Football Academy Booklet 23/24

Being ‘good enough’ isn’t good enough anymore. It takes more than just ability and talent, you have to be disciplined off the pitch and develop good habits important to success in both football and life.

“ ”

- Steve Castle Head of Academy

OPEN DAYS

We believe it’s important you find out everything you need to know before joining us, which is why we run open days throughout the year. Our open events give you the chance to visit our St Albans Campus, meet the coaches and take a look at our award-winning facilities.

See Oaklands Wolves website for upcoming Men’s Open and Trial Events.

MEET THE STAFF

Our Football Academy staff members are fully trained, licensed coaches with vast playing and coaching experience in professional and semi-professional football.

STEVE CASTLE

Head of Academy

Founded the Academy in 2004

Ex-Professional footballer with over 500 EFL appearances

UEFA A Licence Coach

Currently first team manager at Royston Town FC

Fun/interesting fact: Steve was England’s U21 scout and has worked alongside Glenn Hoddle, Tony Pulis & Kevin Nugent (to name a few…)

JOSH CASTIGLIONE

Head Coach Elites AM

Ex-Oaklands Wolves Football academy student/ athlete

UEFA B Licence Coach

Currently playing for Chelmsford City FC

Fun/interesting fact: Josh was a key member of the famous Royston Town U18 squad which lost 2-1 against Arsenal in the 5th round proper of the FA Youth Cup in 2015.

ADEMOLA BANKULE

Head GK Coach & Head Coach Elites PM

Ex-Professional Goalkeeper

UEFA A Licence Coach

Currently also the set-piece academy coach at Queens Park Rangers FC

Fun/interesting fact: Ademola played for 15 different professional clubs during his playing career and was the goalkeeping coach at Colchester United for nine years.

MEET THE STAFF Continued

JOSEPH PARMLEY

Football Academy Coach

Joe is another former academy student and was employed after completing the BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport & Coaching. Joe joined full-time after completing a one-year Coaching Internship with the academy and is currently playing for Dunstable Town FC.

Joe White

PM U19’s Coach

Ex-Arsenal & Tottenham academy scout

UEFA C License Coach (inspiring UEFA B Coach)

Fun/interesting fact: Joe played for Waltham Abbey FC when he decided to start his own academy in Enfield – K.A.S.E Football Academy.

KAREN GIBSON

Head of Pastoral Care

Founded the Academy alongside Steve in 2004

Fun/interesting fact: Karen is married to John Gibson former owner of St Albans FC. Steve Castle was the first team manager at St Albans when John was the chairman. This is how Karen & Steve met and the academy was formed.

MEET THE STAFF

DEIVI KREKA

AM U17’s Coach

Ex-Oaklands Wolves Football academy student/athlete

UEFA C Licence Coach

Currently playing for Enfield FC

Fun/interesting fact: Deivi signed for Aldershot town FC during his 2nd year at Oaklands and represented his native Albanian National side at all youth levels (U12-U21).

SAM O’NIONS

AM U17’s Coach

Ex-Oaklands Wolves Football academy student/athlete, UEFA C Licence Coach, Currently playing for Langford FC.

Fun/interesting fact: Sam is also a talented tennis player who represented Bedfordshire County in the past. Currently he’s coaching at a local tennis club in Luton whilst studying Sports & Exercise Science at Hertfordshire university.

SPYROS MENTIS

Head of Recruitment

A former Oaklands Wolves Football Academy student, Spyros went to the University of Hertfordshire to study Sports. Spyros holds a UEFA B Football License, plays for Royston Town FC and leads the academy alongside Steve.

MEET THE STAFF Continued

GUS SCOTT-MORRISS

Football Academy Coach

Another former academy graduate, Gus started coaching at the academy after completing a BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma in Sport & Coaching. Gus is currently working towards his UEFA B Football License and is captain of Hemel Hempstead FC.

