After Steve Clarke's untimely death in September 2020 the CAST board decided to preserve his memory by making an annual award in his name to a young player at the club.
Steve was a much loved and revered Charlton supporter for over fifty years. He was a Valley Party candidate; he was chair of the supporters club; he was the first CAFC supporter director and latterly he was chair of CAST.
His CAST obituary is here:
https://www.castrust.org/2020/09/steve-clarke-r-i-p/
The award criteria were based on the EFL Apprentice of the Year award that Jordan Cousins, Ademola Lookman and Deji Elewere have achieved in recent years.
- Contribution to the Team Performance
- Consistent Individual Performance and Progress
- Outstanding Personal Qualities that contribute to and develop Team Ethic and Togetherness
- Educational Achievements in the Football Scholarship
We are delighted to report that the inaugural award of the Steve Clarke trophy was made to Henry Rylah before the under 18 game against Barnsley last Saturday. Henry can be seen above with his parents, his sister and representatives from CAST.
Under 16s manager Chris Lock told us that Henry "is the epitome of hardwork and dedication. Whilst he has undoubted talent, it is his sheer desire to improve and be better both on and off the field that makes him stand out."
At CAFC Henry is "often the first one in and last one out of the training ground. He can often be found up on the astroturf pitches working on his game, just him, a bag of balls and a repetition of drills to help improve his footballing ability. He has been a consistent performer in our U16 side scoring and creating a plethora of goals for his team, whilst also making numerous appearances for our championship winning U18 side."
Henry came into the academy a "raw talent, rough around the edges with loads of energy and enthusiasm at the age of 11/12yrs of age. He is now a well rounded footballer and well rounded person - through nothing but self discipline and a desire for self development and he is now moving on to become a scholar here at CAFC who we have high hopes for."
Henry attends haberdasher Aske's Knights Academy where he is a "well behaved, well liked and popular student. He is well mannered and his teachers say he is a pleasure to teach. He is working fantastically well towards all targets set and completes homework on time, all the time, without prompting. His teachers say he shows a desire and a will to succeed in life that sets him above many of his peers."
When Henry was asked who he looked up to, his response was Cristiano Ronaldo, he said "the drive and determination that Ronaldo had to better himself and never settle is what he admires so much and he models himself on those same attributes."
Chris added:
"Henry deserves to be the first ever recipient of this amazing award. He has shown a consistency and maturity that is second to none and his talent is evident but his personality and character is what will see him play first team football at CAFC in the not too distant future."
If you would like to join nearly 3000 Charlton supporters and become a CAST member you can do so here: