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Coerver® Kid Joe Elliot has proved that the best things come to those that wait when he recently made his first team debut for Romanian giants Dinamo Bucharest who have won the Liga 1 national title 18 times and the Cupa României 13 times since being founded in 1948 (see below image).
Joe’s dad, Mick Elliot, who has worked in proffesional football club recruitment for the last 25 years, recollects the journey that Joe has been on since first attending the Coerver® Coaching Performance Academy at 12 years old.
“As a young football player, Joe showed lots of potential and was signed as a 10 year old at Leicester City Academy but after 2 years was released. Then over the next couple of years he signed for Derby County, Coventry City and a few other league clubs but unfortunately he was unable to make a proper impact despite his undoubted potential”.
“Joe began training with Coerver in 2008 at the Bluecoat School Performance Academy in Coventry under the guidance of director, Scott Wright. Joe soon began to improve his technique and skill levels as well as gainining in confidence in his own ability on the ball. He attended regular weekly sessions for a period of over 4 years which proved to be the best decision we have ever made regarding Joe’s football development”.
“The principles of Coerver enabled Joe to improve his skill levels without the pressure applied within the academy football environment” (see below image Mick Elliot & Joe Elliot far left with Coerver® UK Director Scott Wright far right).
“In November 2012 Joe, who was now 16 years old, was seen by a Spanish scout and invited to play for CD Sobradillo in Tenerife which is a feeder club for the likes of Barcelona and Athletico Madrid among others. Joe spent the next 5 months there playing football and learning the Spanish way. At the end of the season he was offered a new contract by CD Sobradillo but at the same time was seen by a Romanian scout and then received an invite to trial at Dinamo Bucharest”.
“Joe spent a week at Dinamo in May 2013 and after impressing the coaches and reserve team manager, he was offered a 1 year contract to play for the reserves in Division 2. He returned to England over the Summer for a break and was asked to join the Dinamo Bucharest first team squad who were on a tour in England at the time”.
“He trained with the first team squad and on Sunday July 7th, he was asked to join the squad and came on as a 2nd half substitute to make his first team debut against Ayr United at the age of 17 and 3 months. Dinamo were 1-0 down when Joe stepped on to the pitch and the manager asked him to play a defensive midfield role to protect the defence and use his great passing ability to set the wide players free. Joe managed to do this effectively and not only impressed the Dinamo coaching staff but also on-looking scouts from Rangers and Man City. The game ended 1-1 and in my opinion, Joe put into practice everything he had learned at Coerver during this game which was great to see”.
Joe said of his debut “I was a little nervous being so young and making a debut for a top European team but once I made a few good passes I felt very comfortable playing for the first team. Attending Coerver has made the difference not only to my playing ability but also to my confidence on the pitch and I would like to thank Scott and all the Coerver coaches for their part in my development to this point”.
It might have been a different career path for Joe having turned down the chance to be a professional musician in order to pursue his dream to be a footballer. He had been playing the trumpet since the age of 11 and was offered a full time position to play with the 1980s ska band Bad Manners. The band achieved three top-10 hits during the ’80s, including Special Brew, Can Can and My Girl Lollipop (My Boy Lollipop).
Coerver® UK Director, Scott Wright said “We are really proud of Joe’s acheivements and it is great to hear the comments of Joe and his dad Mick that they feel that Coerver has played such an important part in his development to date. Joe joins a long list of players to graduate from the Coerver programme into proffesional football and his story is one that shows that you have to keep on going even when you face setbacks which inevitably will happen to young players trying to make a career in the game”.
“The fact that Joe turned down a proffesional career in music and left the comfort of home to go abroad to chase his dream shows the desire, attitude and sacrifice that is needed to succeed not only in football but in life. Joe’s story is an example to all aspiring footballers out there, if you have a good attitude and work ethic along with the footballing ability then you will get your chance. It is then about making the most of that chance which is exactly what Joe has done and I am absolutely delighted for him and his family”.