DIMITRIOS KYRIATZIS

Marketing Assistant

Ex-Academy GK Coach

BSc in Sport & Exercise Science

Currently playing professionally in Greece for AO Ellopiakos

Fun/interesting fact: Dimi has been a pro in 3 different countries (England - Brentford FC, Germany - Inter Leipzig & Greece) and has admiration of climbing the ladder to the top again.

JOE ELLIS

Head S&C Coach

Joe has worked with the Oaklands Wolves Sports Academies for over 6 years, having previously worked with Saracens RFC. Joe holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Strength and Conditioning.

Joe’s experience and knowledge has benefited student athletes across the entirety of the academy provision, working with Hockey, Basketball, Athletics and Rugby academies before working with the football.

ABOUT US

Oaklands Wolves Football Academy, previously known as St Albans Football Academy (SAFA) is one of the most successful and longest running college football programmes in the country. Established in 2004, the academy has won numerous competitions and produced an abundance of players; many of whom have progressed into non-league, national squads and professional football.

Brief History

Established 17 years ago, the academy is one of the first college football programmes in the country. It now has over 100 players registered with the college and as a result, the standards of the academy is held in high regard as one of the best youth academies outside of the professional game, attracting interest from both national and international scouts.

Dual Career Academy

All student athletes at Oaklands are constantly reminded they are students first and athletes second. Therefore, achieving in the classroom is equally, if not more important than on the pitch. We follow a holistic approach to every student athlete’s progression, and we make it clear from the get-go, it’s not just about football. According to Steve Castle “the sooner they transform from young adults to young men, the sooner they’ll start seeing results in both their football and alternative career aspirations.” .

Mamadou ‘Mam’ Jobe

Oaklands College to professional contract with Cambridge United F.C.

Mam is a strong, fast and composed centre-half who studied a Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Business.

Mam joined Oaklands during a troublesome time, having been expelled from Secondary School but quickly benefited from the academies ethos, becoming a responsible, mature student.

In October 2020, Mam’s efforts were rewarded when he joined the Cambridge United youth setup, before being offered a two-year professional contract in May 2021.

Football Academy

TRAINING & Matches

The academy training schedule works alongside student’s course timetables, matches are played on Wednesdays (National Match Day for College Sport) a typical timetable can be seen below.

Jaden Ogwuazor

Oaklands College to Profesional Contract with Stevenage F.C.

A physical centre-half with a smooth left foot, Jaden studied a Level 3 National Foundation Diploma in Sports & development at Oaklands.

Jaden played in a showcase friendly for the Academy Elites against Stevenage, where he impressed and earned himself a trial, resulting in a professional contract.

It was a proud moment for the academy, who had produced two professional players during the challenging COVID pandemic.

Oaklands College

PROGRESSION

A significant goal of our programme is to provide a progression route for every single student/athlete in the academy. By doing so, we hope not only to produce professional and semi-professional footballers, but also to maintain motivation to sustain sport participation levels for those who are not ready to make the step into elite football.

Match Day

The scheme runs six teams. Three train in the morning, lessons in the afternoon and the other three have lessons in the morning, training in the afternoon. All teams compete in either the Youth Alliance League or the Association of Colleges League (AOC) alongside various cup entries; the structure is as follows:

- Elites AM & PM – Youth Alliance/AOC Cat 1 (Highest level of College football)

- U19’s AM & PM – AOC Cat 2

- U17’s AM & PM – AOC Cat 3

Internal & External Progression Routes

Progression occurs on a weekly basis, depending on attendance, attitude & performance on & off the pitch. In-house progression occurs from the U17’s –Elites and an external progression route for the Elite players (who consistently maintain their elite spot) into Non-League or Professional clubs. Exceptional elite players may get the opportunity to trial for a professional academy & England colleges squad, with the help of Head of Academy Steve Castle, who has over 600 professional league appearances with various clubs and expansive coaching experience.

Gus Scott Morriss

Oaklands College to Professional Contract & National Squad

Gussy studied Sports Coaching at Oaklands and was given a coaching job at the academy once he completed his BTEC. An excellent coach, Gus played for various non-League clubs such as Royston Town & Hemel Hempstead before Southend signed him in 2022 as a 25-year-old! Not long after signing his first professional contract, he was called up to the 25-man England C squad and played 90-minutes on his 1-0 debut win against Wales in March 2023.

