Brad Dolaghan says the transfer from Worthing to West Ham United “wouldn’t have been possible” without the Rebels approach to youth development, with the forward being the most noteworthy youngster in a long line of players to prove the pathway to first-team football at Worthing is amongst the best in Sussex and potentially the UK.
Worthing FC’s youth teams have enjoyed consistent success in recent years, across all ages. In the 2024/25 season the u18s won a historic treble, winning the Isthmian Youth League Cup, thrashing Tonbridge Angels 6-1 in the Champions of Champions Final and most impressively the u18s went invincible winning 17 of their 18 league matches to clinch the title. This was also their fourth consecutive league title in a row, and the youth team nearly made it five this year narrowly missing out on the top spot on the final day of the season.
The u14s followed in their older counterparts’ footsteps, picking up the double and winning their league without once losing a match. The other Worthing u14s team finished second in the same league showing the sheer depth of talent at the football club.
This sustained level of success, on top of the countless examples where academy graduates have broken into the first team at Worthing or in professional leagues, shows that the structure at the club is suited to developing professional footballers.
Brad Dolaghan is the biggest proof of this, as he’s been in the academy since the age of ten, and he’s gone on to become one of the most prolific players in Worthing’s history at just 21.
During his time in the youth set up, he was scoring in every age group, but most prominently with the u18s he scored 29 goals almost tripling the previous league record. He followed this by scoring an enormous 90 goals in one campaign cycle for the u19s.
In his first season with the senior team, he scored seven goals in ten games earning him a move to West Ham. Unfortunately, the move didn’t work out with the striker scoring 3 goals in the Premier League International Cup for the u21s before promptly returning to Worthing FC.
However, since returning to Worthing FC, he’s been playing like he has a point to prove, scoring 29 goals in 50 appearances, playing the most important role as the league’s top scorer in helping Worthing win the league title and promotion to the National League for the first time in clubs history.
Worthing FC as a football club, puts a lot of work and care into giving young players first team opportunities. Brad said that when he was coming up through the academy “there was lads playing, who had come through the academy system, and young lads who were given an opportunity in the 1st team, like, Jasper Pattenden. I knew if I had just knuckled down and worked hard, I knew the opportunity would come”.
He then mentioned that “Adam Hinshelwood (current Worthing FC head coach) would always take the time and coach my under 14, 15, 16s, even under 18s 19s, and he’d even lead some of the games as the main manager”. Which shows an extra level of dedication towards the player development in non-league football from the club, as it makes the young players feel more important than just academy players. As mentioned by Brad the extra work with the first team coach “gives you that connection with the 1st team manager and then make it really feel like you’re a part of Worthing and not just as part of the 14s”.
Sometimes Adam (Hinshelwood) would even spend “2-3 nights a week” training and mentoring Brad to make sure he got the attention he needed.
Brad believes that “there’s still players in the youth levels, that can probably make the jump, because Worthing make it so accessible”. Further stating that “the only reason I got the move (to West Ham) was by them giving me an opportunity with the first team”.
The staff also makes sure the young players excel off the field as much as they do on it, as Brad said Nathan Bowen (current u18 coach) “would always be in contact with our teachers when we went through the academy phase”.
Dolaghan finished off by saying “to be now sort of like a role model to the younger age groups and stuff is brilliant, I just want to give back to the club as much as they’ve given to me over the past years. So, like for me now I’ll be down there coaching the development centre”.
This sense of community and everyone helping and benefitting from each other is very apparent for the Rebels, as mentioned by Jude Deedigann the media officer at Worthing FC, who said the club always been recognised as a community club since George Dowell sort of took over when the club was in on the verge of financial extinction.
The club has also announced they will be launching the Worthing FC foundation, where according to Jude they will be “taking that next step to be a really strong force and help all the local residents in a sporting sense as well as other senses too”.
In an article by the Guardian in 2024, George Dowell said that the club “prides itself on the pathway” into the first team. Further stating that Brad Dolaghan “is “the latest in a long line of youth graduates” to reach senior football.
The club has repeatedly had to increase the size of their trials due to the demand which is backed up by Jude who said “we recently just had some trials for certain age groups. It was very popular with 100s of people in the local area, wanting to play for the club”.
Worthing will continue being successful in youth development as the symbiotic relationship between that and the senior team is too important to the club and its ethos, and its one of the key reasons for the senior teams success this season.
With Brad saying that you should join the club because “they’ll always give you an opportunity and it’s up to you whether you take it or not”.
Marcel Adamkiewicz