Mental health and life after football comes under the spotlight in student Cole’s shortlisted documentary

A student’s documentary exploring footballers who have been released by academies, and the support offered to them by clubs across the country, has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Cole Mason is in the running for the Best TV Sports Journalism award from the Broadcast Journalism Training Council (BJTC) for his documentary, Beyond The Pitch: Life After Academy Football, which he produced during his final year on the Multimedia Sports Journalism course at the University of Northampton.

In the film, which you can watch below, Cole interviews Ex-Manchester United Academy Player, Will Mellors-Blair who explains being released from the club at the age of 18 felt “like the rug is pulled from under your feet”, and Ex-Northampton Town Academy Player, Tom O’Neill on his full-circle journey from on to off the pitch, now working as Assistant First Team Analyst.

Cole also casts a spotlight on local football club, Northampton Town FC as he speaks with Pete Stephenson, NTFC’s Academy Education Lead who discusses the importance of nurturing education alongside sports to ensure a bright future.

Cole explains: “Nearly ten years ago, I was on trial at an academy, so I understood the uncertainty and feeling of loss which accompanies being released. I wanted to use my experience to spur an investigative documentary which discussed the topic through the personal experiences of players like Will Mellors-Blair and Tom O’Neill.

“The end goal was for the documentary to be hopeful and share the message that there’s more to life than football, and there are plenty of ways you can use what you learnt in the game and apply it in different areas of your life.

“When I heard my documentary had been shortlisted for an award by BJTC, it felt amazing. It was great to be recognised for the time and effort I invested into it – it consumed my life for a few months!

“The documentary itself was completed during my final year at University. It was a really valuable opportunity – one of the many I received while studying at University – to explore my journalistic direction and understand where I wanted to go.

“I really was caught off guard with how much I loved the Multimedia Sports Journalism course at UON. The amazing friendships I built were instrumental in my success – when times got tough, we were able to support each other. To see my hard work recognised on a national level is amazing, and although I can’t attend the awards as I’m in Australia, I’ll be keeping a close eye out for the result!”

Senior Lecturer in Multimedia Sports Journalism, Jefferson Lake said: “It’s inspiring to see Cole turn the spotlight on the mental health support offered to young aspiring football players, leaning on his personal experiences to give a great insight to the problem and potential solutions.

“He has got input from some very important people at the heart of this story and his tenacity ensured these great contributors to a well-told tale.”

The winners of the Broadcast Journalist Training Council’s Awards will be announced this Thursday (12 December).

Find out more about studying Multimedia Journalism and Multimedia Sports Journalism at the University of Northampton.