STUDYINGat Oaklands

The college offers a broad spectrum of exciting and engaging courses ensuring every student athlete can choose the appropriate academic pathway that suits their individual career aspirations.

Supporting Your Learning

Oaklands College has an excellent Student Advice Team who support students with any pastoral needs, including:

- Academic choice support

- Bursaries and financial assistant

- Assignment and learning support

- Special exam arrangements and many more

English & Maths

All students without a Grade 4 in Maths and/or English will be expected to retake them alongside their chosen academic option. This is usually supported with additional lessons, which will be added to a students’ timetable, to help each student to reach the required grade.

Academic Choices

Vast majority of football education programs (like us) nationwide, only offer the BTEC in Sport as your only academic option. The BTEC in Sport is a great course, however, we believe students at the age of 16 shouldn’t be limited. Therefore, at Oaklands, not only you can study the BTEC in Sport, but have the choice of over 300 courses such as: A Levels, Business, Trades, Engineering…etc. Our full-time courses can be found on the Oaklands College website.

Timetable Clashes

Most academic courses are completely compatible with the football training timetable. Having said that, some courses (especially if students have to retake Maths and/or English) may experience timetable clashes. In the event of a clash, academic commitments always take priority over sporting commitments.

Sean Shields

Oaklands College to Professional Contract with Dagenham & Redbridge

Sean studied Sports at Oaklands and made a quick jump from the Elites to St Albans first team under Steve Castle. Dagenham & Redbridge signed him, and Northern Ireland called him up not long after, before later moving to Notts County, Sean said: “The scheme was highly enjoyable and was an integral part of my football development. Working with someone of Steve’s calibre at such a young age was enormously beneficial.”

JOINING THE Academy

Eligibility, Fees & Suitability

If you are interested in joining the academy, you must firstly ensure you are eligible. Once you have done so, you can start the application process which is detailed below. wolvesfootball@oaklands.ac.uk

Student athletes must be aged 16-18 as of 1st September on the year of their entry.

Unlike other football academies in the UK, our academy is free to join. The only purchase a student athlete is required to make is for the official academy training kit bundles, students can keep this throughout their time at the academy and beyond.

Suitable student athletes will have a dedicated and determined attitude to improve as a footballer and as a person,

Oaklands College to Professional Contract

Inih enrolled onto a Level 3 Sport course which ran alongside the Oaklands Wolves Football Academy. A raw talent with a great physical presence, Inih quickly became a key member of the academy, making his debut for St Albans City F.C. under the club’s then, Head Coach; Steve Castle. Inih went on to make a name for himself in Non-League football, playing for Woking, Dover Athletic, Barnet, as well as professionally with Stevenage and later, Ross County in the Scottish Premier League.

RESIDENTIAL Homestead

Oaklands is proud to be able to offer a state-of-the-art Residential Homestead for its student athletes. If you’d like to get a taste of what it is like to live away from home whilst pursuing a professional career in sport, please apply for residential accommodation. Particularly if you wish to progress to American Scholarships after College, our residential complex can help you recognise if you’re ready for that journey, without having to cross the Atlantic.

Residential Provision

Introduced in 2019, the homestead introduces on-site living at the colleges St Albans Campus for over 80 students. The secure, modern and comfortable living quarters are akin to what would be expected from a University.

Should you wish to apply for residential accommodation at Oaklands, this should be included within the online application when prompted and our team will be in touch.

Student expectation

Oaklands students are expected to uphold the values of the college and respect the living quarters and fellow student of which share the facilities.

Facilities

All rooms have en-suite bathrooms and the facility has four disabled-accessible rooms.

With two large communal areas, shared kitchens and underfloor heating throughout, the homestead is designed to ensure students have everything they need whilst studying at the college. An on-site warden is also present at all times to ensure student safeguarding, wellbeing and good behaviour.