Interview with our goalkeeper coach after Joe Bursik commits future to club
Ashley Bayes is now in his fourth season as goalkeeper coach at AFC Wimbledon and he’s excited about developing more talent at the club after Joe Bursik’s emergence.
The man known as “Bayzo” has become a hugely popular character around the club since joining us in 2013, but he’s also demonstrated a steely determination to his work by putting in a goalkeeping structure that will serve AFC Wimbledon well in the future.
Speaking during an interview on our official You Tube channel, which can be viewed via the link above, Ashley said: “I have my own training areas now,” said Ashley. “When I came into the club I was big on that and the manager has let me have the run of it. I basically got what I wanted. I have all the goalkeepers from the scholars to the Under-21s and the first-team. ‘Macca’ and ‘Sheasy’ have been really good with the younger keepers and we have a good union.
“It’s a high intensity and we demand a lot, but that is the standard I like to have. That is the reason we bring the young goalkeepers in early. They get to know what it is all about with the mentality side of it and everything else. It is really good and I am excited.”
Ashley will be working with Under-18 keeper Joe Bursik more in the future after he committed his future of the club and he has been very impressed with the young goalkeeper’s attitude.
“The scholars had a few days off over Christmas and I wanted to see what his character was all about. I told him I would be in with the other goalkeepers if he wanted to come into training. Fair play to the lad, there is a really good focus about him. It set him up for the FA Youth Cup and I was really pleased with that side of it.
“Joe started coming in for my training sessions when he was on his school holidays before he became a scholar. I saw what he was all about then and it is a natural progression for him now. I am really looking to push him on now. He is a confident boy, sometimes a bit over confident, but I don’t mind that. He has a good aura about him, a good arrogance in the right way, and I am looking forward to pushing him on so that he can challenge the other senior keepers. He has shown good potential, but the hard work starts now.”