Coaches’ Player of the Year cannot wait for next term

Velocity Football student Louis Goodall is already excited to start his second year on the education programme after he scooped the Coaches’ Player of the Year award.

The 17-year-old was selected by Velocity coach and former Watford FC professional Ross Jenkins as his joint Player of the Year following several impressive National League performances. 

Louis has combined his on-pitch development with Velocity Football’s Level 3 BTEC Extended Diploma in Sport programme, delivered in partnership with Virtual Learning UK.

The two-year course is worth up to three A Levels and suitable for post-GCSE students intending to pursue a career in sport.

After leaving school, Louis became an apprentice electrician. But since enrolling onto Velocity Football’s full-time educational programme, he has not looked back.

“Joining Velocity Football has been a positive change for me,” he said. “The people, staff, players – everyone – have always been extremely helpful and supportive.

“Most of us would love to play football professionally, that’s the dream. Right now, I am keeping my options open by seeing where football can take me – there are plenty of career pathways.

“The pandemic has made things challenging. Not being able to train on site as we usually would was hard, but the remote learning and Zoom sessions were great.”

Louis’ talent on the pitch has been recognised by Velocity Football’s expert team of coaches, who have included him in the programme’s National League squad.

Each week, he represents Oxford City U19s in the National League Football Academy South division, playing teams such as Bromley, Welling, Dover and Weston-Super-Mare.

Representing Oxford City at National League Academy level is possible thanks to the programme’s partnership with the tier two non-league club.

He added: “The National League is a great standard to learn from, every team we play is tough which has definitely developed me as a player.

“The daily coaching we receive from Ross, Josh, Jordan, Jack and Andy is brilliant and we can push ourselves even harder with the support of Dean Tetley’s strength and conditioning sessions as well.

“Because we’re all studying the same programme and see each other daily, there is a great team spirit in the squad. Obviously, the season was partially disrupted this year due to COVID-19. But next year things should be better, and we can play without interference.

“I’m already looking forward to our pre-term schedule and starting my second year.”

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