AZ Gull
@SeagullsAcademy Threads: @bhafcacademy
I realise this has every chance of becoming a one-post thread (and maybe even a one-view thread!) but I saw some news today that concerned a couple of former Albion youngsters and thought it was worth sharing.
On Sunday the Sussex County FA host their U-16 schoolboy final (the John Davey Cup) which will be between All Stars Eastbourne and Burgess Hill Town.
The manager of the AS Eastbourne side is Rhyle Ovenden - Rhyle was a schoolboy at Albion (and earned Wales U-16 caps) but was released during his U-16 season of 2013-14. He spent a year at Chesterfield and then trained with Eastbourne Borough before earning a contract at Watford in December 2015. He got an extension for the 2016-17 season. After being released he played for Whitehawk and Worthing where he suffered an ACL tear. He had a brief spell at Tonbridge Angels but then suffered a cruciate ligament injury while playing for Ashford United [Kent] on 1 January 2022.
After a long period of recovery he has returned to playing and scored in the Isthmian League South East at the end of December. He has also added Welsh caps at U-17, U-19 and U-20 levels.
Good to see a younger player (he is still only 25) giving back to the academy where he himself was a player at U-14 level - this is his fifth year with that (now U-16) team.
The manager for his opponents on Sunday is Umberto Oliva - now, I'm not 100% certain that it is OUR Umberto Oliva but we had a trainee of that name between 1991-93. He wasn't offered a professional contract and moved to Crawley Town where he spent three seasons (he also had spells at Horsham and Oakwood). By a very strange coincidence, there was a different Umberto Oliva who was born within a few months of the Albion one who was a trainee at Palace.
If you aware of former Albion youngsters (the more obscure the better) feel free to share on this thread.
On Sunday the Sussex County FA host their U-16 schoolboy final (the John Davey Cup) which will be between All Stars Eastbourne and Burgess Hill Town.
The manager of the AS Eastbourne side is Rhyle Ovenden - Rhyle was a schoolboy at Albion (and earned Wales U-16 caps) but was released during his U-16 season of 2013-14. He spent a year at Chesterfield and then trained with Eastbourne Borough before earning a contract at Watford in December 2015. He got an extension for the 2016-17 season. After being released he played for Whitehawk and Worthing where he suffered an ACL tear. He had a brief spell at Tonbridge Angels but then suffered a cruciate ligament injury while playing for Ashford United [Kent] on 1 January 2022.
After a long period of recovery he has returned to playing and scored in the Isthmian League South East at the end of December. He has also added Welsh caps at U-17, U-19 and U-20 levels.
Good to see a younger player (he is still only 25) giving back to the academy where he himself was a player at U-14 level - this is his fifth year with that (now U-16) team.
The manager for his opponents on Sunday is Umberto Oliva - now, I'm not 100% certain that it is OUR Umberto Oliva but we had a trainee of that name between 1991-93. He wasn't offered a professional contract and moved to Crawley Town where he spent three seasons (he also had spells at Horsham and Oakwood). By a very strange coincidence, there was a different Umberto Oliva who was born within a few months of the Albion one who was a trainee at Palace.
If you aware of former Albion youngsters (the more obscure the better) feel free to share on this thread.
