Broadbridge Heath Under 23s captain makes the move to the Beacon
The signings are not stopping yet. Hassocks have completed the capture of Broadbridge Heath Under 23s captain Sam Rogers as James Westlake continues to transform his squad with the 2022-23 campaign under a month away.
Rogers skippered the Bears to the Southern Combination Under 23 North Division title last season. Heath went through the entire league campaign unbeaten, winning the championship at a canter by finishing six points clear of the Robins.
The midfielder missed just two of Heath’s 16 matches. He also made his senior debut, going onto play eight times for the Bears first team. Heath finished the season in seventh spot in the Premier Division – the second-best placing in their history.
Rogers moved to High Wood Hill Sports Ground midway through the 2020-21 season from Saltdean United. His 18 months with the Bears saw him play 20 Under 23s matches, yielding one goal. In his six months with Saltdean, Rogers made six Under 23s appearances.
Rogers has also turned out semi-regularly just down the B2116 from Hassocks for Hurstpierpoint in the Mid Sussex League, when his Southern Combination commitments with Saltdean and Broadbridge Heath have allowed it.
Since the 2019-20 season, he has played 22 times and scored six goals for Hurst’s first team in the Mid Sussex Championshipand made three appearances for the reserves.
Captaining teams to league titles clearly runs in the family. 21 years before Sam lifted the North Division title with Broadbridge Heath, his father Paul led Brighton to the 2000-01 Division Three title in a career which saw him play 137 times for the Albion.
Paul also scored the winning goal for Wigan Athletic in their Football League Trophy win over Millwall at Wembley in 1999. He is no stranger to Hassocks either, having been a part of Mark Dalgleish and Phil Wickwar’s coaching team during the 2016-17 season.
Welcome to the Beacon, Sam.
