BRIGHTON rising star Jack Hinshelwood has the beautiful game in his blood.
His great-grandfather Wally played for Chelsea, grandad Paul was a Crystal Palace stalwart, great uncle Martin bossed Brighton and cousin Harry Howell is a Seagulls team-mate.
Another cousin Danny played for Portsmouth and dad Adam, who is flying high as manager of non-league side Worthing, racked up more than 100 games for Albion.
While Jack, 20, himself is a Euros Under-21 champion who has caught the eye of Thomas Tuchel’s coaching staff.
SunSport’s Tom Barclay joined Jack and his old man at Adam’s former stomping ground The Withdean, the no-frills athletics stadium Brighton used to play in before the Amex, to hear more about this football-rich family.
TB: What are the advantages of having a football family when getting into the game?
JH: “You can share a lot of experiences. Dad tells stories of when he was playing, my grandad, even my great grandad tells stories. My grandad was scrambling to find games that were actually on YouTube from when he played and there weren’t many, but luckily his goal was on there, so he showed me that a few times! Maybe the downside is some people think you’re where you are because of the name, but we all have a different journey and we’ve earned the right to be here.”
AH: “I think Glenn Murray made a good point. He said when he used to go home to speak to his dad, he would give him advice on his playing and what he thinks he should do and he was a carpenter or something. Whereas when I speak to my dad who played at the top level and speak to my grandad, their insight and their opinion weighs heavy and goes a bit further.”
TB: Is your dad one of your harshest critics?
JH: “Growing up, at times I thought he was a bit harsh, sometimes you’d probably wish he wasn’t so much involved in football! But at the end of the day, it was only for my benefit and all he ever wanted was the best for me. He’s eased up a little bit on me now. We still talk football and he still tells me things I can do better and what I can work on. It’s amazing to have that from a family member, because you get it from coaches, but when it’s your family member, I think it means more. They want the best for you and they’re only looking out for you at the end of the day.”
AH: “You just try to be honest. If there’s stuff that you feel like he can improve on, then you tell him. I noticed when he played for England that he looked a bit nervous and shy. It looked like he didn’t really feel like he belonged and then it would take him to do something like a nice pass or a good tackle for him to grow in confidence, That’s a big part of Jack, just believing that he’s good enough to be at that kind of level and just I try to show him and give him confidence that he’s good enough and he should be there. I learnt through working at Brighton to start with a bit of praise and end with a bit of praise and then if there’s a bit of criticism to put it in the middle.”
TB: When did you first know your son had genuine footballing ability?
AH: “Literally from the moment he walked, we had a blow-up indoor Brighton ball and he was smashing that. My wife’s got some videos that she pulled up the other day of us two having a kickabout in the front room and the girls ducking and football was flying all over the place! So even from then, I knew that he had a passion for the game and had a nice right foot even back then, he could smash the ball. But I don’t think you ever as a parent think that your son is going to go on and make it. You’re just there and you support them. But you don’t take anything for granted.”
TB: Can you remember one bit of advice your dad gave that stuck with you?
JH: “There was a point at 13, 14 where I was struggling a bit. I wasn’t enjoying playing football and I remember a long drive back from training where we sat there for about an hour. He said ‘If this is something that you really want to do then you need to put everything into it. No matter what you do, whether you’re playing for Selsey or Brighton, we’re going to support you all the way’. To have that support from my dad was amazing and it made me relax a bit and know that no matter what I did in life that I’d have the support of my family.”
AH: “That’s the hardest time as a parent. Jack was a bit late developer, physically. You just want to see them enjoying it, especially for Jack, there’s so much pressure, his great-grandad, his granddad and his dad all played professionally. It’s tough because it’s out of the kid’s control, they’re 13 or 14 and they just haven’t grown yet. I think that helped him as well on his journey because there were struggles, there were times where he couldn’t get around the pitch and he wasn’t as quick as everybody else. He just found a way to get through it.”
TB: What are your memories of being back here?
JH: “Just walking through the doors again, it makes me smile. It’s nice that it’s still left here and it’s still a football ground. Most old stadiums are either housing or something else. My earliest memories of coming here are to watch dad play, my mum scrambling for a parking space up the hill and coming down trying to get a wave off (former Brighton goalkeeper) Michel Kuipers. The Withdean played such a massive part in the history of this club, two promotions at the stadium. Without this part of the club’s history, it probably wouldn’t be where it is today.”
AH: “We had Jack relatively young and part of that was wanting to see him share this career and those experiences of being a professional footballer. He got to a few games, probably more when I was at Wycombe towards the end of my career. He came to a few games with my dad and was in the away end and a few games. Out here, I just remember all the fans running over and Mark McGee scrambling to get off the pitch when we managed to get to the play-off final on penalties.”
TB: How much did watching your dad show you the reality of being a professional footballer?
