AFC Totton
AFC TOTTON HAVE TEAMED UP with the BRS Coaching Academy to strengthen their presence in Dorset and to further develop their player recruitment network.
With development centres based at Bournemouth University’s Chapel Gate complex in Christchurch and in Ringwood, the mission of BRS Coaching Academy is to ensure that every player in their system leaves BRS as a better football player – and, more importantly, a better person – to when they first joined.
Accepting children as young as four years-old, the Academy provides access to fully and highly-qualified coaches whose brief includes identifying talent for promotion to the BRS Advanced Centre, then potentially to their Junior Premier League (JPL) squads, which are designed for those players who stand out by showing a great attitude to learning and a positive work ethic.
Running on an ethos of Talent + Effort = Excellence, the Advanced Development Centre has helped more than 200 children to gain places within the Pre-Academies at AFC Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton, Portsmouth, Exeter City, Yeovil Town and, recently, Swindon Town, while also developing countless players to sign for professional academies at the same clubs.
BRS coaches also work in schools in and around Dorset and Hampshire, teaching more than 5,000 children on a weekly basis the importance of leading and maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.
The Academy is the brainchild of Ben Sainsbury (pictured above, left, with AFC Totton boss Jimmy Ball; BRS are his own initials) who was previously a coach at AFC Bournemouth, Southampton and with LA Galaxy in the United States. Working with scouts, coaches and a dedicated Welfare Officer, he oversees the process by which new players are accepted on to the programme, talented footballers are identified and a suitable pathway for ongoing player development is implemented.
BRS joined the JPL four years ago with just four teams. In the short period of time since, they have gone from strength-to-strength, now operating 19 competitive teams in the JPL who – between them – reached five national finals last season, matching the national record for a single academy; two of those teams were victorious. With the number of players signing for professional clubs and the success achieved on the pitch, BRS is one of the best youth football academies in the country.
The new partnership with AFC Totton will mean that when the young players at BRS reach sixth form education, they will have the option of enrolling on one of two BTEC Level 3 extended diploma courses on offer with the Hampshire-based club, which is currently riding high in the Southern League Premier Division South at Step 3 of the non-league football pyramid.
Boys aged 16-19 attend educational classes and practical football training sessions at The Stags’ Snows Stadium complex on Salisbury Road to study the Extended Diploma in Sport Development & Coaching and the Extended Diploma in Sport, Fitness & Personal Training. Delivered in partnership with Access Sport College, classes are led by Head of Education Hannah Hood, with first team centre-forward Scott Rendell operating as Head Coach for the football sessions, and one-time Hampshire Senior Cup-winning midfielder Scott Munro as Coach.
Ben Sainsbury sees the move as the logical next step for BRS.
“It’s clear that AFC Totton and BRS are moving in the same direction, aiming for similar outcomes. There is a strong, shared vision of the shape and scope of the new Academy and of the role that each of us will play. Our U16s and U17s are very successful, and our aim is to keep them together at BTEC Level and to keep them on suitable development pathways throughout that process.
“We have been patiently waiting for the right club to partner with; this decision needed to be right for our players. However, after meeting with Steve Brookwell, Jimmy Ball and James Beattie, I knew they shared our passion for developing young players and offering them a proper pathway into men’s football with a clear plan.”
That pathway will include opportunities for players to compete in academy level football, in competitions such as the T2 Tactics League, potentially in the Hampshire Combination & Development Football League Under-23s Premier Division and in the South West Counties League, as well as within various age level teams within the wider AFC Totton set-up.
The BRS Academy will continue to operate independently. They have recently expanded their operations to a site in Portsmouth and will seek to utilise the connections that AFC Totton Manager Jimmy Ball and Director of Football James Beattie – among others – can bring to expand their own network.
The Stags’ CEO Steve Brookwell commented:
“We have been looking for a connection in the Dorset area for quite a while. We have found that players who come to us from further afield often have difficulties adjusting to the amount of travelling required for regular training sessions and matches, both home and away. We are addressing that by having new accommodation blocks built within the Snows Stadium complex, but another important aspect of the solution is to strengthen our appeal to players already located in Dorset, for whom the travelling is not so intense.
We are also developing our outreach in the Portsmouth area on our eastern side and into Wiltshire and North Hampshire, so this is a good time to do likewise on our western front, and this partnership with the BRS Academy provides an ideal opportunity to achieve this objective.”
From left-to-right: Sylvia Scrimaglia (BRS Child Welfare Officer), Steve Brookwell (AFC Totton CEO), Ben Sainsbury (BRS Owner & Founder), Jimmy Ball (AFC Totton First Team Manager & Academy Director), Elliott Hogg (BRS Head of Schools), Dan Woodnutt (AFC Totton Youth Vice-Chairman) and Dan’s son Ben (a frequent goal scorer for AFC Totton’s U9s).
First team Manager and Academy Director Jimmy Ball, said:
“We have to make everything we do ‘elite’, offering potential pathways to a high standard of football – not necessarily just at the professional level, but at the highest levels of non-league, too.
“To achieve that, we have to instil within the kids a clear understanding that they’re not here for a kickabout or for an easy option that will allow them to mess around. They have to be here for the right reasons; be prepared to work hard, to listen and to learn and to play an active part in their own development.
“Elite Development Schemes are a good idea in principal but some clubs use it as a cash cow with far too many levels within the structure. We have made the decision to keep it lean and efficient, so everyone gets plenty of time and attention with the educational staff, and I feel that BRS will bring an essential degree of knowledge and understanding of working within that structure to help us produce positive results.”
The Stags launched their new Under-23s team at the beginning of the 2024/25 season, and although it may still be early days, all the signs are that it has been a positive step for the club. The team managed by Harry Brookwell have won all seven of their matches in league and cup but, more importantly, it has already proven to be a useful outlet for squad players to showcase their ability, for injured players to work their way back to full fitness, and for younger players coming up from the club’s youth ranks to gain valuable experience of men’s football alongside more experienced teammates.
In the few short months that the team has been in operation, The Stags have seen Luke Bennett play his way into the first team, club captain Mike Carter step up his return from long-term injury, and several younger players still in their teens give impressive accounts of themselves alongside other players who are combining outings for AFC Totton U23s with dual-registration loans at clubs in the Southern League Division One South and the Wessex League Premier Division.
The Under-23s have scored 46 goals and conceded only five in their seven matches to date. They sit top of the U23 Premier Division table while also progressing strongly in the Hampshire Combination U23 Challenge Cup.
Jimmy Ball commented:
“Establishing an Under-23s team was something I wanted to do when I first came to the club. We bided our time and made the move when it was right to do so, and I think we’re already seeing the benefits. The lads enjoy being a part of it, and it enables us to show that the club is planning long-term and looking to them to be an important part of the first team’s future.
“As first team boss, it’s also been invaluable to me to put players in and run the rule over them, ahead of potential inclusion in the first team. Luke Bennett is a prime example; the kid has worked hard, done all that’s been asked of him, played extremely well for the Under-23s and earned his place in the first team, where he went on to confirm his ability at the higher level. His experience provides an excellent example that we can point to, as we encourage other players to follow in his footsteps with a similar application of hard work and good discipline.
“And that’s something that can work for us throughout our youth ranks. The more players we have succeeding within the club like Luke Bennett or Owen Pelham, or being spotted while playing for us to go on to sign for bigger clubs – such as goalkeeper Josh Jefferies, who recently signed a professional contract with Southampton and played on loan at Worthing last season – the more we can encourage our students to adopt the right behaviours, the right mentality and to maintain the right kind of discipline that will maximise their opportunities to do likewise.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Harvey Gerrick
