Team Talk: Hampton Coaches’ Top Tips

By Tom Scrimshaw

Hampton’s sports coaches are some of the most talented and knowledgeable in their field. With over 20 members of the sports department, and 50+ members of the general staff room that take a sports team, it’s safe to say Hampton is home to a whole host of sporting wisdom and integrity. Whether drafting the team sheets, setting up training drills, or organising fixtures, all the sports coaches have the united aim of helping Hamptonians to channel their inner sporting talent. 

Their ability to motivate, advise and guide Hamptonians on a path to sporting success makes them an integral part of Hampton life. 

But what was the most valuable piece of advice, motivation or guidance that they were given on their sporting journeys that they would pass on to Hamptonians to help them navigate any sporting struggles that they may encounter? I took the question to some of Hampton’s sports coaches to find out their top tips for a successful sporting career.

Mr Burke

The footballing career of Mr Burke, Director of Football, is one of prestige and great success despite the curveballs thrown at him along the way. When in 6th Form, Mr Burke played for the Brighton and Hove Albion youth team before being released and later joining non-league side Lewes FC. 

At that time, he explains how he had “decided I wanted to become a professional football coach” and had been advised by his coach at Lewes FC to take his FA coaching qualification alongside training as a PE teacher. This later turned out to be “excellent advice” as Mr Burke became a coach in the professional game for many years and worked in roles at Brighton, Derby, Fulham and Southampton. His advice to Hamptonians is “to work hard at everything you do. If you work hard, you normally get what you deserve.”

Mr Sims

Having once been a young Hamptonian himself, Mr Sims, is no stranger to Hampton sport. As coach of the U14C team, Mr Sims has enjoyed a particularly successful campaign with the team, winning the overwhelming majority of their fixtures this year, no doubt a result of his expert mentorship and guidance. 

The best piece of advice that he would give a Hamptonian is “to enjoy their sport as much as possible and take every opportunity as you can. I was once told as a young Hamptonian myself, that sport at Hampton would be the best I would ever experience. It is incredibly well-organised, on fantastic facilities, all whilst playing with your childhood mates – it doesn’t get any better than that, all we had to do was turn up.” 

The sense of enjoyment instilled in the U14C team this season undoubtedly exercises this guidance, with the team remembering that “it is important to enjoy and appreciate every moment of it while you can.”

Mr Hooper

Mr Hooper, Head of Specialist Sports and coach of the U14A football team, explains that his father, who was a professional cricket player and played for the England School Boys, always told him, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” This message proved pivotal for when facing adversity and is certainly one that the U14A team has used this year under the guidance of Mr Hooper, driving their ESFA Cup and County Cup campaigns, reaching the round of 16 and semi-finals in each respectively. 

Mr Hooper also adds, “In our sporting exploits we will always encounter tough situations and one of the major tests of a sportsperson is to see how they deal with adversity.” 

Another important message that Mr Hooper received during his sporting career was from his cricket coach at university for the Oxford MCCU academy: “losers make excuses, winners find the solution.” This proved an important thought for when dealing with troubles in a sporting and life environment, pushing Mr Hooper to “be the one to look for a way to resolve the difficulty or rectify the problem rather than be the one who sits and makes excuses for your failings and shortcomings.”

Mr Ritchie

Having helped guide Hampton’s First XI to their first ever ESFA Cup victory in the 2018-19 season, Mr Ritchie is no stranger to success. With lots of experience in the game, Mr Ritchie has played a vital role in helping coach Hampton’s First XI for many years. But what does he tell his teams in the most important yet adverse moments to overcome the hardest challenges that U18s football throws at its participants?  

According to Mr Ritchie, his experiences of playing and coaching players to be the best that they can be, would be centred around three core ideas. First of all, legendary Arsenal F.C manager Arsene Wenger’s quote: “Talent is not enough,” followed by John Wooden’s urge to “be brilliant at the basics” and also Matthew McConaughey’s important message to “enjoy the process of the doing, enjoy the race.” Mr Ritchie also adds, “If you want to be considered an elite performer, you need to demonstrate the correct behaviours consistently,” something he often reiterates to the teams he coaches in order to enforce a high-performance environment. Being a “team player” also rings loud in Mr Ritchie’s sporting ethos, helping to install teamwork and trust in a team. 

Mr Cumberbatch

Mr Cumberbatch, U15C team football coach and former 2nd XI coach, tells the Hampton Sports Chronicle that the best piece of sporting advice he has been given was from a range of coaches and mentors over his playing career and consists of the ability to “control the controllables, be accountable and be a student of the game.” 

Mr Cumberbatch continues, “Doing this will always have you thinking about what’s next habitually,” meaning that you are “always ahead of your opponent,” before remembering “to enjoy it because the work that you have put in to do the above will fuel positive results and long-term development and enjoyment.” Perhaps these non-negotiables of being a high performer, passed on to Hampton teams over the years by Mr Cumberbatch, are a factor in so much of the glory and success experienced by his teams to date.

Mr Towl

Mr Towl, coach of the U15A football team, reveals that “the best bit of advice I have ever been given, and it is what I say to all of my teams is as follows: you will not get on with everyone that you play with but when you are out on the pitch, you are a team and you give everything for each other.”

This non-negotiable of friendship and teamwork is perhaps what has brought the U15A team so much success this year, helping to guide them to an ISFA semi-final and scoring 92 goals along the way in a season to be remembered. Mr Towl also adds, “Come off of the pitch at the end of the game/training and leave no regrets out there and leave all issues in the changing room.” This piece of advice passed down to Mr Towl by his father has undoubtedly contributed to success in both his playing and coaching careers, cementing a sense of teamwork and friendship into all the teams involved.

Overall, the attributes of hard-work, respect and resilience have proved the most important in the achievement-laden sporting careers of Hampton’s sports coaches, whilst the importance of enjoying every opportunity also echoes loudly along the path to sporting fulfilment.