Great coverage for ASPIRE Academy

There was praise for Gavin Rose & his Academy in a national paper earlier this week, in an article on our former star Erhun Oztumer, in The Sun

Erhun, who moved from Champion Hill to Peterborough United at the end of our Ryman League Division One South championship season, has been receiving rave reviews from Posh fans and the national press. This has not gone un-noticed by top-flight professional clubs, as this article says, with some great background or his time at Dulwich Hamlet:

DISCIPLINE has never been an issue for Peterborough star Erhun Oztumer.

Because the Greenwich-born midfielder learnt his trade at an academy where, if you did not keep up with your studies, you did not get to play — no matter how good you were.

Oztumer, 24, came through the ranks of the esteemed Aspire Academy in South London, run by Dulwich Hamlet manager Gavin Rose.

The organisation was set up by former Charlton academy player Rose and Junior Kadi in 2002, picking up kids from the surrounding areas of Brixton, Lewisham and Peckham, before expanding its catchment area in recent years.

What makes it different to other youth systems is its unshakeable belief in education coming first. All its players must attend school or college otherwise they will be left out of the team.

The academy has close ties to Dulwich’s Under-18s with many progressing to Football League clubs. Oztumer stars with League One Peterborough, Simeon Jackson, 28, is with Championship outfit Blackburn and George Elokobi, 29, is at Colchester.

Oztumer was snapped up by Aspire when he was released by Charlton at 16 for being too small.

He told SunSport: “When I got released by Charlton I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I was going to carry on playing football. I had a close friend at the academy. I went down and they liked me as a person and a player. I had to go to college where I studied Sports and Recreation. So instead of hanging around at home I was learning or playing football. I was always doing something. If you didn’t go to college you weren’t allowed to play. You had to do it, so it was a good system. I found my love for football again after the heartbreak of being let go by Charlton. And I started to believe that I could have a career in football. Without that six months I had with Aspire I don’t think I would be here right now.”

Oztumer is even being tracked by Premier League Crystal Palace. But despite Aspire’s help, it has been a rocky road.

He left the academy in 2008 to try his luck in Turkey before returning to Dulwich Hamlet with Rose, where 60 goals in two seasons earned a move to Posh. He is just one of many young players who owe their career to Aspire and Rose.

The Dulwich boss remembers how Elokobi was discovered playing in a park.
Rose said: “George came in for a training session and the boots he turned up in probably had about three studs on them. We had to loan him a pair of boots and they were a size too small but he didn’t care — he got on with it and made it work. We noticed straight away that he had a bit of ability but he wasn’t going to let anything stand in his way. He’s a marvellous character, George, and he’s that way today still.”

But while the footballing success stories of Elokobi and Oztumer grab the headlines, Rose is just as proud of the Aspire graduates who have made it in the real working world.

For that was the main motive behind Aspire when it was created 14 years ago — to give young men with few prospects a chance of a brighter future, inside or outside the game.

The Peckham coach said: “It gives us great pleasure and pride because some of these guys were footballers first in their minds, but they’ve managed to have sustainable careers outside football. Some of the young men are doing really well at universities, have degrees, run their own companies and work for some top businesses. With young people you have to say what you mean and act on it. If you don’t they will quickly suss you out. We found that we had to be people they respected. We stuck by the rule that if you are not attending school then you wouldn’t be able to continue with your football. I came from an underprivileged, crime-ridden background and came through it fairly comfortably. I didn’t see why anyone else couldn’t do that. All they needed was a bit of support and a bit of discipline to make them realise that it wasn’t as bleak as some people would believe it was.”