Brentford Academy welcome scholars’ parents to Jersey Road | OneFootball

Brentford Academy recently welcomed parents and guardians of the Under-18s to Jersey Road for a day-in-the-life experience ahead of the 2026/27 season.

Gary McDermott's squad have been preparing for their first season since being awarded Category One status towards the end of the 2025/26 campaign, and welcomed loved ones into the training ground to give them a taste of what a scholar experiences across a typical training day.

Parents enjoyed an up-close look at every aspect of the players’ day, including morning analysis, training on the pitch, gym work, education and life skills.

Speaking to parents at the conclusion of the day, Brentford Academy director David Rainford said: “The purpose of the day is to give you a genuine insight of what a day-in-the-life of your son’s scholarship programme is.

“It’s a very comprehensive programme, you’ve seen great football detail. We didn’t say, ‘Let’s pack in as much as we can because mums and dads are here today’. This is a normal day.

“You know what your son’s now need. We’re all in this together to provide the right level of support and the right level of challenge.”

When asked what he had taken away from the day, Sekani Goppy explained the experience had helped give him an insight into how best to handle son Amaru when he arrives home from training.

“I didn’t realise how much they do in a day. When he comes home and he’s a bit miserable or he’s gone straight into his room after barely saying hello, I can see there’s a lot going on and he’s tired,” he said.

“I’ve learnt to appreciate there’s a lot that goes on for a 16-year-old mentally and physically and just to give that bit of time.”

For Faith Nwosu, seeing with her own eyes what son, Jai, has explained to her at home in regards to the training schedule has opened her mind further on how she can support him.

“We talk with our son, we know how the day goes; but being here and seeing it are two different things,” she said.

“Being here, being around the team and seeing how the day goes has really opened my mind even more to how much I can support him.”