The fathers of Joe Gomez and Deji Elerewe attended this year's academy parents evening to talk about their experiences in supporting the development of their talented sons.
Augustus Gomez and Olu Elerewe both took part in a special Q&A at The Valley, hosted by Academy Director Steve Avory.
Now at Liverpool, Gomez has made over 100 Premier League appearances and is an England international, while Elerewe is currently enjoying a successful loan spell with National League side Bromley.
“It’s an evening that I feel is important for us to get over key messages to the parents via different department presentations that we may do," explained Avory.
“I knew both Augustus and Olu would have plenty of key messages to get over to the parents, as well as branching off into their own experiences and both of them spoke very well.
"There is so much else to it in terms of the role of a parent or guardian, in the home for example and how they balance life between the family, as well as life here. We talked about key messages around development, or dealing with disappointment that a young player has to contend with at some point within the journey. Augustus and Olu could relate to what the parents are going through.
“Augustus was able to tell the story about how within the family they were able to deal with that at the time, in terms of talking to Joe," he added.
Other presentations on the evening included:
- Head of Coaching Rhys Williams on the coaching programme
- U14-U16s Youth Development Phase League Coach Kieran Culleton on the different journeys of players who have come through at Charlton
- Lead Foundation Phase Coach Sam Hoare on the different fixture programme and game formats for the U9-U11s over the coming season
- Valley Gold Chair Matt Baker on the role that Valley Gold has played in the youth development programme for many years now, with particular focus on academy teams attending tournaments all over the world in recent seasons
The academy continues to rank highly in the productivity rankings and academy graduate Ezri Konsa was called up to England's senior squad for the first time on Monday.
Charlton fans can support the academy by signing up to the Valley Gold scheme. Valley Gold enables fans to support the club's academy in unearthing the talents of tomorrow, as well as giving them the chance to win cash prizes.
Click here for more information on how you can become a Valley Gold member.
(Article by Olivia Rosenberg)
