Gareth Owen: Better Times Will Come
Stoke City Academy director, Gareth Owen, remains positive about the future of Stoke City’s Academy during this difficult time.
Gareth Owen has acted as academy director for just over 12 months and is currently finding ways to adapt this role during the forced suspension of all football as a result of the Coronavirus.
He believes that his enthusiasm for getting the most from his team and players both on and off the field is more important now than it has ever been.
But he also has faith in better times to come.
A commitment to hard work and the ability to adapt has worked well for him throughout his career and he feels that this attitude will keep his team positive and able to step up when the time is right for football to resume.
He also has a passion for developing people in order that they can achieve their full potential.
Gareth’s own career began at Stoke City, when as an eight-year-old boy from Cheadle he joined the club as a youth player.
He remained at the club for fifteen years progressing through the ranks until he was 23, although he only got to play in the first team for five league games.
He did go onto play for the Potters’ neighbours, Port Vale, playing 129 games for the Valiants, before injuries forced him into leaving Vale in January 2013 and eventually hanging up the boots altogether to concentrate on coaching.
He clearly has strong links to Stoke and was delighted to return, after his playing career ended, in the capacity of a coach.
He initially took up a part time position while studying at Staffordshire University in Professional Sports writing and Broadcasting and over time he coached players from seven years to the under eighteens.
He became involved in all aspects of the academy, including coaching, recruitment and scouting and gained the necessary experience which ultimately lead to his current job.
“It’s been a bit of a long journey, with lots of ups and downs along the way but I was delighted to be a professional footballer and to be able to go on the journey to become academy director as well”
He clearly feels privileged to have been involved in football as both a player and a coach.
He is also grateful for the opportunities that Stoke City has given him.
His positive approach keeps him focused on the better times to come. There is little time to worry as Gareth is very busy despite the lock-down.
He explained that the academy has developed both a training and educational program for the players. These programs are supplemented with online team meetings, fitness classes and workshops for parents.
The academy has also commenced one to one training sessions via Zoom to ensure the safety of both the players and trainers.
The main aim is to keep everyone involved in the academy: staff, players and parents, involved, occupied and happy. This means that his team is extremely busy. He has been able to keep his full team in place following the decision by Stoke City to retain rather than furlough staff.
Gareth is grateful to the, “fantastic”, owners and acknowledged that he is very lucky to have such good employers.
“We are dealing with the day to day and are keeping very busy, it’s important to keep up with the players so that we are all up to speed when we return”
Gareth also wanted to stress that he wanted his academy players to develop themselves in other areas as well as football.
His own journey to his current role included education and Gareth feels that his studies gave him a wider view of the media and helped him understand their role in promoting sport.
He therefore feels that broadening your skills is vital and encourages academy players to do the same.
The more his players develop the more opportunities they will have.
“Making yourself better educated helps you in any walk of life”
Gareth believes that keeping an open mind about your future options is always important but even more so in a time of uncertainty.
Despite his natural optimism Gareth was unable to predict how the current crisis might impact the future of the academy.
However, he prefers to look at the possible positives of the situation noting that Stoke may need to harness the talent it has in the academy which could give more opportunities for some of his players sooner rather than later.
When asked to consider when and how the academy season will be concluded Gareth believes that this decision will be out of his hands and that board will keep him informed.
He has not been involved in any discussions but is aware that the board are making loose plans about how to recommence football when they get the go ahead. The academy is hopeful that games can go ahead by late summer, but Gareth stressed that would only happen if it was safe to do so.
He is therefore cautious about making firm plans.
“We can’t look too far ahead and plan for everything, we need to focus on the day to day, making sure everyone is well and looked after at the moment”
Considering football as a whole, Gareth acknowledged that it is difficult for him to remain objective about the sport he loves.
He understands the very valid concerns that the media have about whether football should start sooner rather than later but when pressed he admitted that he would like to see the season completed if it is possible to do so safely.
He personally believes that the return of football would raise spirts at a difficult time and he also believes that football will adapt.
Remaining flexible and adapting to change has enabled Gareth to have a lifelong career in the sport he loves so it is difficult to argue with his views.
Article by: Jon Lomas
Thumbnail by: Samuel Slaney
Images interpreted from: Stoke City FC & Getty Images