PURPLES’ BID TO REIGN IS IDEAL FOR SAHOTA
AMBITIOUS Cameron Sahota is hoping his coaching progress can continue to go hand-in-hand with AFC Stoneham’s rise.
The 23-year-old started off with the Under-12s before stepping up with the Under-18s and reserve team. Early last season he was promoted to first team coach, continuing his rise through the ranks.
It was another impressive campaign for the Purples under co-managers Mick Marsh and James Phillips. After claiming the Wessex Division One title in their centenary year, they were lying second behind Alresford Town in the Premier Division when the coronavirus crisis brought football to a halt.
Sahota said: “I’ve seen the chairman Mark Stupple’s vision and this really is a club on the up. We’ve just moved to a new £9m facility and we’ve got something like 55 youth teams.
“It’s great being part of something that’s going to grow and seeing people kick on. It’s nice to be at a club that progresses its coaches as well as players. I’m proud to be part of it.”
And the Southampton native is eager to play his part as the Hampshire club look to continue climbing the Non-League ladder. After being second in the cutshort top-flight campaign, they’re eyeing a fresh title tilt in 2020-21.
“That’s the aim, when we get started,” said Sahota, who spent a month coaching in Ghana in 2017 and oversaw one of the players have a trial at Bayern Munich. “I want to get Stoneham into the Southern League and see where it takes me.”
Sahota decided early on that coaching, rather than playing, was his best option. “The game has always been a huge part of my life,” said the primary school PE teacher.
“I was never going to play at a brilliant standard. Coaching is my passion and I’ve taken the opportunities that have come my way. I aim to coach at the highest level I can.
“I’m 23, so I have a long coaching career in front of me. I’ve been working my way up.”