Muristek
‘I was numb’: the pain of release by an academy and what football can learn
Dominic Ball, who has joined Ipswich after leaving QPR, reflects in this book extract on the crushing blow he took aged 15
Watford, like all academies, provided two reviews each year – one before Christmas, another at the end of the season. The aim is to ensure there are no surprises when important decisions are made such as a player being released or retained. Reviews were attended by the player and one of his parents, the academy manager, assistant academy manager and your age group coach, and were held at the stadium.
This seemed perfectly normal as dad and I drove the 30 minutes or so from home to Vicarage Road for my final mid-season review. We hoped to hear I was on track for that important final decision to be made some time in the new year. Yet when we parked up, we met DeReece, another player from the team, who had just been told he was being released. My body stiffened and my mind went blank. I felt terrible for him and didn’t know what to say.
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