Cheltenham’s Wing Wizard Jordan Thomas on making it pro in his 20s, the mindset need to rise through the football pyramid and his future ambitions.
Watch the full chat with Jordan Thomas below:
Cheltenham Town winger Jordan Thomas was one of the club’s most exciting players this season. Skilful and unpredictable with a thunderous left foot. He also represents a powerful story of resilience and a reminder to never give up on a dream.
One of the easiest on the eye in League Two, Thomas even looked at home – and nearly scored – against Championship opposition when Cheltenham locked horns with Leicester in the FA Cup in January. You’d imagine then that he was destined to be a pro from an early age. But that couldn’t be farther from the truth…
Thomas only turned professional in February 2024 – at the age of 22 – after a circuitous five years bouncing around the lower divisions. He inched higher and higher and then the Robins came calling after he’d impressed with Bath City. He reflects that signing a first professional contract was surreal.
“Yeah, it was strange. It was hard to get over, actually, because I never expected myself to get there. I always had confidence that I would get there one day, but not this early anyway. It was just one of the favourite days in my life. I signed on the Thursday, trained Friday and actually got on on the Saturday so within three days I got my professional debut.”
In four years Thomas, who hails from Witney in West Oxfordshire, went from playing for Didcot Town in The Southern Football League to signing the pro contract. So why the relatively late arrival in the football league?
He wasn’t late to football and was a highly-skilled youngster, but he was small. Thomas stands over six feet tall today, but the spurt didn’t come until after his big local club had decided to overlook him.
“I never actually got into the Oxford United academy. But I used to get trials pretty much every year. But I was really small and skinny. So I never used to get in because they quite like strength in youth teams.
“They always said I was good technically, but it was that strength. I just grew really late. So when I was 17 I had a massive growth spurt and I bumped up a little bit. Then I started playing non-league football.”
Thomas’ story is inspiring to teenagers who don’t secure contracts at big clubs. But it’s also a cautionary reminder to clubs not to assume a small kid will end up a small adult.
“Luckily, I got my mum’s side because my dad’s side is really small. My sister is under five feet so we’re opposites. I think that’s why in my youth days, the Oxford United coaches looked at him (dad) thinking ‘oh, we’re not sure if he (Jordan) is going to grow.’”
The bigger body. certainly aided Thomas’ rapid rise through non league in his early 20s, but this ascent was also built on a self assuredness that allowed him to quickly adapt to each new level mentally.
“Whenever I’m playing somebody above my level I don’t get too scared. You’ve just got to try and make sure that you show what you’re good at and nothing bad is really going to come from it. If you make mistakes that’s going to happen but you’ve got to try and show confidence.
“Obviously show enough respect but not too much respect that you’re just sitting off them and making it easy for them and I think that’s why I’ve got to that next level, just based off having that mentality.”
Thomas turns 25 this year. Young by everyday people’s standards. But mid career in football terms. So how high is he aiming and how long do Cheltenham Town fans have to enjoy his wing skills?
“I’ve always just said to myself, I just want to play as high as I can. No matter what level I’m at, I always think I can get to the next one. And you need to make sure you do it in a confident way and not in an arrogant way. I feel like I can play higher. You don’t want want to get too ahead of yourself.”
His story serves as inspiration in itself, but youngsters can also draw on his talent and psychology first hand: Thomas is coaching kids at North Leigh Football club – where he started his magical rise – in combination with Cotswold outfit Elite Soccer Stars
“It’s perfect because it’s going back and giving to North Leigh for what they did for me, and I think it’s really good for the community as well. I have a lot of motivation to help the youth as I feel I can relate to them a lot and I just love doing it.”
