Emile Heskey on the reality of raising professional footballers: ‘It’s not my career, it’s theirs’ | OneFootball

It’s not particularly rare to see the offspring of an ex-professional follow in their parent’s footsteps. Usually, though, it’s just the one son or daughter that makes it. Two is quite the more remarkable.

Emile Heskey has managed to raise a pair of prodigies through the infamously perilous English academy system. His two sons, Jaden and Reigan, are professional footballers contracted to Manchester City. Eldest Jaden, 20, is on his second loan spell of the year at Sheffield Wednesday, while younger brother Reigan, 18, became the latest City starlet to make tried-and-tested venture to Germany this summer for his maiden loan away, joining Koln. Jadon Sancho, Jamie Gittens and Felix Nmecha are among those to tread the same path to great success, though City will be comforted by the knowledge that if Reigan experiences similar fortunes this term, they’ll have him back next June.

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Emile Heskey (left) with his son Jaden Heskey after he signed his first professional contract (Instagram)

Parenting footballers has become a topic of discussion over the past week, thanks to the media swirl surrounding 15-year-old Manchester United starlet JJ Gabriel. Frankly, there has already been far too much coverage on what is the future of a child, while the focus on his father’s allegedly difficult behaviour has gained significant traction despite the claims mostly being either social media hearsay or from reports citing unverified sources. The point of this piece is not to put more of a spotlight on either individual nor the rumours engulfing them.

What’s conclusive, however, is Heskey’s triumph in this field. He knows how to nurture the next generation.

Asked if football was always the dream for his sons, he tells The Independent: “I think so - you’d have to ask them!

“From a young age, Jaden wanted to play football. We took him aged three or four, and he just loved it. He loved going to the games. He loved the atmosphere. He loved everything about it. So then he was just programming himself to be the professional footballer that he wants to be.

“Reigan kind of just came along because he's the younger brother. But they’ve both been talented and they were lucky enough to go to an academy that helped with their progression, helped with their structure, helped with everything to make them the best possible players they could be. I think they were destined to do that.”

Former England international Heskey, who turned out for the likes of Liverpool, Leicester and Aston Villa across a 22-year career, admits that his status as an ex-pro gave both his sons a foot in the door.

“100 per cent, there’s no doubt that would help. That would give you, let’s say, the upper hand,” he says. From then, however, it’s a level playing field.

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Reigan (left) and Jaden Heskey made their Man City debuts last season (Getty Images)

“Then you’ve got to produce something, then you’ve got to really learn. And that was one of the good things about Jaden, he learns very, very quickly. He’s very attentive to what the coaches are talking about. And like I said, Man City had some fantastic coaches.”

The right type of coach is integral to an early rise. “This is where it all starts, when you're young - if you get a bad impression from them, it goes sour sometimes,” asserts Heskey, who has joined forces with the Chase coaching programme to try and inspire more into the profession. But just as important is the right type of parent.

Heskey says he never tried to be overbearing despite the obvious value of his playing experience. He also didn’t let his own motivations take over: “That was easy - for me.”

Instead, Heskey’s approach was to keep his distance from the whole process. He didn’t plaster them on his Instagram with nearly 100,000 followers, he didn’t try and build their ‘brand’ while they were still in primary school.

“I always stood back,” he said. “I never stood on the edge so my kids were looking over at me and thought I was overlooking them and scrutinising everything they did. I took a stance back, so that they never saw me - they weren’t looking over so they could actually concentrate on the coaches’ principles.

“It could be daunting for kids having their parents telling them certain things to do, but then the coach is telling them something else, so there’s two different things that they’ve got going on.

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Heskey strove to leave his sons’ football development to their coaches (Getty Images)

“Sometimes you’re best to take a step back because the reality is it’s not my career, it’s theirs.”

Heskey has come across parents that are guilty of the opposite.

“When you look at pushy parents, who is it for? Is it for them or it it for the child?” he questions. “Because I don’t think it’s for the child, especially some of the times where [you hear] the way the parents talk to them.

“I generally wouldn’t talk to my kids [about football] after training because I’d just let them do what they’re doing. They’re kids.”

It got to a point when, during middle adolescence, Heskey had to turn up the intensity and start “grilling” his sons about their impending careers. This, however, led to something of a reality check for the 48-year-old former bagsman.

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When it came to ‘grilling’ his sons on their impending careers, Heskey discovered they knew more about football than him (Getty)

“I found out that they actually knew more than me,” he admits, “because they’d been in an environment which taught them. I would actually be asking them certain things to try and pick their brain, because I was coaching then as well.”

With both Jaden and Reigan now navigating the senior game, Heskey’s ‘less is more’ formula holds weight on its own. But those who know the game best tend to agree with the approach. His ex-Liverpool team-mate Jamie Carragher, whose son James plays for Wigan Athletic, has also previously spoken about the damage “nightmare” parents can do to players with promise.

It turns out all you really need is faith, as Heskey finishes: “They’re going to be big anyway, so just allow them to grow organically.”