Jack Parkinson's striving for more excellence at Phoenix Sports' football Academy

JACK PARKINSON says he is looking to produce more highly-talented youngsters at Phoenix Sports’ Academy.

The 26-year-old is a part-time footballer for Vanarama National League side Dover Athletic and faces a two-legged semi-final against Forest Green Rovers as the Kent club bid to progress through to their first Wembley Final. Win that and Chris Kinnear’s side will be a League Two outfit.



Phoenix Sports completed their debut Ryman League Division One North campaign in fourteenth-placed and they have linked up with Erith School to expand their Academy which has been running for two years.

“I went in at Maidstone United when we didn’t have an Academy and we got it up and running to the success that it is now,” reflected Parkinson.

“For whatever reason I signed for Dover and you sort of move on.

“An offer came along from a few clubs and it felt it’s the right one.  The club (Phoenix Sports) are ambitious, it’s a school that want to try to do things the right way and they’ve got a good base there and some fantastic facilities so it will be a good place for young lads to come in and learn their trade.”

Parkinson was part of something special whilst at Maidstone United’s Academy as a number of players moved into the professional game like Alfie Pavey and Aaron Simpson to name but a couple, who moved to Millwall and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Parkinson said: “We had a lot of success on the pitch at Maidstone but people won’t remember what league’s you’ve won in five years’ time.  They will remember the amount of lads that went to pro clubs across the five years I was there.

“We had about five to nine lads go to pro clubs and the majority are still there.”

For those that don’t make it though, an opportunity is there to play in senior non-league football.

A trio of Parkinson’s Academy prospects currently play for Faversham Town. Goalkeeper Will Godmon, winger Charley Robertson and striker Liam King, who played under Parkinson at Maidstone United’s Academy, finished in fifth-place in the Ryman League Division One South and were denied promotion after losing a controversial play-off final at Worthing yesterday, going down 3-0 in front of 1,889 fans at Woodside Road.

Faversham Town beat league runners-up Dorking Wanderers in the Semi-Final and Parkinson was there to watch the trio in action, the winning goal being scored by Robertson, 20.

“I went to watch Faversham on Tuesday night at Dorking and three of those lads that started for Faversham came through the Academy,” he said.

“There’s no reason why it can’t happen with Erith School.  It’s finding the right lads and try to push them and develop them and hopefully try to get into a decent non-league club, if their good enough maybe into a full-time club.”

Dover Athletic are three games away from a potential promotion into League Two, when the club would have to go full-time to cope with the demands of League football.

“Yes, at the moment we haven’t had that conversation but I’m sure the time will come when the gaffer (Chris Kinnear) will sit down with us and let us know what’s going on but as far as we know things will stay the same,” added Parkinson, one of the youngest Academy coaches.