Kinetic graduate, Harry Mark, speaks about his role at Surrey FA while reflecting on his time at Kinetic as a player and coach.
Harry started at Kinetic after he was released by AFC Wimbledon aged 16 and heard about the programme through his ex-coach James Fotheringham.
“Being released was hard to accept but going in to Kinetic where I knew some of the coaches, and I knew that my development would still be looked after was an easy next step for me.”
“We won the league, another cup and we got to the Surrey cup final as well, so we had a good team at Kinetic. We all gelled together, the coaches were great, and overall, it was a great atmosphere. I only have positive things to say about it.”
“Kinetic has helped me a lot going into what I’m doing now, and they’ve always helped me if I’ve needed it.”
Harry is currently working at Surrey FA as a football development apprentice and felt that his time at Kinetic has enabled him to thrive in the workplace.
“I’m coaching in the local community. I coach Mole Valley Girls FC and I’ve done some coaching with the Kinetic camps over the holidays. The rest of the week I’m in the office doing tasks in football development: setting up CPD’s, helping with the referees and coaches, so I’m quite busy.”
“With my current job, you must be able to communicate with other people in the office, with people that you’re meeting for the first time, and I think Kinetic helped with that hugely. Everywhere is about teamwork, and that was one of the main priorities at Kinetic and I’m able to use what I learnt there in an office where I don’t necessarily know everyone.”
Harry’s top advice for any current Kinetic players is to “listen to the coaches all the time, take on everything they say and just work hard because if you chase your dreams, then you’ll never know what will come.”
Harry didn’t make it back into professional football but is still playing non-league as a centre midfielder for Broadbridge Heath FC in step 5 of the English Football pyramid.
Finally, his concluding words for any players considering joining Kinetic are “100% go for it, look at their track record. If you want to join a pro team next, then they’re the best ones around. I think the whole environment is very positive with the coaches. I know a lot of the coaches like Harry (Hudson), James (Fotheringham), and they’re all nice people, they’d do anything to help you out. I would only say good things about it. Just work hard and listen to them, they’ve got loads of players through (into academies), so you could be one of them.”
Article by Josh Eden