Former Wolves youngster Jacob Gibson thriving in life after football

New year, new me?

How about: New football season, new career?

That’s the prospect that will face thousands of Academy hopefuls during 2024, who will see hopes and dreams shattered at various points of their journey through the ranks of youth football. Twas ever thus.

In recent years the Premier League and EFL have signed up to a three-year programme of aftercare support for young players who are released, and the increase in Player Care provision at clubs like Wolves mean they are no longer reliant on the dedication and social care skills of staff beyond their regular area of expertise.

Education programmes remain in place so that players who are released, and then don’t make it elsewhere, do at least have some foundations in place to build on in different industries.

It’s a journey that was once followed now a decade ago by Jacob Gibson, whose seven years with Wolves Academy – the final two as a full-time scholar – came to an end back in the summer of 2013.

Rewinding back a decade, Gibson’s eventual exit from Wolves wasn’t one of those sledgehammer moments where his future had been up in the air and he was summoned for a painful conversation and decision which could have gone either way.

After injury pretty much decimated the winger’s first year as a full-time scholar, landing a professional contract during his second was always going to be a tall order.

But that didn’t take away from the fact that Gibson was left having to consider options away from a career in football, like so many others, seeing his long-term dream and ambition ultimately disappear.

“I’d been really looking forward to getting in full-time, giving it a proper go and seeing how I could do,” he recalled this week.

“Then in the first week of pre-season I did my ankle, and, when I came back, I had a nightmare with my hamstring.

“By the time I was fit, the Under-18s were on an amazing run, winning 11 in a row, and I was sent to Doncaster on loan.

“That was a different experience, and I didn’t really want to be there because the lads were doing so well at Wolves and the atmosphere was brilliant around the place.

“Having barely played in my first year, by the time I got into my second there were already conversations about how it was going to be a real struggle to get a pro deal.

“I kept my head down and tried my hardest, and always had the belief I would take my chance if it came, but deep down I knew it wasn’t going to happen and I had to prepare for what was coming next.

“In the end there wasn’t that big moment of letdown of not getting a contract - it was more gradual, but maybe in a way that made it more painful because of how it was dragged out.

“Looking back, I probably didn’t really process it all at the time, and the kind of person I am meant I just wanted to crack on and find some distractions and something else.”

If being released by Wolves wasn’t enough, there was perhaps an even bigger blow to follow for Gibson several months later.

He was handed the opportunity to spend pre-season with Accrington Stanley, where he impressed, surviving as one of four trialists whittled down from a big group only to be told the day before their final friendly with Everton that there wasn’t enough budget to take him on.

“I was 18, I’d have taken 100 quid a week,” he insists, but whilst other trialists Josh Windass and Danny Webber were taken on, for Gibson, it was the end of the road. Another route blocked.

“That was probably an even bigger blow than Wolves, as I’d moved up there to live with family in Bolton and was buzzing at the prospect of playing regularly in League Two,” he recalls.

“But by that time, it was the end of pre-season, and other clubs weren’t taking on any trialists, so that was it really when it came to football.”

That was it indeed. Sink or swim. Many in that position might have lost focus and direction, completely understandably. With the footballing dream shattered, Gibson could have been forgiven had life headed on a completely different path, and not necessarily a positive one.

Fast forward to the present day, however. And the picture is completely and refreshingly different.

Now 29, Gibson is employed as a Senior Sourcing Manager by Lloyds Banking Group. Having come through the graduate scheme, several postings in different parts of the country, and several promotions, he has made a considerable success of his new career.

In 2022, he was among the nominations for the ‘Future Leader’ accolade at the Ethnicity Awards which have celebrated contributions from the likes of Bukayo Saka, Alex Scott and Leigh-Anne Piddock from Little Mix. Esteemed company, of which he should be very proud. The boy has definitely done good!

But let’s take a trip back to the very beginning. And to football.

Having moved to Maypole in Birmingham, not the most salubrious of communities but one where togetherness is all, Gibson was encouraged by his very supportive parents into the world of football.

It was a chance to mix, to make friends, and well, Maypole Juniors were actually really, really good.

“It’s maybe not the nicest area of Birmingham, and we were that rough team that no one wanted to play against,” Gibson recalls.

“We had a really competitive mentality, and I think that served me well going to Wolves Academy at the age of 11 when many other players had already been there for a few years.