THE ACADEMY TEAM
Mark Phillips
Academy Director
Mark joined Millwall at the age of 13 from his grass roots team Elms FC based in Catford. He made his debut at 18 years old and spent 13 years at Millwall FC playing in the championship and league 1 with and against various top flight footballers, managers and coaches. At Millwall Mark was involved in the promotion year to the championship and reached the FA Cup Final vs Manchester United to qualify for the UEFA cup vs Ferencvaros in 2004.
In 2008 Mark joined Brentford FC where they were crowned champions of League 2
and finished 10th in League 1 the following year, laying the foundations to where the club is today.
Mark then spent 4 years at Southend United reaching 2 playoff semi finals and playing at Wembley for the Johnston's paint trophy. He also won player of the year scoring 12 goals from centre back. He then joined AFC Wimbledon, but just missed out on promotion to the league with Braintree Town however, he then followed it up with promotion to the National League with Ebbsfleet United.
Mark has been coaching for 15 years and this is where his passion lies, to be able to help the children achieve their own goals whatever they may be using his inside knowledge and vast experience of the professional game.
Some say that you cannot replace playing professional football but for Mark coaching our academy members comes very close.
Stacy Long
Head of Development Phase
(12-16 Years Old)
Stacy started his career at Charlton Athletic, working his way through the academy from aged 9. He signed his first professional contract with the premiership club when he was 17. During his time at Charlton, he played alongside the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Scott Parker, Danny Murphy and Chris Powell. He also was a part of the England youth set up, playing from U15 to U20, with team mates including Gary Cahill and Wayne Rooney. He was fortunate enough to play against the likes of Italy, Brazil and France, as well as captaining his country in the U17 European championship semi-final.
When leaving Charlton, Stacy went on to play for Notts County, AFC Wimbledon and Stevenage and it was at Stevenage he won 2 promotions in 2 years, gaining League 1 status with the club. He also played at Wembley, winning the FA trophy with Ebbsfleet United and then progressing to 1st team coach. Prior to Ebbsfleet, Stacy’s coaching career includes working at Arsenal Academy for 7 years, developing players such as Alex Iwobi, Reiss Nelson, Ainsley Maitland-Nile’s and Marcus Mcguane, currently of Barcelona.
Stacey’s combination of qualifications and professional playing and coaching experience is second to none. Combined with his professional standards it is clear to everyone how much Stacy’s qualities benefit our academy members.
Max Ross
Head of Foundation Phase
(6-11 Years Old)
Max has extensive experience in the UK and abroad, and has run 3 full time teams aged between 7 and 18 years old.
Max has a First Class honours Degree in Coaching from St Mary’s University. He has also gained vast experience by working with Fulham FC and Chelsea FC. In addition to this he worked with the First Team at Aldershot Town FC and more recently Charlton Athletic and currently Fulham FC.
Max started as a trainee with us and has been a valued member of our team at the academy. This is a testament to Max and how passionate he is about developing each player and also developing himself through continued professional development which we benefit from at the academy.
Max has also written a number of studies on various top flight teams that have gained national accolade from his peers in the coaching industry.
Rob Kavanagh
Head of Goalkeeping Coach
Rob has vast experience in football coaching and has been a part of the academy coaching team since the start.
Rob specialises in goalkeeping and his aim is to help players increase confidence and arm them with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed.
Rob’s coaching style focuses on technical skills and early decision making but above all Rob aims to create an environment which is fun but challenging for his players.
Antony Ferguson
Technical Consultant
Anthony has always been passionate about football through playing, coaching and teaching at all levels. Being qualified in football, education and business, he brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and skills
to support and enhance our development. Anthony’s playing experience saw him representing two academies, county and district at youth team level and then semi-professional clubs before a car accident ended his career at an early age.
Anthony has held roles as a FA Regional Coach Mentor, County Coach Developer and supported the FA men’s national team at U18/19 level. He has extensive experience of working in the professional and grassroots game and is currently responsible for the elite coach and player development programme
at AFC Wimbledon where his is Head of Coaching. He has also coached and taught on a number of continents including China, Europe, the Caribbean and Bangladesh.
Anthony has been involved in a number of successful projects including pioneering the London Coaches Academy. Additionally he has written a number of articles around coach and player development and has been recognised for his contribution to football with an award by the prestigious Football Blacklist.
Anthony is also currently on the Premier League’s Elite Head of Coaching Programme to add to his vast list
of achievements.
Alasdair Lane
Head of Performance Coaching
Alasdair is as highly qualified as Performance Coaches come. A few of his qualifications are a BSc in Applied Biomechanics, he has completed the UKSCA Strength & Conditioning qualification and is a Master NLP Practitioner.
He has over 20 years of experience working as a performance coach and has spent 8 years working in professional football.
His career started in the Army as a Physical Training Instructor where he rose through the ranks. After 9 years he left and worked as a performance coach and fitness trainer in London working with Celebrities and Famous Sportspeople.
In 2008 he joined Brentford FC and went on to win the League 2 title in his first season making a huge impact on the Sports Science side of the game. Since then he has worked at Rotherham United FC and Oxford United FC gaining success with both clubs and working with some of the best managers in Professional Football including manager Chris Wilder at Premiership club Sheffield United.
Through Al’s experience in professional football and his qualifications he is another powerful member to our academy team.
Jackie Bushell
Coach/Mentor
Jackie has been a coach for 20+ years working at various clubs such as Wimbledon, Crystal Palace, MK Dons, Northampton Town and Watford.
Jackie is so highly thought of and qualified she now works at The FA as a coaching educator/tutor
(Level 1 - UEFA B) to bring through the the next generation of coaches. Jackie’s qualifications include :
UEFA A license, Futsal UEFA B license, diploma in Sports Psychology and she is currently working towards The FA Advance Youth Award.