We’ve got a lot of boys’ who won’t be able to play under 18 football next year.  They’ll be going to senior football. 

“If the club wants us to do that we’d be delighted to take it on.

“At the moment the club are very, very focused on the first team making sure we come out of the relegation battle the first team are having and then the club can think about next year.”

Bromley are three points clear of the Blue Square Bet South relegation zone after they were held to a gal-less draw by Eastleigh at Hayes Lane yesterday – midfielder Danny Waldren smacking the underside of the crossbar with a late penalty.

Bird added: “I credit Mark Goldberg and (owner) Jerry Dolke and the set-up here of what they’re trying to do.  They tried to introduced younger players earlier in the season.  They’ve got a lot of youth players in the (first team) set up, and obviously it didn’t quite work.  Credit to them for trying that. 

“Now what they’ve done is for the remainder of the season brought a lot more experienced players, semi-pro players, and we’ve seen that through results.

“Mark and his staff are really doing a great job and I’m confident they’ll still be in the Conference South next season.”

Sevenoaks Town’s under 18 central youth team manager Paul Landsdale, meanwhile, would like to see his club pull together.

It appears from outside that Darren Anslow’s first team squad, who play in the Kent League, are run separately from John James’ ‘reserve side’, who play under the Sevenoaks FC banner and play in Division Two East of the Haart of Kent County League.

That is totally the wrong way to run any football club, as it lacks structure and the first team manager should feed into its reserve side for players when needed, then the reserve team manager looks at his under 18 side and so on and so on.

Lansdale’s boys’, however, are coached by former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur star Micky Hazard, who comes down from his Waltham Abbey home to coach them for a fee.

To let all that excellent coaching go to waste and for Sevenoaks’ youngsters to move on to other clubs is just a waste of time and resources.

“It’s important for these lads to know there’s a route forward,” said Lansdale, 47.

“We’re working behind the scenes on trying to make sure something happens and if necessarily we will run our own adult senior side with these players’ and hopefully help them to move through to reserve and first team - but it’s a slow process.

“I’ve been with some of these lads since under 9’s and the thought of getting to next season and just saying goodbye, it’s wrong and we won’t let that happen. We will do something. Hopefully we’ll do that with Sevenoaks and create a third team or a reserve team.  Whatever it takes and if these boys want to play football for us, past under 18’s, we will make sure that happens.”

Youngsters are out there and if they are given a chance to develop then you might just find the next Chris Smalling, who came through the ranks of Maidstone United, before signing for Premier League Fulham, before Manchester United paid a reported £12m for him and he is now a feature in the England squad.