Client Athlete Catch-Up: Our Plans for Progression!

Hey everyone,

I hope you’ve enjoyed your week and have some exciting plans for the weekend! This week I’m going to talk about our current roster of client athletes, and what they are currently up to and hoping to achieve in the upcoming off-season/pre-season. Before we get into it, if you are new please enter your email address to subscribe for FREE to Learning the Venture to receive weekly editions direct to your inbox!

Now, let’s get stuck in!

The overall goal for all our clients this summer is to get them into improved situations than they were previously. As I’ve mentioned before, this doesn’t necessarily mean going to clubs with better wages or at a higher level, as these can be subjective depending on the player and the phase of their career they find themselves in. I think it is important for an agent to recognize that, and treat each client differently from the next, which is exactly what I will be doing this summer. I currently represent three players, all Bermudian internationals playing across different levels in England - Quinaceo Hunt (GK), Amar Lewis (M), and Ryan Lopes (AM/W) - if you’d like to learn a bit more about them, you can find that post on the dashboard!

The main target for all of them is playing time, which at this stage in their respective careers is of the utmost importance for their continued development as footballers and career progression. In a perfect world, this summer each of them would make the leap to a club at a level above where they currently are; unfortunately that can’t always happen for a multitude of factors, but that doesn’t mean they can’t progress in other ways. I firmly believe that they are each capable of playing a level above where they currently are based on their individual skill, but what isn’t certain is if it would be beneficial for their own development once they got there.

This is because playing time is crucial, and it wouldn’t be conducive to their development if they were to sit on the bench for the majority of the season and getting minutes in a sporadic manner. It is important for them to build consistency, and if that has to happen at a club at their current level or even below their current level, then that might be the best course of action. Sometimes players can (understandably) get caught up in the level their playing at, and think it comes across as some kind of flex - but does it count if you’re not playing? This is something I’m very honest with my players about, and is something we will all be on the same page with heading into the summer.

Concluding this post, AceBoy Sports Group will be prioritizing opportunity, consistency, and stability for all of our clients this summer. This doesn’t mean they have to move up or stay put to achieve each of those three objectives. Sometimes moving down a level to start every game and get experience and minutes in your legs is the best thing to do, and that will check all the boxes for us. Obviously, it’ll be great to get the guys playing as high as possible, which could potentially give them access to better facilities, coaches, and teammates to compete against. But, sometimes staying put or dropping down a level to get opportunities is the best way to progress as a footballer individually and in your career - as they say, sometimes its better to take one step back if it means taking two steps forward…

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of Learning the Venture, if you enjoyed please share and subscribe for free!

Until next time,

Jason