A Farnham football coach at Bourne Blades FC was celebrating after one of his previous understudies, Aston Villa and England striker Ollie Watkins, scored a stunning 90th-minute winning goal for England in their Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands.
Mark Taylor was Watkins’ coach at Buckland Athletic in Newton Abbot, Devon. Mark, who has coached for 20 years and completed his FA badges, left Devon to pursue his PhD and live in Farnham.
Now in his fifth year coaching at Bourne Blades, his under-13 youth team have rapidly progressed up five divisions to division one. The Bourne Blades women’s team Mark coaches won their league last season and came third in a cup in Barcelona.
Five players left Mark’s Buckland team to play academy football, including Watkins. Mark continues to coach talented players at Bourne Blades who want to learn the game and improve their performances.
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Mark said: “At grassroots the opportunity as an outsider to be invited to coach a team is rare and I thank Bourne Blades Football Club for that.
“A couple of Bourne Blades players look promising, but before we get starry-eyed parents it’s a major journey balancing work, travel, other children and parental time, where statistics which show it as nigh on impossible are in front of you.
“Ollie was a humble, hard working, yet very determined person. He was always practising and wanting to improve. That comes from creating a team culture of learning, not worrying about mistakes and being free to play while performing in a team.
“Whether it’s the decision or use of a skill at the right time, it’s the player that matters. Then it’s just practise. Ollie’s sensational goal started in training at nine years of age and was practised thousands of times. My players get the same message today.
“I’m so proud of Ollie, as I am of the talented players, male and female, at Bourne Blades FC today. Ollie deserves the plaudits he now receives – it wasn’t talent alone but hard work on the training pitch from nine years to 28 years of age.
“Could I see him playing Premier League football and for England when I coached him? No. But I think Dean Smith saw something unquantifiable.
“As a coach it’s a job where you may not see their finest hour whenever or at what level that may be. But in the Euros Ollie’s moment may have been his finest hour. I hope not. I hope there is more.”