2012
"You need to step up to the challenge," advises BA (Hons) Football Studies graduate Ben Stevens, "You might feel like your university lecturers are giving you a hard time, but they are just trying to help you improve and succeed."
Success is vital in Ben’s job as First team performance analyst at the South’s biggest football club Southampton FC: "I analyze our opponents to see what their strengths and weaknesses are then report my findings back to the coaching team and players," says Ben, "I also assess our own squad’s performance using Pro-zone and Sports-Code."
Ben graduated from Southampton Solent University in 2007 after studying under course leader Clywd Jones: "The biggest lesson I took from university was relating theory to practice - Clwyd was great at doing this," Ben reveals, "There is lots of theory in football studies but it’s applying it to the football club environment which is important." He admits that getting ahead in the football industry can come down to the old cliché of: "It’s not what you know it’s who you know," but was able to train at several clubs to gain experience and build his name while he studied.
Ben was lucky enough to be involved in the Saints winning their first piece of silver wear in over thirty years as he and the team marched to Wembley to beat Carlisle United 4-1 in the Johnstones Paint Trophy. "It was great seeing all our hard work going into winning the game, then being on the pitch with the players at the final whistle," says Ben, "I am lucky enough to be a part of a club really on the rise."