Interview with Adam Sells - Great-Save.com Feature

Adam Sells , Founder and Managing Director of Sells Goalkeeper Products

Great-Save.com had the pleasure of meeting Adam Sells, Founder and Managing Director of Sells Goalkeeper Products. Adam has a goalkeeping background coaching at several clubs, having played at amateur level. In 2001 Adam opened his new company SGP. We spent two fascinating hours chatting to Adam about his company and background.

How long have you been involved in goalkeeping?

My father bought me some of those green cotton gloves that could not grip anything! From that moment I fell in love with the role of the goalkeeper.

My father formed a Sunday team made up of local boys for which I played. In those days I could never take it very well when I let goals in!
Again, due to my fathers influence, I would go to Selhurst Park following the fortunes of Crystal Palace. One of my early favourites was Tony Burns who is now the Millwall Goalkeeping Coach. I remember meeting him as a seven year old boy and being really thrilled. Last year I made his and Andy Marshall goalkeeper gloves for the FA Cup Final between Millwall and Manchester United – funny how things change over the course of thirty years or so!

Another idol was John Burridge who succeeded Tony. I used to love his Gymnastic warm – ups and flamboyant style - a real goalkeeping enthusiast like myself! Testimony to his level of dedication was that he was still appearing at Premiership level well into his forties.

Paul Barron was also a favourite. He is now Goalkeeper Coach at Middlesbrough, who has become a friend and a real leader in that field.

You now coach. Tell us about your coaching background.

I was very interested in the development of Goalkeepers and I took my first job in professional football at Charlton working with schoolboy Goalkeepers in 1997.

After changes in personnel, I left that summer and had one or two job offers and took a job with Palace. Being a Palace fan it was not a difficult choice!

I have gained a great deal of satisfaction over the past few years seeing former schoolboys that have passed through my hands go on to make the grade.

At Charlton we had an excellent group of young keepers. Paul Smith, now at Southampton, Jason Brown at Gillingham, Glenn Morris of Leyton Orient were among them. It was a pleasant surprise when I saw Paul Jones who was also with me at Charlton during that time, keep out Manchester United whilst on loan at Exeter in last seasons FA Cup. I think, Lance Cronin, appearing for Wycombe Wanderers on the last day of the past season became the seventh to appear in The Football League in as many years.

Coaching and developing young Goalkeepers provides a great form of relaxation and it is a great feeling to see these boys reach the top level and I hope that they have many good years in the game.

So how did you end up setting up your own brand?

Well, my fanaticism meant I purchased products from all over the world and I would look for hours at many goalkeeping products by many different brands.

It was by accident really!

Since 1998 I have had involvement in two brands which for different reasons lead to the formation of Sells Goalkeeper Products. With my goalkeeping background, a little business knowledge and a tremendous amount of enthusiasm it all just fell into place! When Jerzy Dudek lifted the Champions League Trophy in my product it occurred to me then that fate really just takes you to your destiny in life! I never from a young age really thought of setting up my own brand it just happened.

Are you surprised at how fast the company has grown in the last years?

I suppose, looking at it I am very “hands on.�

So you don’t sit there and admire the job we are doing. It’s really is not like that. The company has made tremendous progress over the first few years, but what interests me now is where we can we take SGP and what we can do better, from the product we produce – to how we operate. It’s the jigsaw that is never finished. From an endorsement perspective, Jerzy Dudek’s achievement meant that one of my main ambitions when setting up the brand has been achieved! Now for the World Cup someday!!!

Do you want to make SGP a world wide company?

I do I want to globalise the company and make it a truly International brand.

We have a good product being used by top players. The products are selling well in the countries that we are operating in. Good product, good endorsement and good people – that’s the sum that equals a successful brand.

Where would you like to see SGP in 5 years time?

I always said my desire was to be the best not necessarily to be the biggest. But to a degree the two will go hand in hand. If you are doing some thing very well people will hopefully buy into it. We have just opened an Amerian office and hope to do the same in France, Germany, Italy and Spain over the next five to ten years. At the moment we have distribution in Australia, New Zealand, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Republic of Ireland, Finland, Norway and Sweden.

SGP is now one of the leading goalkeeper brands there is and it is up there with Adidas, Uhlsport, Nike etc…

Is there a brand you look up to?

I admire and have a great deal of respect for all of them, but do not fear them really. To be around as long as some of these brands and continue to innovate as they do, you have to admire them. To a degree it is the competition that provides the inspiration. We want to provide the Goalkeeper with the best products in the market.

For next season SGP have a fantastic collection of gloves, textiles and equipment.

