Skysports.com catches up with former Nike Academy product Jordan Rose, now at Stockport.
Young defender enjoying life as a pro following academy graduation
From non-league obscurity to pro footballer - for Stockport County defender Jordan Rose it has been a whirlwind few years.
The 21-year-old has firmly established himself in County's first-team squad this season after making the switch to Edgeley Park last summer, from where he was plucked from the Nike Academy.
Rose had spells at Tottenham, Bournemouth and Southampton as a youngster before various stints at amateur level for the likes of Salisbury City and Weymouth.
So far this term he has made 14 appearances for the Hatters and is proof that hope springs eternal for the current crop of Nike Academy players bidding to impress professional clubs.
Former Stockport manager Paul Simpson saw enough potential to hand him a deal after watching him play against a County reserve side last year, and Rose was at the League Two outfit's training ground as this season's Nike Academy earned a 1-0 victory in blustery conditions.
Change
Rose admits that he will always be grateful to the Nike Academy for providing him with the platform to turn pro, and says that his life has now completely changed.
He told
Skysports.com: "It's flipped one-eighty - it's totally changed. It has gone from non-league, struggling and not even wanting to play football really to playing in front of thousands of people and seeing people with my name on their shirts.
"I can call this my job - that's the best thing. Every morning I wake up and I go and do the one thing I love doing.
"I love Stockport, I love the area, I love the support and I've been made to feel so welcome. They've accepted me to the family and I'm really enjoying it."
On the role the Nike Academy had on his revival, he added: "The Nike Academy was probably the most important part of my career, the make or break.
"I had basically given up and when I went to the Nike Academy I thought I might as well go and see what happens.
"When I went I loved it and everything's come from that. If it weren't for that I wouldn't be here.
"You get treated as a footballer so to speak. At semi-professional level you're not a footballer in their eyes, you're just another lad. They don't care if you're injured or you've got a knock."
Rose's story is one that gives hope to every youngster looking to make it at the top level - so often players fall out of love with the game after being sent from pillar to post but he now has a second chance.
"I came here (Stockport) and it just felt like such a reward to finally get something back," the young stopper remarked.
"I've given 20 years of my life for one thing, to get a pro contract, and it was taken away from me because of administrations at Bournemouth and I've finally come here for a second chance to establish myself."
Stockport may be struggling at the bottom of the Football League but they still have a chance of retaining their League Two status this season, something that Rose insists they can achieve.
"I honestly, hand on heart, believe we will. Four wins will get us to that safety mark I think," he said.
"But it's not just down to us. We could go and win our games but because other teams have got games in hand we'll be sat there watching to see our fate."
Business end
Meanwhile, Nike Academy's current squad continue to be put through their paces as the campaign enters the business end.
It is that time of the year when clubs begin planning for next season as managers up and down the country will have a beady eye out for unattached players who stand out from the crowd.
Rose believes self-confidence and belief are paramount to making it as a pro, and he urges the academy starlets to keep putting in the hard work.
"Just keep that determination and that self belief because there's a million reasons as to why they got released. Don't think it was just that they weren't good enough," he advised.
"There's so many different things that the managers and coaches see that the players don't see.
"At the end of the day football is all about opinions. One person may not like you but 10 people will.
"You've just got to keep that belief in yourself. It's like a jigsaw, you've got to match the pieces together - match yourself with someone who likes your talent."
Rose has completed his jigsaw - click here to follow this year's Nike Academy's progress as they bid to prove they also have what it takes.
