JESSE WALLER LASSEN - FOUNDER OF STRIVE FOOTBALL ACADEMY

Playing Career…

After years of using jumpers for goalposts in the local park, I began playing for Alexandra Palace FC at the age of 11. After three years there I earned a trial at Tottenham Hotspur. Following a six week trial I was signed as a schoolboy, playing until I left school at 16 when I was awarded a full-time scholarship.

As my two year scholarship came to an end, my dream came true when I was offered a professional contract. Highlights including meeting David Beckham, training with the Spurs first team and tours in Qatar, Switzerland and Dallas were all to follow until unfortunately a serious ankle injury meant that my contract was not renewed. 

In 2014 I enrolled at Southampton Solent University, studying Sports Science. Whilst studying, I also played for the university sports team, clocking up over 150 games and scoring over 130 goals! In July 2017 I graduated with a First Class BSc Honours.

Following my time in Southampton, I began playing for a ‘social media’ focussed team called Rebel FC. Founded by YouTuber Calfreezy, Rebel recorded and posted all of their games on YouTube. During my 2 year spell playing for Rebel FC there were many highlights which included going to the Ajax training ground, playing at Southampton FC’s home stadium and training ground and playing at Wembley Stadium in the 2018 Wembley Cup. I was lucky enough to score the only Rebel FC goal of the day against Hashtag United… who I then joined.

Hashtag United were a great club to be a part of - having started as a YouTube channel, they joined the non-league pyramid. I played for Hashtag for 3 seasons and have some unbelievable memories such as scoring late on in an FA Cup tie, which then went to penalties where I scored the winning pen - all of which was aired live on the BBC!

My latest experience was playing for Hertford Town who play in step 4 of the non league ladder. Hertford have a great style of play, fluid, quick paced football with a really young (everyone except from me!) and energetic team. As of the 2023/24 season I have taken a break from playing to really focus on Strive Football Academy.

Coaching History

I have been coaching since the age of 14. While playing for Spurs, I obtained my FA Level Two Coaching qualification. Since then, I have coached teams, individuals and within schools with the players being both male and female from ages 5-35.

While being a full-time student I was co-head coach of the University mens 2nd team before moving on to coaching the Ladies 1st team. The Ladies played matches on both a Wednesday (BUCS) and on a Sunday (Southern Region Football League), while also training twice a week. During my last season there, I helped the team gain promotion for the BUCS team.

Since 2017 I have focussed mostly on one to one coaching while also doing private group sessions and coaching some football teams - most recently AFC Herts U13’s and u16’s.

In 2022 I obtained my UEFA B coaching badge.

JWL Coaching & Strive Football Academy

Which bring’s me up to date. I started JWL Coaching, which focuses mostly on elite one to one football coaching, in early 2018. Since then, running individual and group football coaching sessions has become my full-time job. One to one Coaching is something that I absolute love doing. Getting to work with people on a one to one basis is thoroughly enjoyable and seeing people enjoy and improve their football ability will always be special. My plan is to expand my reach, while still delivering the highest standard of one to one football coaching I can! During the summer of 2019, I rebranded to Strive Football Academy.