Having made his debut as a 1st year Apprentice in Rochdale’s final home game of last season big things were expected of winger Joe Thompson this term. The Bath born youngster has not disappointed.
In a developmental year he has made over ten league appearances for the ‘Dale’ and gained national acclaim when scooping the League Two Apprentice of The Year award at the Football League Awards ceremony last month.
The Apprentice Awards reflect not only excellence on the pitch but also academic aptitude and hard work and it was just reward that his efforts were recognised by an expert panel of judges.
It was a thrilling experience for Joe who says,
“I knew that my club had nominated me for the award in advance obviously but I didn’t have a clue that I’d actually won until the Sky TV camera’s started to focus on me as the awards were being announced.”
“The old butterflies started to kick in and I was really nervous when I went up to the stage to collect my award from Jeff Stelling.”
Quiet and unassuming Joe puts his success on his Apprenticeship down to his own hard work and the help and support he has received from club staff, teammates and college staff.
“I’ve found that in my time here I’ve developed as a person and my self discipline and maturity have come along.”
“Football is a man’s environment and you have to learn quickly in order to do well. It’s been a tough but good two years and I’ve found that by knuckling down and trying my best I’ve been able to make the most of my time here.”
