Crawley Town Community Foundation have been delivering their Football Education programme at The People’s Pension Stadium for the past five years. Our Sport Degree and PGCE-qualified teaching staff teach three BTEC Sport pathways, all designed for young people seeking a career in football. In partnership with Holy Trinity Sixth Form, giving students the opportunity to study BTEC First & BTEC National qualifications in Sport.
Jack Norcott, joined the Crawley Town Community Foundation’s 16-19 Football & Education Academy from Ifield Community College with grades 4 and 5 in his GCSE Maths and English, as well as having completed a BTEC Sport Level 2 qualification.
He had played a lot of local football before joining the programme, but hadn’t yet had the experience of a full-time, aspiring elite level training programme. As with most 16-year-old’s, the step up to under-19 football was challenging for Jack.
In his first year, Jack, a tall and athletic centre-back, played predominantly in a right-back role for the Development Squad, playing on Friday’s and training on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday at Crawley Town FC. Jack also sought additional playing opportunities with Shoreham FC under-18’s, which gave him an additional training session and game each week which helped further his development.
Jack also joined the Community Foundation’s Coach Academy, led by the Football Development Department, which supports aspiring coaches from the Foundations Academy and provides employment opportunities, working on the Foundation’s after school clubs. Students who join the Coach Academy have the opportunity to gain an FA Level 1 Coaching qualification in return for the hours they work.
During the summer lockdown, Jack continued his development by consistently posting 15km runs on his Strava account, monitored by the Foundation Academy staff. During the rest time Jack also adapted his mentality to playing which was immediately noticed when he returned to training in July. Jack developed a bit of ‘bite’ to his play, and he has impressed everyone with his newfound fearlessness and passion displayed whilst training and playing.
Jack has also never let-up academically, achieving distinctions in his assignments across both years and giving himself a fantastic platform to progress into higher education this September. So far, Jack has had offers from Gateway College in the USA – achieved through the Foundation’s partnership with Player Path, a scholarship agency providing support for British students to earn scholarships to continue their education and football in the USA.
Jack has also received offers to study at Solent University and South Wales University in the UK, both with opportunities to continue his football and academic development in a higher education setting. Jack’s hard work on and off the pitch at Crawley Town has given himself these opportunities to succeed at a high level in his career.
Throughout the winter lockdown, Jack has really impressed whilst participating in the online ball mastery and strength and conditioning training sessions, showing fantastic, continued effort, and putting himself in a position to potentially progress into playing for the Foundation Academy squad when football returns after Easter.
If you’re interested in following in Jack’s footsteps, the Crawley Town Education Academy are currently accepting applications for September 2021 enrolment, from footballers who are interested in studying BTEC Sport, you can apply by sending an email to education@crawleytownfc.com or by visiting www.ctcommunityfoundation.com/further-education.
For regular updates on our sessions, please access:
Website: www.ctcommunityfoundation.com
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Twitter: @CrawleyTownCF
Instagram: @CrawleyTownCF or @crawleyfoundationacademy
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