Future stars: from the Foundation’s pathway to the brink of the Premier League
Over the years there have been dozens of young Foundation players who have progressed into the Albion academy.
Three of those players – Matt, Aiden, and Will – talk about their journeys so far.
MATT HAYDEN
“I started football at about five or six years old. I joined my local team, Plumpton, because a couple of my mates played there.
“When I was about eight or nine, I got offered a place in the elite pathway at the Foundation. I’d had trials with the club before but I wasn’t offered a contract, so I had to work hard at the Foundation for a couple of years.
“It was hard not being offered that contract the first time, but I just kept at it and it motivated me more to keep going.
“Me and Aidan have played together since we were about 12, it’s just been really good to have somebody that I know come up with me.
“Because we’re such good mates off the pitch, it helps us on the pitch.
“Coming to Foundation sessions definitely helped me develop as a player and as a person.
AIDAN WEST
“My mum got me into loads of sports, but football was the one for me. I picked it up quite quickly and it became my favourite sport.
“I started on the Foundation’s football pathway as an Under-11, they’d been watching me for a little while and invited me to one of their sessions. I played there for about two years before joining the club’s academy at 13.
“I have great memories of being with the Foundation, going to tournaments with my mates and playing a lot of matches, I played with Matt a lot which was really fun.
“Matt joined the academy a little bit before me, which definitely made me want to work harder to be there with him.
“We play on the same wing together now, so I guess that connection has stayed with us ever since.”
WILL RUTTER
“When I was at primary school some of my mates joined our local club Hassocks, so I joined with them. I always attended the after-school club on a Friday run by the Foundation. It was all about just having fun and having a kick about with my mates, really.
“Before I started with the Foundation I never really had goalkeeping training, because in Sunday league there’s nothing like that.
“The Monday night goalkeeping sessions here meant I could get stuck in and learn the basics. It gave me a great platform to get to where I am now, and it gave me the building blocks to develop as a young person and as a footballer.
“It really helped me, in part because I got scouted thanks to coming to the Foundation’s sessions.
“I’d definitely recommend going to the Foundation’s sessions to improve yourself, learn the basics of your position, and just to enjoy it. At the end you’ll have fun and enjoy it, you’ll make so many mates and have such good memories.”
COACH PEDDERS
Mark Pedrick – known as Pedders to his players – was involved in the development of most of the young players who came through the Foundation’s pathway system.
“I’ve worked in academy football for the club and the Foundation for about seven years. Seeing some of the journeys the boys have had from starting at Under-8s and working up to becoming scholars has been absolutely fantastic.
“It’s been brilliant to see the journeys of these three boys, starting in the Foundation’s football pathway programme. There are lots of boys in the academy who started at a Foundation elite pathway centre, or even having their first experience of football at one of our soccer school holiday sessions or at an after-school club we run.
“I’m proud of them all in different ways. You really see their journeys, their struggles and their successes. For some players the journey isn’t so smooth; some academy players will go straight up through the age groups with the club, whereas some others face some setbacks and they have to come and work hard with the Foundation to try and hopefully get back into the academy environment.
“We want to make good footballers, but we also want to make our sessions fun and engaging and ultimately make good people who share our values.”