What are your favourites and what do you recommend to Great-Save customers?

There are some great new products! I would say that! But the new Adhesion Ultra models are fantastic gloves. The latex is superb in wet conditions and the comfort levels are high - they really look the part. The new vented backhand is designed to make them breathable. When you are designing gloves you look first at the grip, function and comfort then the aesthetics. The new Adhesion Ultra latex styles are possibly the best we have achieved to date.

You spend huge amount of time and money on development of all your products. Tell us more…

Chris Tyler is in charge of the brands product development. He spends the bulk of his time researching and developing new lines. The new Adhesion Ultra Foam is unsurpassed in terms of grip and performance in wet weather and those who will be buying it will see what I mean. Chris co-ordinates tests for grip and durability of various foams on an ongoing basis with our German manufacturer. The feed back from the professionals is paramount, once they all concur with us that we have something special it is introduced into the marketplace. The trouble is when they find anew development that they like they won’t use anything else! Jerzy Dudek has been wearing the Adhesion Ultra Pro since February’s League Cup Final and I couldn’t get him out of them even though they weren’t due until the summer for release!

The new Cross Condition Training textiles have also been very well received. It is the result of extensive testing and a desire to provide the keeper with a windproof, waterproof, breathable and flexible training garments.

How many Pro’s now wear your gloves?

We were fortunate that many of our endorsees enjoyed a fantastic end to the season! Jerzy winning The European Champions League Cup, Ronald Waterreus lifting the SPL title and League Cup, Rab Douglas winning the Scottish Cup, Thomas Myhre winning the Championship - it has been a great year for brand exposure in the UK! The Play Off Winners from The Championship, Leagues One and Two all chose SGP and Robert Green gaining his first England Cap in the USA.

Let us hope that the “Roll of Honour� is as long every season!

SGP spend heavily on product development. Do the Pro’s who wear your gloves have a say in the Specification of the product?

All the products we produce are designed in the conjunction with our top players. Every thing must fall into line with what the respective Keeper likes and wants before we launch it in the market place. The Product that you see sitting on our retailers shelves is exactly that you see in the UEFA Champions League.

The top players have a huge say in what we do. The likes of Dean Kiely, Ronald Waterreus and Rab Douglas are particularly influential and very keen to offer opinions and ideas. These guys don’t only think of themselves, but are really interested in the world of goalkeeping and what can be done for the better of it.

When they talk of the “Goalkeeping Union� those are names that would quickly spring to mind.

So how may pairs of gloves would a Pro use in one season?

The average Pro would have 20-25 pairs a season. This can depend on their status, for instance a goalkeeper in the Championship plays eight more league games than a Premiership Keeper. Furthermore this past season all the Keepers in the Play Off games used our gloves. Then there are Internationals, Champions League games, domestic cup competitions, pre season warm up games…the season seems to go on forever now. World Cup and Euro Championship matches see different branding regulations and gloves have to be adjusted accordingly for these tournaments.

Do you at SGP have a policy of signing young up and coming keepers, if so any name for the future?

At the moment our main policy is to recruit from the Premiership, Championship and the SPL. I feel that we have a good mix of seasoned Professionals and some exciting young talent. The likes of Lee Camp, Andrew Lonergan and Richard Lee are Championship players who have real Premiership potential. In Scotland the top young keepers; Craig Gordon and David Marshall have already reached full International status which is particularly pleasing when you build a relationship at youth level. We do identify the odd few up and coming keepers through the leagues and have supported the likes of Chris Weale and John Ruddy lower down the league ladder this past season, in the belief they too have the ability to progress.

I have regular contact with many of the Goalkeeping Coaches throughout the UK so I get the odd tip off and beyond those that are already appearing at first team level, Joe Lewis from Norwich City could be a name to look out for as a successor to Robert Green. It’s really pleasing when you have a keeper like Robert go all the way through the Norwich City system to representing his country. Joe, like Robert, has the right attributes and temperament to succeed at the very top level.

Being a Selhurst Park regular - Who is the best keeper you have seen this year? And do you rate the keeper at your club at the moment?

To be honest it’s hard to answer that one! At Premier League level they are all exceptional keepers. This past season, Shay Given impressed me immensely when he played for Newcastle at Selhurst and my fellow shareholder Dean Kiely saved a penalty from Andrew Johnson - so I had mixed feelings that day! I even had to relive it on TV with him that evening over Pizza!
Robert Green made some fantastic saves in the Norwich game and that ultimately had a big affect on our battle to avoid the drop.

Gabor Kiraly had an excellent season overall for Palace but I am yet to convince him of the merits of SELLS!