JH: “I remember travelling up to Bristol Rovers away, Walsall away, where he scored and then all of a sudden, a few years later, he’s retired and all the football’s stopped. He was a gas man after that in our local area. I was too young to think of it at that time, but thinking now, if I was in that position now, how hard it must have been for him. I think it’s set you up for real life, you know, not everything’s going to be perfect and sometimes you just have to find a way.”
TB: What do you make of Jack’s shinpads? They’re tiny!
AH: “I think he got that from my dad. My dad, even back in the day, had really small ones. I didn’t have the biggest ones in the world but nowhere near this size. My dad would be proud of these ones, he was always of the small shinpad brigade.”
JH: “It was one of my mates who bought these shinpads off TikTok and then his parents said that he wasn’t allowed to wear them because they’re too small. I said, ‘Chuck them my way, I’ll give them a go’ and then started wearing them. I just like the feel of smaller shinpads. I’ve had a few people tell me off saying, you’re going to get hurt, so I’ve made them a bit bigger, but I just like the feeling of not really knowing they’re there.”
AH: “If you get a kick on the leg, it’s not going to stop you playing. If anything, it’ll gee you up a bit!”
TB: With all due respect, Jack is now playing at a level that you couldn’t quite reach due to injuries, how do you relate to him when giving advice?
AH: “Just be honest. He doesn’t have to take my opinion and say, well, what do you know? And that’s fair enough. I’ve got so much belief in what he can do and feel that he can be a senior international one day. If I felt there’s something that he can improve it would be stupid if I just kept it to myself.”
JH: “Maybe growing up, I thought, ‘You’re being a bit harsh here’, but now I 100 per cent respect everything he says. Without his honesty with me in the past, I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. He’s been called up for England under-21s before and without the injuries he could have played at a higher level from what I’ve been told by countless people. He’s an unbelievable manager, he’s hopefully going to do the business now with Worthing but I know that later on in the future he can manage it at a high level.”
TB: You were part of the England Under-21 team that won the Euros last summer. You’ve seen the likes of Elliot Anderson, Alex Scott, Jarell Quansah get called up to the seniors. How much would you love to follow in their footsteps?
JH: “Yeah it’s massive inspiration. You can see the manager showing great faith in those boys and there’s more, Nico O’Reilly. There’s plenty of young lads within that team. The summer was amazing, probably the highlight of my career so far and to be a part of that team was unbelievable. It’s not really in my mind at the minute, I’m just trying to get back playing regularly for Brighton. All I can do is work hard and try to get myself back in the team, get a good run of games and then it’s out of my hands on whether I get that call-up.”
AH: My dad and I were in the under-21 squad, but none of us managed to go on and achieve a senior cap, so it’d be an unbelievable thing for any young player to do. What Jack’s got as an advantage, especially for tournament football, is versatility. He’s shown he can play left-back, right-back, centre-midfield and as a number 10. I think it comes from being around football from a young age. He would come and be in dressing rooms from a young age which I think has given him a real football maturity, that footballing IQ.”
TB: What was it like being in those dressing rooms?
JH: “I was probably six or seven, and I loved it straight away. I probably heard some things I shouldn’t have heard and I was told never to repeat them or mum wouldn’t let me come! From a young age I’ve always just shown an interest in it. What’s the team going to be today? What formation are you playing? How is that going to beat them? That kind of thing. I think I learned different roles from stuff like that.”
TB: Your dad’s Worthing side won nine games in a row before Tuesday’s loss at Torquay. This Saturday is a huge clash against top-of-the-table Hornchurch in the National League South. Do you get to many of his games?
JH: “Every time I can I try to go. I just love supporting my dad, supporting Worthing and trying to be a part of his journey as much as he’s trying to be a part of mine. I love going to the games and still get the same buzz when a goal goes in. I’m supporting but I’m also watching what his team is doing tactically. I do try to get involved. Sometimes I keep my opinion to myself if they lose! If they win, we talk about the game. Lewis Dunk and I are doing our B-licence at Brighton at the minute. It’s given me a different insight. I’ve definitely got a long way to go, in that respect. I always thought it was quite easy being a manager! When the time comes, I want to be involved in football in some way, so I don’t rule out being a manager one day.”
AH: “The minute you think you’ve cracked it in management, you come unstuck. You have keep on staying humble and keep working hard, that’s the key message to the players as well. You can be the best manager in the world but it’s the players who have to go out and perform. I’ve been lucky to have inherited a really talented group.”
TB: Adam, you once told SunSport that Jack is one of the tightest players you know and that he even claims back the rent he has to pay you when he plays abroad…
AH: “I can’t say that anymore because since we’ve moved down from York, we’ve been living at Jack’s house! He’s paid back all that tightness! We’ll hopefully be out of his hair very soon but it’s been unbelievable to spend that time. We nipped out for nine holes the other day for the first time in years. To be close to Jack, Grace and Elsie, our first granddaughter, as well has been very special.”
TB: Elsie was born two days before the first Under-21 Euros game. Too early to tell if she’s going to follow in the family footsteps and maybe even become a Lioness one day?
JH: “Not sure, I don’t think Grace would want her to be a footballer, but you never know!”
