Serving an apprenticeship at AFC Wimbledon has helped Lewis Westlake to progress in his career and he's thankful to the club for providing him with the opportunity.
Lewis, who has worked for our Foundation since February 2014, will on Monday start a new position as Operations and events Co-Ordinator at Charlton Athletic (based at the training ground). Having grown up as an Addicks fan, it's a dream job for Lewis, but he had to endure quite a bit of stick around here after Lyle Taylor's winner in April against Charlton!
All at AFC Wimbledon wish Lewis (pictured right above with Foundation colleague Andy May) well in his future career and he put together the following message today (his final day) about his time here:
In February 2014, I joined AFC Wimbledon as an apprentice under the management of Foundation Manager Paul Foley. Throughout the apprenticeship I completed an NVQ Level 3 in Sport and a Level One coaching qualification. The guidance and support I received from all staff during this time allowed me to develop key skills such as; professionalism, oral and written communication, time management and organisation, all of which I will carry with me throughout my professional working life.
After completing my apprenticeship in 2015, I joined the delivery team coaching PE in schools. I developed an understanding of the diverse community surrounding the AFC Wimbledon Foundation. In this job role I became more capable of dealing with any queries by communicating with parents, which improved my confidence in public speaking.
Lastly, I was appointed the role of Administration Manager, in which I was the first point of contact for all enquiries at the Foundation. Key responsibilities included the following: scheduling of casual coaching staff, booking schools for coaching programmes, registering participants, creating invoices termly, and managing 14 coaches.
There has been plenty of fun during my four-and-a-half years here, but probably too many laughs to mention in this space! Banter with Charlie Jones, beating Andy May in table tennis, and completing the club head tennis challenge in style are all happy memories that spring to mind. Finishing fourth in the AFC Wimbledon Minithon was an achievement I'm proud of, but that doesn't quite fit into the 'fun' category! I also had the pleasure of visiting Wembley on two occasions. This was as part of the Foundation team supporting AFC Wimbledon representative Cleves School, who twice won the national EFL Trust Kids Cup, beating hundreds of teams from around the country. There can't be too many club employees who get to stand in the centre circle at Wembley twice in three years!
Overall, my role has become extremely diverse and with the experience I have gained throughout my time with AFC Wimbledon it has made me more worldly and capable in developing key life skills. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone at the club for making my last four years a memorable and enjoyable start to my career.