WELCOME ABOARD, BOYS: Manager Jimmy Ball (middle) poses with new AFC Totton first team signings Zach Earley (left) and Hugo Rawlings (right).
CONGRATULATIONS ARE IN ORDER for two of the brightest talents to come through the youth ranks of AFC Totton in recent years – and not only because one of them has just celebrated his 16th birthday.
Teenagers Hugo Rawlings and Zachariah Earley have been incorporated into AFC Totton’s first team squad after impressing Manager Jimmy Ball and his assistant Paul Masters during their internal scouting missions, following recommendations from within The Stags’ youth structure that the dynamic young duo are ready to make the step up.
The two schoolboys came to the club as members of the AFC Totton U16s Blue team run by Simon Rogers, John Hilferty and Richard Beverley. A 100% winning record in their 2022/23 league campaign to date has the Young Bucks sitting pretty at the top of the City of Southampton Youth Football League U16s Division 2 table, with games in-hand over several of their rivals. That burgeoning success is in no small part due to the prolific goalscoring exploits of striker Hugo and the creative influence of Zach, who turned 16 years-old less than a fortnight ago, from his role in central midfield.
HUGO A-GO-GO: Forward Hugo Rawlings in action for AFC Totton's FA Youth Cup side against Folland Sports at Miller Park at the end of August.
Hugo has already had a taste of men’s football, having made his Wessex League Division One debut as a second-half substitute for Ben Hillman’s Totton & Eling in the 1-1 draw at Petersfield Town in mid-November. Both players featured in the AFC Totton FA Youth Cup side, a team formed specifically for that competition, comprising of eligible players from throughout the club’s various youth, Academy and senior teams.
Young Master Rawlings is a student at Romsey Secondary School. When he spoke to the AFC Totton Official Matchday Programme just before Christmas, he stated that playing for the AFC Totton first team alongside at least some of the current squad was a particular ambition of his, and he has certainly taken one step closer to achieving that goal thanks to his consistently fine form in the club’s junior ranks. He won’t, however, be eligible to play in the imminent Southampton Senior Cup Quarter-Final at Alresford Town this Thursday evening, having already become cup-tied by representing The Millers in the same competition earlier this season.
Wiltshire resident Zach spent many of his formative years growing up in Toulouse in the South of France, where he played for a local football club. He now attends the Trafalgar School at Downton, where among his teammates in the school team are a member of Swindon Town’s Academy and another who is involved with the Eastleigh Development Scheme. Zach is looking forward to re-joining forces with them in the new term, when they will play in the Semi-Finals of the Schools County Cup.
ZACH THE KNIFE: Zach Earley's passing ability from central midfield caught the eye of AFC Totton's youth coaches, leading to his inclusion in Jimmy Ball's squad.
Both players will enrol in the AFC Totton Academy in the summer, to begin a three-year course that combines the two-year NCFE Level3 Extended Diploma in Sports & Physical Activity with the Active IQ Level 3 Diploma in Gym Instructing & Personal Training. These are nationally recognised courses that provide an industry-specific alternative to traditional Sixth Form education.
Hugo and Zach have been training with the AFC Totton first team since the summer, and Zach says the senior players have been very welcoming:
“The players have helped me a lot, giving me good advice about different aspects of my game, like what runs to make and where to be in certain situations. I’ve really got a lot out of my time training with them, and I do think it has already helped to make me a better player.”
During an impromptu meeting with the two young players and their parents, which was also attended by Academy Managers Scott Rendell and Harry Brookwell, Jimmy Ball gave a short presentation in which he outlined how he will go about getting the most out of the two players to help them achieve their full potential.
“My job is to put your footballing career first – above and beyond what I want as AFC Totton’s Manager, or what your parents want or what the CEO might want. Protecting young players and helping them to develop is my number one priority. The pathway is not linear but the key to it is trust, hard work and sacrifice,” explained the former Forest Green Rovers boss, who has been combining his role as AFC Totton First Team Manager at the Snows Stadium with that of Academy Director since his appointment in March 2022.
“You will have to make smart choices in the way you live your lives and look after yourselves. That means eating the right things at the right times, not drinking too much or staying out late before matchdays. Not everyone can make those sacrifices but if you can, you’ve got every chance of going a long way in the game – you can go as far as your own mindset will take you.”
Ball can boast of an impressive track record in youth player development, having played an integral role in helping the likes of England internationals Theo Walcott and Adam Lallana to make the grade early in their careers at Southampton, midfielder Gary O’Neill at Portsmouth and, more recently, the Republic of Ireland central defender Nathan Collins at Stoke City.
“A fundamental part of my philosophy, of the way I work, is that I will be honest with you the whole way through about what you’re doing right and the areas in which I think you can improve. At times, that might mean me being brutally honest or saying things that you don’t want to hear. But it’s important that you take what I and the other coaches you’ll be working with on-board. We are all experienced at producing players at this level and higher, and we’re all here to help you become the best footballers you can be.
“If you show the right attitude and you’re prepared to work your socks off, then there’s no reason why you can’t both carve out successful futures in the game for yourselves. And, if the day comes when a bigger club – say, a professional club or one at the very highest levels of the semi-professional game – make enquiries about wanting to sign you, neither I nor this football club will stand in your way. We will do what’s best for you; we’re very clear and committed at this football club about that, and I know that I have the full backing of the Board in that respect.”
By Ben Rochey-Adams
Images courtesy of Craig Hobbs Photography