“When we lose we learn”
Just Recruitment sponsors Needham Market FC. Company director Peter Foy takes a lesson in life from the team’s head coach
Jason Curtis always knew what he wanted to be: a professional footballer.
When he was 11, Jason represented his county. At 13 he was signed to the academy for Peterborough United. A boy with a dream who could see a path to making it come true.
As with so many aspiring footballers, that dream turned to ashes when Peterborough released the 16-year-old Jason from his contract. He’d come so close, but now faced the prospect of building a different future from the one he’d imagined.
Jason kept his head down, passed his GCSEs and took a GVNQ. He found himself a job, not the job of his dreams but a job that paid decent money. He made a success of his life. And he played football, he always played football. As an amateur, he got to play in an FA cup first round win over Brighton and Hove Albion FC, and was watched by scouts from West Ham United. A dream doesn’t die at the first obstacle.
With a love of football coursing through his veins, Jason took his coaching tickets. It was then that Peterborough came back and asked him to join the club in a training role with the youth team. His dream was back on. It was slightly different in form, sure. But it was a football-focused dream nonetheless.
Success at Peterborough led to an approach from Norwich City FC to join its youth academy. Not as an aspirant player but as a coach – an opportunity Jason gladly accepted. Part of his role at Norwich is to coach community clubs and that is where I met him, coaching Needham Market FC Under-11s, sponsored by Just Recruitment Group Ltd.
Needham Market may well have the best facilities of any amateur team in Suffolk. It has recruited some of the best footballing talent in the region, and competes at a high level. Jason believes in pushing his team by going up against competition that is clearly better. Sometimes his boys lose, but they always grow from the experience.
“When we lose we learn,” is Jason’s mantra. The team is playing at a high level and the kids have their own dreams. How lucky are they to have someone like Jason guiding them along the way?
Does he make it easy for them? Of course he doesn’t. But by creating a supportive and encouraging environment he fosters their dreams. Gives them a chance to pursue their ambitions.
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“The team is doing really well,” says Jason. “The boys compete every week, often winning and sometimes only losing by the odd goal. Long term, it’s providing a great experience for all the players and helping them be the very best they can be.”
Be the very best you can be. Don’t you wish all leaders had that same philosophy?
Just Recruitment is proud to sponsor Jason’s team and to support Needham Market FC.
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