Hard work pays off? Portsmouth duo Adam May and Ben Close offer their insights on how to make it as a footballer
This Easter weekend sees a packed football league schedule, with all teams below the Premier League playing two games over the space of the long weekend. In store for League One promotion hopefuls Portsmouth are two games within 48 hours of each other, starting with a trip to Walsall on Saturday, before a return for ex-manager Paul Cook as they host high flying Wigan Athletic on Monday evening.
But for the club, it’s not just League One points that are being fought for this Easter, as Portsmouth’s U10/U11s are heading out to France to compete in Trophee De L’Entente, a youth football tournament that includes other academies from Freiburg, Metz, Nancy and Wolves.
For the Pompey boys, it’s not perhaps the names of the teams that will provide the most cause for concern amongst the squad. Over the two-days of match action the academy will be up against it, competing in a tournament in which they will be youngest squad in attendance.
Despite the age differences, Pompey’s academy Foundation Phase lead coach Hugh Lewis is still relishing the opportunity:
“It’s important for the boys to experience a competitive environment, to be able to play for points and trophies is an invaluable experience.
“It’s been a long time since the club has been involved in a tour at this age level, so we are incredibly thankful to the sponsors who have made this trip possible.”
The European academy structure of calendar year banding means that many of Portsmouth’s boys will be up against opponents that are at least an entire school year older, so the trip is set to be a tough test for any potential future stars of Fratton Park.
Ahead of the trip, first-team academy graduates from the South coast outfit have been offering insights into their academy experiences to help the current crop prepare for the tour.
Midfield duo Adam May and Ben Close, aged 20 and 21 respectively, have both begun to establish themselves fully into the Blues’ first team after joining the academy as schoolboys. They are two of nine academy graduates who are currently in and around the first team squad at Pompey, an encouraging statistic for the group of hopefuls heading out to France.
For Adam May, his words of wisdom to the U10/U11s are to not take anything for granted throughout their academy life: “Personally I’d say to always work hard, nothing ever comes easy, always do as many extras as you can and like I said, work hard to impress all the time on and off the pitch and then hopefully you’ll get your rewards.”
There seemed to be a great sense of belief that hard work always pays off amongst the young midfield pair, and with good reason too considering their current upward spiral through the Pompey ranks.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ben Close’s academy highlight was the end result: “When I was offered my first professional contract, just because, you know, all those years of hard work, and all the times where it’s looking low, you’ve finally been offered the contract that you’ve been working for for years.” An inspiring sentiment from Portsmouth’s number 33, and certainly one worth emulating.
Speaking of their academy memories, both Close and May were quick to remark about just how much of the off-field camaraderie can be put out into the public domain. One thing was clear, though, and that is the importance of a strong team ethic from a young age, with Close and May a shining example of that.
Certainly, if the modern day group of U11/U10s about to head out to the Alsace region of France show the same levels of hard work and humility that have been alluded to by their senior alumni, then the future of Portsmouth FC may become even brighter still.
